A flipper lacks power, or both do equally.
One or both flippers weak
Cause: Wear in the flipper mechanism (a mushroomed plunger rubbing the sleeve is classic), pitted EOS or cabinet contacts, a blown 50 V fuse, or a failing flipper bridge or capacitor.
Checks
- Check for about 1/16 in up-and-down play at the flipper bat; no play means it binds on the playfield bushing (adjust the pawl on the shaft).
- File the tungsten EOS and cabinet switch contacts.
- Both weak: check the other 50 V fuses; on Big Guns and later a blown F7 on the auxiliary power driver board leaves both flippers very weak but working.
- Both weak: check the flipper bridge for an open diode and its capacitor for cracked joints.
Fix
- Rebuild the flipper (plunger, sleeve, coil stop, bushings).
- Replace the fuse, bridge or capacitor found.
Systems
Related tips
- Flipper power supply board (Fire! and earlier)
- One flipper does not work at all
- Burning smell, then flippers, pops and eject all dead: broken flipper EOS switch
- Flippers and lock kickout dead with good fuses
- Interconnect board and flipper power board fuses
- Weak flipper: rectifier or worn parts
- What the System 11 auxiliary power driver board does
- What the auxiliary power driver board holds
Source: Repairing Williams System 11 Pinball 1986 to 1990, Part Two, Clay Harrell (pinrepair.com)