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Flipper Strength

That plunger looks wrong to me and the gray link too !!
Looks like it has come of a old type game to me ,but I could be wrong ;)
 
Yes, I have a soldering iron moon and switches are on order. Along with stops advised flipper rebuild parts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
stoptap said:
Do your flippers move up and down if you lift them ?
Take off the coil stop and you will be able to remove the coil. Have a look and see what is happening inside.
Those plungers look non standard to me. They have been machined where the roll pin joins it to the plastic link.
There is also a lot of carbon dust.
Click to expand...

Flippers don't move up n down, they feel sound.

Took coil stop off and cleaned everything up too:-
-Coil stop was slightly indented (normal?)
-Plunger doesn't reach end of coil as pictured held at max strike length below (normal?)
-Plastic Insert had slight scuff

All I can do (I think) is clean it up till new parts arrive.

I'll do other side now and cross my fingers it holds up a few days.

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uploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20170315_1b4dd964325ca3af886cc11b5014f282.jpg

I did clean the plunger too but forgot piccie before rebuilding. Plunger cleaned best of all parts actually.

I'm hopeful but not expecting too much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
File coil stop flat and re chamfer
File plunger tip flat and re chamfer as well
Personally I would buy two new plunger/links
 
Marcel said:
Flippers don't move up n down, they feel sound.

Took coil stop off and cleaned everything up too:-
-Coil stop was slightly indented (normal?)
-Plunger doesn't reach end of coil as pictured held at max strike length below (normal?)
-Plastic Insert had slight scuff

All I can do (I think) is clean it up till new parts arrive.

I'll do other side now and cross my fingers it holds up a few days.

uploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20170315_904eedbffb590a1284fe51a67a063047.jpg

uploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20170315_23301c0d6a0d06c9a036e8f0a6176421.jpg

uploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20170315_42f9fe06a04601699fc738537db3a3fe.jpg

uploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20170315_08fbaa53ba89f28e37ab33b9029d453a.jpg

uploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20170315_a47116723e283e8bbeb934a4b639573e.jpg

uploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20170315_99c31102539e889bf4a853eff0dda067.jpg

uploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20170315_1b4dd964325ca3af886cc11b5014f282.jpg

I did clean the plunger too but forgot piccie before rebuilding. Plunger cleaned best of all parts actually.

I'm hopeful but not expecting too much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The flippers should move up and down. This is most important. It stops the flipper from binding. Look at this photo. If you pull the flippers in the direction of the arrows they should lift away from the playfield about 2mm before stopping.

You_Doodle_2017-03-15T19_29_12Z.jpg
 
Thanks Carl, new parts ordered & no file. I'll get on in thought:)

Flipper 2 cleaned below, can't wait to see if it all helped.

Strange! Just had a game after rebuild and right flipper was still limp but I had a crazy first ball, 2 extra balls and eventually right flipper perked up.
Destroyed the ring and machine went mental, lost all balls in play which was annoying as it stopped flippers working as it went mental.

Then it told me via Dmd Vallinor awaited but first to complete fellowship of ring.

I hadn't completed all modes and hadn't completed all multiballs. I thought they preceded there and back.

I'm confused!

Removed stop, not as dirty as other. Although this was originally the worse flipper as ring was just manageable.
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Inside plastic coil sheaf.
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The high polish internal technique!
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The plunger.
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Polished coil insert.
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Polished plunger stop n coil insert.
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Rebuilt.
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This is what happens to the the screw that links the plunger to the pawl.

IMG_1080.JPG
 
Ahh thanks for reminding me, I had forgotten that piece of advice of asking Andy for spare screws. Unfortunately he is on holiday, website says posting to resume 20th. I'll email his website.:thumbs:
 
Your flipper parts are well worn, that smooth bolt alone will have a big impact on performance. I had the same in my world poker tour. I fully rebuilt my flippers with new parts from pinball heaven and they were completely transformed - plunger, link, coil stop etc.

You do not need to buy new bolts. Just swap them over as each flipper mech uses two of the same sort

It could also be that the end of stroke switch needs adjustment - the leaf swirch that is operated when the flipper is fully upright. This switch tells the machine to go from the powerful flipper coil to the weaker "hold" coil. Adjusting this so it triggers earlier or later in the flipper's motion will also alter its power
 
Yes, good spot, just checked and there was about 2mm gap meaning it would switch to low power with an inch of flip left above the playfield.

But what gap should the be on the eos switch when held using flipper button? I've altered it to less than 1mm but could that still cause conductivity problems?
 
Away for a few days but just caught this thread. I'll send parts as soon as I get back. If I can find some spare bolts I'll send them too. Most things have already been said but I need to clarify a couple of points.

If you have only occasional weak flips, then most likely suspect is the cabinet switch. If the contact is flaky then the cpu sees on/off/on/off etc rather than a straight on. So in reality it's pulsing the flipper into the up position.

