- try to turn on my Lightning Stern Pinball

what doesn't work:

- there is a ground wire in the cabinet does it need to be connected to the backbox also? and is the only purpose of the ground wire not have have a shock while playing?
- self test does not work
- insert coin does not react
- in the display i read 0 0 0 instead of 00000
- no "blinking" lights on playfield

what does work:

- power on
- general lights playfield/backbox is on
- mpu lights 2 times slow , then 5 times fast (including beeps)
- ball ejects coil fires when ball drains

how to begin testing?..how to make the playfield "active" any tips appreciated!

@wayout thanks for this, any more help apprecated!

Well it actually states on a piece of paper inside the backbox: all boards must be bolted down for ground return for proper operation. (altough the main power cable didnt had a ground wire) so the allumiun piece in the backbox "flows": the ground then?

Also the slamswitch should be closed..right?

quick picture of the "battery" situation. te previous owner said this board should be fine. but after 7 blinks form the led it does not go in to attract mode.

IMG_0071 (resized).jpg

does this wire have to look like this?

IMG_0068 (resized).jpg

thanks for the tips guys! small update; put some lightbulbs in the backboard and then suddenly...all went out.

step 1..measurement the voltage and they are all oke Hurray! (and this was a firsty!) used this video:

hmm i have the balls in there, although te playfield is standing up...maybe when i push the connectors..thanks for the tip!

where to solder this line...? you would say similar as the button below, but when i try that the game doesn't pass the mpu test.

IMG_0002 (resized).JPG

- soldered that wire: repaired the test button, yay! (all solenoids kick and displays work)
Tested all boards for the right voltage, they all seems to be just right.

But still no attract mode...any tips?

It flashes 7 times in total, that should be fine right? ive pressed the ball switches manually with cardboard (since the playfield is standing up)

No, cant coinup, does the attract mode not work without any balls, could that be the only reason? coindoor is still open as is the backbox door, could that affect the game (dont see any switches)

update: It's alive! (checked all cables and fixed 2 shorts, checked out the ball assembly ) and suddenly i could insert coins and press the start button. not perfect yet..some displays flicker and only GI lights work..but hey! its awesome!

- some weird stuff:

- MPU stayed on red after i did some work at the playfield...could not get it back to the 7 flashes, i was like ..then i pressed the test button a couple of times and suddenly the machine rebooted normal.phew!

- apparently the game can "work" and boots without balls, it will just start looking for them and start firing coils

- the game will work without a working lamp driver board (maybe its working, could be a broken wire for the lights) , but you will have no attract mode and lights on targets. (it will count points..)

thanks for the tips wayout440 & dothedoo!!!

checked some bulbs, seems to be fine, also the test points on the driver board have 5.2 volts. So it should be the 6v on the lamp braid, how can i test that? (red on the braid and black on ground with my multimeter? where is the ground in the playfield, the metal side rails?

Hurray! A poor connector from the main power to the playfield/braid did the trick (as dothedoo mentioned: the 6V). Now also the mpu control lights are working! even better...they all work! was scared that i had to do some soldering on the lamp driver board and replace some stuff.. But i had to clean some lamp sockets.

Neat little trick i found out: get an alligator clamp, and use that on the spring connector in the lamp socket and rotate cw & cc for some quick cleaning and connection checks.