Hi guys.

Does anybody have an idea where to start with my issue? If so I would really appreciate any tips and advice you have.

Today my DP Premium suddenly flashed all of the lights, kind of like it does when booting. And after that, the bottom GI turned off. I tried starting s new game, but still no bottom GI.

I went to diagnostics, to see if that helped, but i was not able to test bottom GI.

I then power cycled the machine, and the GI was back to normal. So i thought it was probably a software glitch.

But after playing for a minute, it happened again. Same story... It did the "boot flash sequence" a couple of times, and after that the bottom GI disappeared.

As far as I can tell GI comes from CN15 on the board to the upper left when the playfield is raised? I tried re-seating that connector, but that didn't help.

Do you think i have a board malfunction? It seems to be triggered by either vibrations, or power draw.

This video shows it. Note that the "initialisation" sequence blinks a few times, and then the bottom GI disappears.

After the GI disappearing a couple of times, it now doesn't turn on at all (still only the bottom is missing). But i discovered this technician alert:

IMG_20210118_194449 (resized).jpg

How cool is that.

And, I have a Pro and absolutely love it. I can't justify the price difference for the orbit to left inlane mech. YMMV.

have you done any mods/lighting changes to the machine?

None at all. Everything electrical is stock ,and haven't added anything to it.

You have a bad bulb or shorted socket. Just went through this in detail helping someone with the same problem in another thread last week. Usually it will give you another message to tell you what area of the machine it thinks has the overcurrent problem. Has it popped up with an additional message?

If not, you need to narrow down where the problem is yourself. MIDDLE OR BOTTOM GI (not upper) is on Node 8 on deadpool. Try removing CN15 from Node 8, which is the board up by the flippers when the playfield is raised (the actual boards are physically the same, just different stuff plugged into them). Does the message go away? Then your short is somewhere in your mid/bottom playfield GI. Remove ALL the GI bulbs in the middle/lower section and reconnect CN15 (I'd check the ones by the flipper first, especially if they're blinking from flipper vibration).

Is the message still gone? Then one or more of those bulbs is shorted.

Is the message still there? Then one of those GI sockets has a short. Look for a broken spring or debris (errand loose solder, metal spring bits, etc) in the sockets, or a pinched wire.

If disconnecting CN15 doesn't clear the error, then it's in your controlled lights, CN1, CN2, CN3, CN5, CN14. Unplug those one at a time and reboot until the message goes away and you know which one is causing the problem, then check the lights connected to that.
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deadpool node 8 GI (resized).jpg

Thank you so much for your detailed post. When I test the node boards, it says it's the bottom GI.

I'll try following your advice, and see if I can narrow it down.

So bottom GI is all the ones in the graphic I posted that are labeled 151 (don't forget the apron spotlights, too).

Post once you figure out if it's a bulb or socket that was the root problem. Stern has gotten EXTREMELY cheap with bulbs and sockets to save a few more pennies, so this is a recurring problem with Spike machines and a PAIN to figure out due to lame-ass on-screen diagnostics Stern is too lazy/cheap to flesh out.

Vireland has already put you on track to fix this, but just wanted to chime in to say I had the same issue with mine. I fixed it by installing Comet's kit (which replaces all the factory GI), so in my case it was a bad bulb.

That’s what I am thinking. Love the premium translite, but not enough to pay extra. Thanks for your feedback.

Premium is worth the money. It's not just a ramp. The real drop targets and integrated disco ball + disco loops are a substantial upgrade to the play experience.

Everything is costing more to buy and Stern is still getting cheaper. They should have a full, easy diagnostic tool by now FFS.

ESPECIALLY since Gomez worked on Pinball 2000, which had graphical diagnostics that told you EXACTLY which bulb was the problem on a map of the playfield, on screen, TWENTY years ago. He knows better. Stern knows better. This is a cheap/lazy/"don't care, it's good enough" issue.

Ok cool. Thanks for the reply. Hopefully can find a premium to try.

If the cost difference is not an issue I would say go Premium. If it is a concern I would say that the Pro fared pretty well in terms of what was removed from the Prem/LE.