I think the coils you pictured are standard not extra strength. You should be fine with these anyway.

End of stroke switches don't make any difference to timing switching from high to low power. They used to before cpu control but not since the early 90s. Now they just monitor the flipper position so that if the flipper is knocked back under hold conditions it is re-energised to the up position.
 
Thanks for that PMania.

I've ordered the cabinet switches elsewhere sorry. Not for any other reason than when I saw you were away, I didn't want to wait to feed my current LOTR addiction sorry.
However, since I thoroughly cleaned em, they've been constantly good. Not sure if that's great but I can hit the ring often, left flipper still struggling a tad though.

Ta for looking for them screws too:)
 
pinballmania said:
Away for a few days but just caught this thread. I'll send parts as soon as I get back. If I can find some spare bolts I'll send them too. Most things have already been said but I need to clarify a couple of points.

If you have only occasional weak flips, then most likely suspect is the cabinet switch. If the contact is flaky then the cpu sees on/off/on/off etc rather than a straight on. So in reality it's pulsing the flipper into the up position.

I think the coils you pictured are standard not extra strength. You should be fine with these anyway.

End of stroke switches don't make any difference to timing switching from high to low power. They used to before cpu control but not since the early 90s. Now they just monitor the flipper position so that if the flipper is knocked back under hold conditions it is re-energised to the up position.
Click to expand...
Just caught up this thread.
Very interesting as recently learnt to adjust EOS switches on em's as they make a huge difference.
So, been adjusting my Sterns EOS switches and now just read it makes very little difference to flipper power/performance:oops:
 
pinballmania said:
Away for a few days but just caught this thread. I'll send parts as soon as I get back. If I can find some spare bolts I'll send them too. Most things have already been said but I need to clarify a couple of points.

If you have only occasional weak flips, then most likely suspect is the cabinet switch. If the contact is flaky then the cpu sees on/off/on/off etc rather than a straight on. So in reality it's pulsing the flipper into the up position.

I think the coils you pictured are standard not extra strength. You should be fine with these anyway.

End of stroke switches don't make any difference to timing switching from high to low power. They used to before cpu control but not since the early 90s. Now they just monitor the flipper position so that if the flipper is knocked back under hold conditions it is re-energised to the up position.
Click to expand...
Thank you to PinballMania for including those little screws, much appreciated:)
 
Gutted, replaced all the flipper parts as advised. Actually not so gutted, the right flipper is much improved (only had one play though).
However the left flipper was still poop.

So I was just starting the eos switch job and after de-soldering the existing eos and prepping the new one, I noticed the replacements are too short for the job.

My LOTR days are over for now:(
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You can put the old EOS back on until a replacement arrives. If you think that one casues issues then you could swap it with the one on the other flipper and see if the issues move with it.

I guess the cabinet switches didn't make any difference afterall... :rolleyes:
 
Remember the EOS on a Stern isn't as critical as on earlier games. It doesn't physically switch the voltage over to the holding coil. The flippers on a Stern do this with a timer anyway.
If you have a weak flipper after a rebuild I would suspect something else is amiss. Possible weak coil, flipper cabinet switch (as previously mentioned) or dropped voltage.
 
Your picture shows replacement cabinet switch not EOS. The replacement is the latest design and replaces the longer one. You just remount the new switch in a higher position. You can probably reuse the upper hole. The longer switches are no longer made or available.
 
I had a game the other day and hit a mega ball of 30 minutes ish.

The right flipper died line it would move but no power to it. It was such a good ball I decided to open the coin door after ball landed in a safe place.

I felt the hot coil and allowed it to cool, this worked a treat for the coil but ruined my flow and the game ended poorly.

So, I read somewhere earlier in my research that someone somewhere used a pair of pic fans to cool the coils as a "reversible" fix to coil cooling.

I have two old pc's I can rob the fans off but can anyone help me identify a sensible source of power for the aftermarket fans please?

I found several unused connection blocks, ideally I'll not tamper with original wiring so I can reverse the bodge.

I'll just support the fans using cable ties so as not to screw into playfield.

Inside cabinet.
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By Right flipper
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By left flipper
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One of my 12v PC fans
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Thanks Ron, I posted a photo earlier in the thread. I thought the part code was the uprated coil.
Click to expand...

Don't know mate :) Tbh I didn't look back through the old posts, just saw your latest one so thought I'd mention it :D I've never heard of the uprated coils getting bad so if they are it might be an indicator of another issue with your game? Or maybe other LOTR owners who have had the beefier coils could chime in if they'd still had over heating issues?
 
Just saw this quote from the Legend earlier in this thread:

I think the coils you pictured are standard not extra strength. You should be fine with these anyway.
Click to expand...

If anyone knows what coils you've got it would be him :thumbs:
 
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