A flipper does not work and the coil looks undamaged.
Flipper dead: wiring or coil winding
Cause: A broken or unsoldered wire at the coil or the cabinet flipper switch, or an open winding.
Checks
- Check the solder joints at the coil lugs and the flipper button switch.
- With power off, check continuity along the wires from the button switch to the coil (the colours identify each).
- Put the meter across the two outer coil lugs: the heavy power winding and the thin hold winding meet at the centre lug, so the outer lugs should show continuity. An open reading means the coil is bad.
- Or briefly touch a 9 V battery across the coil; a good coil will pull the plunger weakly.
Fix
- Resolder the broken wire or replace the open coil.
Systems
- Williams System 3
- Williams System 4
- Williams System 6 / 6A
- Williams System 7
- Williams System 9
- Williams System 11
- Williams System 11A
- Williams System 11B
- Williams System 11C
- WPC Alpha-Numeric
- WPC Dot Matrix
- WPC Fliptronics
- WPC DCS
- WPC-Security (WPC-S)
- WPC-95
- Bally MPU AS-2518-17
- Bally MPU AS-2518-35
- Stern MPU-100
- Stern MPU-200
- Bally 6803
- Gottlieb System 1
- Gottlieb System 80
- Gottlieb System 80A
- Gottlieb System 80B
- Gottlieb System 3
- Data East CPU Version 1/2
- Data East CPU Version 3
- Data East/Sega CPU Version 3b
- Capcom
- Electro-mechanical
Related tips
- Flipper dead: burned coil
- How a two-winding flipper coil works
- Flipper coil numbers carry two windings
- Pre-Fliptronics flipper coil wiring
- Flippers and lock kickout dead with good fuses
- Flippers dead during play: check the "U" relay
- Weak, chattering or buzzing flipper: end-of-stroke switch
- Flipper weak because the return spring is too strong
Source: Pinball Machine Care & Maintenance, Bernard B. Kamoroff (Bell Springs Pinball Alley)