I only knew the Premium before I purchased my Pro and I won't lie, I miss the Disco Loops. However, to play devils advocate, I would argue that the side drop targets slow the game down a tiny bit, and without the drop down ramp the Pro has a bit more random danger having to deal with the pop bumpers more often.

I don't think you can go wrong with either choice though.

That’s some great points. Plus so far I have only played the pro and I doubt I will get a chance to play the premium. Also not a fan of the premium art work. The pro at least doesn’t seem bare bones compared to other pro vs premium games. Not a marvel fan but damn the game is fun. Thanks for your help.

I had the same dilemma as you for quite a while: Enticed by the premium but only able to play a pro. Premiums were tough to come by and I found a pro locally - pulled the trigger and couldn't be more pleased.

If you already know you love the pro, just roll with it. It's a blast.

I hate the Premium translite, too. We swapped a pro translite onto the Premium. Made it all better.

Terry at pinball life can order you a pro translite when you get the premium in.

Thank you. Appreciate your help. Cool you found a pro locally. Wish more would pop up for sale in Arizona.

All the blue on the premium cabinet is so out of place and too much for me. Pro is the best IMO artwork wise. This is definitely a big plus for the pro vs the premium. You don’t play the artwork but definitely have to look at it.

Slide it between two other pins, change the translite to pro, problem solved.

You'll thank me later.

(Although I have to say the LE is stunning in person. That's a more expensive workaround, though. I don't think you're that crazy...yet.)

Here you go,
1st- No Pinstadium Neo
2nd- With Pinstadium Neo
3rd- UV

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Awesome! I will try taking all of the bulbs out marked 151, and report back.

Relieved to hear it. That makes me hope i wont need a new board.

But god damn it i wish Stern would stop this never-ending deterioration in quality. It really sucks that a new machine in this price-range needs to have new coil stops, new balls, new LEDs and a playfield protector so soon after purchase...

The pro version doesn’t have apron spotlights. It seems all the newer titles coming out of stern have them on all trim levels. I’m curious if anyone has tried to add them to a Deadpool pro. Drilling holes in each side of the apron and adding leds. It seems it would brighten up the lower play field considerably. My AIQ sitting right next to Deadpool looks very bright in comparison.

Any pics of what you are referring to? Deadpool is my newest game right now. I had a Stranger things, but don't remember seeing it on that.

My deadpool premium does not have apron lights, that shines onto the playfield. It does however have lights under the 2 triangular graphics on the apron.

My TMNT premium also have two spots that shine onto the playfield, from under the apron (via 2 holes in the apron). This is really brilliant!

I upgraded the lighting on my pro, basically adding the Comet kit but assembled the parts myself for less $. So spotlights on the slings, Sunlight bulbs throughout, and a sunlight led strip above the drain hole.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out, cost was negligible, and avoids the "pinstriping" effect of the pinstadiums on the metal ramps.

Pics??

I used some dimmer Warm White bulbs I had under the strip between the shooter lane and the inlane as I found the full 2xSMD bulbs a little too bright in that spot/blinding since the bulbs are so exposed there.

I also ended up putting one red bulb back behind the left/right side targets to give them some of that "red glow" feel without flooding the area in red.

Other than that all Comet Sunlight in the lower pf.

IMG_9599 (resized).jpg

Here’s a pic of my AIQ with the apron spotlights. The lighting difference is dramatic between the 2 machines. I guess Gomez was going for more of a gritty dark look.

@fytr, your lighting upgrade looks awesome! Sounds like you made your own lighting kit and saved money. As much as I want to brighten up the play field, I thought comets exiting kit took it too far. Looks like you found a good middle ground. Could you please share your exact parts you used. (Qty’s and part numbers).

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HA!! Not that crazy yet. Depending how Godzilla turns out I may get a LE but it will have to be great.

That does look pretty cool. I haven't been a big fan of the led strips in the trough because it is tough get it "high" enough to eliminate the shadow from the flippers. I want the area just above the flippers lit better, not the area under the flippers. It looks like these apron lights help.

