(Topic ID: 352778)

Backbox Flicker

By ShadowFlame76

54 days ago



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You

Linked Games

  • Magic Stern Electronics, 1979

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#1 54 days ago

Out of curiosity. What causes lights in the backbox of older pinball machines to flicker when the flippers are pressed?

I'm quite sure it's a normal thing for older games to do that. It happens on my 1979 Magic. It's not a issue as you don't realize unless you're looking.

The backbox, GI, and under the playfield have all been switched to LEDs. I'm using the siegecraft boards so I could put LEDs into it to save power draw.

It is only the back box that does the very quick flicker with each flip.

#3 53 days ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

The flipper coil returns and GI returns are on the same bus.
When the coils activate, the sudden drain of power can dim the lights.
When using LEDs, that dip in power might just be enough to bring down the voltage below the threshold for what the LEDs need to run.
Either that, or the vibration is causing something in the GI wiring paths to disconnect briefly. Check all the connectors for the GI, maybe even replace the connector pins.

Thanks for the info. I think it's just a power drain. It's barely noticeable.

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