Data east Star Wars flipper problem STUMPED

DTAR

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Donor 2011, 2019
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Hi gang,
ive got a data east pinball the has a problem with the left flipper. the left flipper is getting around 70vdc all the time and will blow the fuse on the flipper board when the solenoid is connected. the right side is fine. ive changed out the flipper board and that didnt fix the problem, then i changed out the playfield power board and that didnt fix it either. right side is getting right voltage when used. go into diagnostics and when i do tests that do not include the solenoids the voltage is at 0 but when the solenoid test comes up it jumps to 70vdc.

any ideas gang?
 
I'd be looking at the diode on the coil in question. Unless its visually broken on one side and can be soldered back on, its easier and almost as cheap to just replace it, as opposed to breaking out a meter. Barring that, it is possible (although somewhat rare) that the coil has developed an internal short. If you've got enough fuses to go around, swap the two flipper coils (after the suspect one has a new diode!) and see if the problem moves to the right.

The voltage thing sounds perfectly normal to me. If you measure all the coils, when they are live (ie game play or in the solenoid test menu), you should find voltage there. When the solenoids are actually activated, what is happening is that the path to ground is completed (that is what the driving transistor is doing). The voltage is there, its just not a complete circuit yet.
 
so even when the coil is not hooked up the line should always read 70vdc? you thinking the right coil might be causing the left to mess up?
 
Just to make sure, the problem is that when you turn on the game, that the left flipper energizes on its own, locks on, and then blows the fuse? Or is it only after you press the flipper button that the fuse blows? I'm assuming its the first.

Either way, I don't think the right coil is messing up the left. What I'm suggesting is to swap the coils to see if the problem follows the coil to right side, or if it stays on the left. If it moves to the right side, then you know its either the coil itself, or more likely, the diode on it has shorted.

Assuming that the flipper self-energizes, then probably the transistor on your flipper board is shorted, but you already changed the board, so unless you have a second defective one (which IS possible, albeit not likely).

If you are measuring from the power lug (or its wire, if the coil is disconnected) to ground, then I would think that yes, you would show 70V.
 
Also, with a bad diode or shorted coil, the solenoid might not necessarily lock on, as I was suggesting above, but may simply blow the fuse.
 
If you have a shorted diode it could have blown the driver.

I had a VUK do that to me once. I put a new coil and diode in and the coil was still stuck on. I changed the driver out (TIP102? I don't recall because it was a Gottlieb)
 
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