I may attempt to add them in the near future. The worst that can happen is screwing up the apron while drilling the holes. If that happens, a replacement apron is easily obtained from marco $85 - https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/545-5995-02

I would use Step Drill Bit, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0746FZT52/ , and will measure and match the exact size and positioning of the holes on my AIQ.

The factory apron lights do cause shadows in front of the flippers, as seen in the photo above. Mounting a 10 LED strip at the very top centre of the apron provides a more even light, IMHO.

I emailed Comet to ask if they can put a kit together. It doesn't look terribly complicated based on this pic:
https://images.pinside.com/f/4f/b1/f4fb1cf273aaad466dc660eca084e5e8804dcb62.png

I have tried, but unless the strip was inside the apron on the metal ball guide, it is visible to the eye.

interesting how you have shadows on your trough light. I am not sure what comet uses, but ours don't cast any shadows at all. Here is a white and a green (green doesn't look so good in AIQ) in AIQ. No shadows.

PXL_20201008_140934948 (resized).jpg

PXL_20201008_172819517 (resized).jpg

Mine is visible, as shown in the pic. Doesn't bother me at all though.
I did the same thing on my IMDN but there I coloured the top edge of the strip with some thick black "liquid heat shrink" I had handy and that blocks the bright edge from shining up.

Trying to install the Hooked On pop bumper mod but struggling to see how they cable tie on?!?

I know Robertstone0407 installed them. Can anyone else help with quality photos and info on specifically how Wolverine got cable tied to the plastic please.

Thanks guys.

So last night i got around to debugging my DP Premium bottom GI issue. I followed PinMonk 's cue, and started by removing CN14 from node board 8. The overcurrent protection error disappeared. So i put the connector back on, and the error reappeared.

I then removed all of the LED's in the bottom GI section, and disconnected the 2 in the apron. The error was still there, which led me to believe it was one of the sockets. I did a continuity test on the sockets, and sure enough i measured a short.

I visually inspected all of the sockets from above, but was unable to find anything wrong. I then visualy inspected all of the visible sockets under the playfield, but everything looked fine.

So i had no choice but to remove both of the flipper mechs, in order to gain access to the remaining three sockets.

When removing the second flipper mech, i saw something that looked suspicious. There was something odd between the two "layers" of the socket. Turned out it was a little blob of solder, shorting the main part of the socket with the bottom part! I guess during production, some solder was dropped, and it had landed really unfortunate. I scratched it off, booted the machine, and the error was gone! SUCCESS!

Thank you very much to everyone chiming in, and helping me find the problem. Strange that it wasn't an issue untill now, but the main thing is that i got it sorted.

Pinside rocks!

Thanks for reporting back what the solution was for your overcurrent error. Glad you're back in business!

Anyone ever try the colored pinballs in any of your games?

In my Avatar, I used a green and a blue one.
WOW were they fast !!!
and hard to see which added a fun extra challenge too.

but they did wind up in places that a reg pinball wouldn't
because they are so light (Think powerball from TZ),
so I had to stop using them, but it was fun for a while.

Has anyone tried any in Deadpool?
I was thinking of red and yellow.
(I don't think there's a really good red, it's more like pink)

Let me know if they can do it, that would great if they make a plug-n-play type of kit with no soldering, etc.

That looks great!

Thanks!

It really brings the PF to life while retaining a different feel for the different areas of the PF, vs just blasting it with light from above (which can also be spectacular in it's own way).

Hey Guys quick little issue im having. When the ball goes down the right orbit from the pops like on first plunge. The ball immediately and consistently goes stdm and drains. Anyone have an idea on how to fix this? The game is level and other than that game plays 100%

IMG_3605 (resized).JPG

What's your playfield pitch? Also, have you put a straightedge on the playfield from left to right to make sure your playfield isn't bowed very slightly?

Maybe you will have to loosen a screw and move your ball guide in or out a mm or two, could be the difference

A nudge helps too. Or hold left flipper and go for super secret skill shot.

MakesMeTurgidWhenIGetItPunkin