On the right side of the MPU the two large edge connectors are for the lamps.

There also should be 4 fuses on the right hand side of the Aux board which supplies the power to the lamps. The aux board is mounted on the left hand side of the cabinet.

I really dig Atari games, and I have one also. Is there anyone that is the resident Atari expert for questions like this?
Someone who dosent mind answering an occasional mail? Thanks for any info. ron k

well i have repaired a few of them both aux and mpu issues. you need the schematic/manual or you will do more harm than good. like i said the power for lamps is controlled by the aux board. i can not find my manual at the moment so i can't offer much help right now. but if all lamps out good chance that board is the problem.

now where the #$#! is that blasted book!

I know this may sound stupid, but I had an Airborne Avengers and could not get the GI lights to work. I spent way too long pulling my hair out only to realize every single GI bulb was burned out, every one!

May not help you at all, but thought I'd mention it.

Well the first thing would be to check the 15 Amp F3 fuse (violet on one end of fuse holder / gray white on the other) for lamp power. it is in the back by the transformer. page 5-4. then check bridge rectifier voltage with machine turned on meter set to DC voltage. read across the DC output of lamp bridge CR3 or C2.

Need to make sure of power first.

and a tip, to check fuses correctly with the power on.
well first you need to know what type of voltage you expect AC or DC but for this one(AC), if you have machine on and no lamps and put your meter across that fuse in AC Volts mode you should see NO voltage if you read a voltage on the meter the fuse is bad. as fuse open then you read the potential difference. You want to see no voltage reading (no potential difference) across the fuse holder.

no they are not in series.

the 2amp fuses on the card connector are for solenoids.

both playfield and general illumination are all computer controlled.

on a side note you CAN NOT use LED bulbs don't even think of it. the bulbs even when off are not really off, there is a warming voltage to keep the filaments from getting thermal shocked thus increasing the life of the bulb. thus 44 are the best to use.

John Robertson (John's Jukes) is the go to expert for Atari- he even has some NOS stuff and great advice on these games. Not sure where it's easiest to find him- here or RGP.

yeah the backglass is just some regular AC light bulbs. If i remember a little smaller but still just like household type lights.

i am not following you. No need to unplug cabinet every night. that is what the power switch under cabinet by the coin door is for.

it is my understanding that Atari always trying to be innovative and do things the best, thought that lamps that were cycled on and off constantly like in attract mode would shorten a lamps life. So they designed there system with operator repair/service in mind. They are actually keeping the voltage on the lamp but just not enough that you can see the lamp on,(actually you can in a few unchoice places), but this warming voltage is plenty to turn an LED on, as most turn ON no problem at 1.2V. So if you put in an LED in any socket it will just stay on all the time. Atari also used the quick spade disconnects on every single coil connection. Another plus for servicing a coil or flipper as no soldering required. I have never had any trouble with those connectors, and they are nice each with plastic boot over them and much neater looking(i have seen some very scary three wire to coil lug connections as it is not the easiest thing with only two hands).

Notice the COPPER paint in the cabinet it is somewhat conductive like a Faraday cage or for ESD protection(10M to gnd). For the day, really ahead of the competition but bad timing for starting to produce pins as video popularity much bigger. And operators just not up to speed on the high tech new design so as soon as it broke, many just sat.

Another reason you can find them in real nice shape and cheap.

I am resurrecting this post in hopes of some help. I have been restoring a space riders and am having difficulty with the lamps.

A handful of the GI lights on the pf and the tilt, match, and game over lights all stay dimly lit - never going fully bright. Are the GI's also controlled by the MPU and auxiliary board?

Great question Stratdoc, I'm having the same issue. Some GI lamps especially in the apron area, very dim. Did you figure this out?

Anyone ever figure out why the lamps in the apron area stay dim?

Id go over the aux board and make sure all solder yo those transistor bottle caps are good. I just had all lamps off and it was the large bottle cap with the heat sink.

Now she plays great!