Help! Flippers stopped working on Tommy

Grantman

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I'm new to pinball machines so I'm hoping someone here can help me out.

I was trying to wire up the automatic ball launcher (replaced by the previous owner) and when I closed up the machine again, the flippers were not working and the skill shot hole did not push the ball out. I opened it up again and noticed that 2 bundles of wires were sitting at the bottom of the machine unconnected (first photo). There is no obvious place to attach these. Where do these go and will that fix the issues?

Also, does it matter which way the automatic ball launcher is wired (second photo)? That is, which wire goes to which side?

Thanks!
 

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If no one answers your question soon, I'll go check out my Tommy for you and let you know which wires go where...I'm sick right now and don't feel like going into my dusty garage. :)
 
If no one answers your question soon, I'll go check out my Tommy for you and let you know which wires go where...I'm sick right now and don't feel like going into my dusty garage. :)

That would be good. I still need help on this. Thanks.
 
Yellow go's on the outside coil lug, were the silver band is on the diode. Contacts in the bottom are not contacted to anything.

G-Luck
 
Yellow go's on the outside coil lug, were the silver band is on the diode. Contacts in the bottom are not contacted to anything.

Thanks. I hooked it up but I don't think I can tell if it's working until I get into multiball mode.

I tried the switch test and the flipper buttons are being detected but the flippers just aren't moving. What does that tell you?

I looked behind the back glass to see if anything was obviously wrong (like blown fuses) but I didn't see anything strange. After I closed it up, I turned on the machine again and now the DMD doesn't work. Arggggghh! Any more ideas?
 
Pull the fuses and check them with a meter. Looking at them does nothing. I don't see a diode on that coil (but it could be on the other side), no diode usually = blown fuse. If you are unsure of orientation of diode, look at other coils in the game and match those.

You can do a coil check in diagnostics as well (instead of a switch test), I am not sure if Tommy had a lockout switch in the coin door for high voltage (some DE did some didnt), but if it does, you will need to press the switch during your tests or your coils won't fire at all.

As someone else mentioned- get very familiar with www.pinrepair.com , it will walk you through the procedures (even the most basic like checking fuses). Also, if you don't have a manual, download one from www.ipdb.org
 
Pull the fuses and check them with a meter. Looking at them does nothing. I don't see a diode on that coil (but it could be on the other side), no diode usually = blown fuse. If you are unsure of orientation of diode, look at other coils in the game and match those.

OK, I've replaced some of the fuses and the flippers and display are now working. Yay! The only features that are not working are the ejector hole on the right side and the auto ball launcher. I don't have a replacement for one of the fuses --it's F8 on the Playfield Power Board "50V 4A / 50 V Coils." Where do I find 50V fuses? All the ones I can find are 250V. Even the Cooper Bussmann website only lists 32V and 250V MDL fuses. I tried a 250V 4A fuse and it blew. Is there something else wrong or do I just have the wrong fuse?

Another fuse, F9 on the PPB "50V 5A Laser Kick," was missing. What's a Laser Kick? Is that used on this machine?
 
It's a 4amp 250volt fuse...Slow Blow.... Looks like you probably used the correct one. If it is blowing, you definitely have an issue downstream. Have you tested the transistors as outlined on the pinrepair.com site? Have you looked a the manual at ipdb.org yet?

Looking at the online manual, Transistor Q44 drives the auto ball launcher.

I would test all the transistors with a multimeter, if they test good, pull all the playfield connectors from the board in question, put a new fuse in and power up the game. If the fuse still blows, its a board problem. If it doesn't, it is under the playfield somewhere (which can probably be narrowed down to the coils in question that are powered by that fuse.
 
I would test all the transistors with a multimeter, if they test good, pull all the playfield connectors from the board in question, put a new fuse in and power up the game. If the fuse still blows, its a board problem. If it doesn't, it is under the playfield somewhere (which can probably be narrowed down to the coils in question that are powered by that fuse.

I have not tested the transistors. I assume I have to remove the CPU board from the backbox in order to do this?

I'm going to assume that I fried everything related to that circuit since I hooked it up wrong in the beginning. Should I just order a new coil (with diode) and new transistors? Is there anything else I might need to get this working? The pinrepair.com site says you have to replace both the driver and pre-driver transistors. Do pre-driver transistors exist on this machine?

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to fix this myself. I'd much prefer to hire somebody that knows what they are doing.
 
Oh, I also disconnected the auto ball launcher, replaced the fuse, and started the game up. Now the ball ejector on the right side is working and the display is not. So I don't know what is going on. At this point I'd be happy to get everything but the ball launcher working so I could at least use the game until I figure out if I want to attempt to repair the coil/transistors.
 
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