Thanks for the heads up

do you think this is an early production error? i see a very small pinch. was that againt the back of the scoop or something else? what would you recommend to do to prevent that issue?

Thank you mario-1-up,this kind of sh-t from Stern, is wearing thin!!

A pinched wire that shorts out overtime is something that could be missed by any pinball manufacturer. What pisses me off is that it takes out a $300 board which should have been fused or designed better. Minimum Stern should be doing is releasing a service bulletin if it is a known issue so that others can correct before it is too late.

The key word here is "fused".

The SPIKE system is a good design that is not the source of the problem.
This identified problem is not "new" it has been a problem for ALL SPIKE games.

For new pinball owners not aware, proper extended fundamental fuse protection feature was removed from Stern SPIKE machines in the "forward match of progress" to further reduce production costs.
Simply put, you are, "paying more for less."

Short circuits can take out the entire primary board dependent on section effected.

Operators can make and install an auxiliary fuse board made with electronic parts / bread board in their own shop for protection, but this should have provided in core system design.

This was not problem on SAM and Whitestar systems.

I think it's an assembly error. I checked mine and the wire is free and clear.

IMG_1044 (resized).JPG

For SPIKE owners, here is a nifty little fuse block PCB that has been around for awhile that can really help protect your games from shorts.
It is produced from FAST Pinball LLC in Gig Harbor, WA.

fast-pwr-0001-3.jpg

that fast fuse board is $24 at https://squareup.com/market/fast-pinball-llc/
that seems expensive for what it is. there is zero documentation about it too. I'm not sure where it plugs in and what it fuses? or maybe that's the point, you can use it for anything? Not sure, would be nice if there was some idea where it would go on Ghostbusters and what it fuses...

A nifty little install Video or slide show from someone who has installed one of these would be awesome....

Yes, you can use It for anything, Clay.
The board was not specifically made for SPIKE systems.
It was original developed to protect the FAST system core boards.
It is just a general multi-inline fuse protection board (but includes no diode directional control), similar to some early GTB boards used over the years.
I only offered this to alternative making your own for less inclined "to doers" with a green finished breadboard or multiple inline fuses like you and I probably do when needed.

The application is dependent on the choice of the user, as every type of pinball machine (title and manufacturer) has its own type of "Achilles Heels", high voltage power designs, or specific solenoid coils that can be problematic due to extended use.
The high power nodes on SPIKE systems when they open to drive coils could use this board for protection against power feedback of shorts into the main board.

A direct example would be the magnet assemblies on MET (SAM system in this case) run through a separate driver board and then into the main MPU/High voltage board. This board can prevent additional damge if the magnet board shorts taking out associated transistors from damaging the main MPU/power board as the fuses will go first before it hits the main line.

I just liked the clean board design over use of inline fuses in this case.

Just extra "bulletproofing".

Possibilities are endless, whomever just has to understand the electronic board set designs of the game they are applying and see the potential pitfalls of the manufacturer design for best application.

Individual application is beyond the scope of this post, and yes a video would easier to explain for everyone, but I don't know if they reviewed anything online.