Based on this thread: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/this-aint-your-grandmas-gi

These are instructions for replacing all the GI with addressable LEDs as well as adding additional addressable LED strips to the apron and playfield backpanel to create the ultimate lighting show for your pinball machine. This was done on an Ironman, and should be transferrable to nearly any pinball game (well, at least from the 1980s onwards).

Video:

General things to keep in mind while doing this:
-Go slow
-Watch out for shorts
-Take the balls out of the pinball machine
-Keep the power off
-Have fun!

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Parts needed:

Pinduino (PM me if you go this route and want one -- we have about a dozen left, but you can use anything similar) $40

Arduino Mega: $10: ebay.com link: MEGA 2560 R3 Board ATmega2560 16AU CH340G USB Cable for Arduino

GI:
1 “String” of 50 addressable LEDs $20 (Only have found WS2811, but use WS2812b if possible): ebay.com link: 50PCS WS2811 RGB Full Color 12mm Pixels digital Addressable LED String DC 5V FA

2 pairs of 3-pin JST connectors: $6 ebay.com link: 5 pairs of 3 pin JST SM connectors for WS2811 WS2812B LED strips

Backpanel/Apron:
1M “Strip” of 60 addressable LEDs (WS2812b, recommended): $25 http://www.adafruit.com/products/1138 (or PM me and get them with a Pinduino)

30 feet of 3-channel wire: $26 ebay.com link: 5M 50M RGB 4 Pin Extension Wire Connector Cable Cord For 3528 5050 RGB LED Strip

Connecting spotlights above slings
Connector, Plug, 3-Pin, 0.093": $0.30 https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=03-09-2032

2x Crimp Contact, 0.093", Pin: $0.10 https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/products.asp?cat=89

You can cut the existing plug and solder wires directly to stock spotlight wiring harness, or keep the original plugs and connect with:

Plugs and headers: https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/categories.asp?cat=37

Z-connectors: Pinball life: http://www.pinballlife.com/ or if you get a pinduino, it comes with a 24-pin z-connector. That can be cut into 2x10-pin for the pinduino, leaving 2x2-pin for the spotlights). Also, you can use the existing Z-connector that was used to power the spots in the first place.

Optional: Double sided tape to tape LED strips to apron/backpanel:

Light duty: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RQ55ZQ

Heavy duty: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081JH4V0

Total cost: under $100 (though shipping may bring it up)

Tools:

Screw drivers

Sockets

Soldering Iron, solder (flux is recommended for soldering to LED strips)

Heat gun and heat shrink tubing

Wire cutters and strippers

Scissors (cutting LED strips)

Magic hands (highly recommended)

Zip ties

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Instruction sections
There are several major items to build and install. While it looks like a lot, it is mostly because I tried to document each step. Overall, this project took me about 8-10 hours to do, which included figuring out everything needed. If this is the first time you are doing something like this, go slow and break this up over a couple of days. If you can whip out new wiring harnesses without any problems, it will probably take you a good afternoon to do all of this.

The major sections are:
-GI LEDs

-Apron/backpanel LEDs

-Connecting the Pinduino (or other microcontroller)

-Connecting Spots

GI LEDs playfield installation

1. Unplug the GIs (J15 on power driver board)

2. Unscrew all the GI sockets from the underside of playfield
-Note: For IM, I left in the sockets under the slings and inlane/outlane ball guides. I used the sockets in the slings to support the LED GI bulbs and the lights for the ball guides are under the flipper mechanisms and stapled to the playfield.
-Remove bulbs
-Wrap sockets around wiring harness to keep the metal for shorting anything

3. Cut string of LEDs in half

4. Connect JST 3-pin connectors to input side of LEDS
NOTE: addressable LEDs have a direction for data. These LEDs have an arrow on the chip inside the plastic casing. The wires on that side of the board are the input to the LED string

5. Starting from the middle of the back of the playfield, press in the GI LED string. Start with the LED that has the JST connector attached.

6. Work your way along the bottom, and then up the side for each GI string.
Note: sometimes you’ll need to leave a GI LED out in order to reach the next GI hole in the playfield
Note: Getting the LEDs to fit snuggly under the slings may require leaving the old sockets in place (e.g., under the slings)

If you have leftover LEDs when you make it to the front of the playfield, you can cut them, or leave them and wrap them around the harness to keep them out of the way when lifting/lowering the playfield.

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GI LEDs wiring harness

1. Make a Y-shaped connector with a pair of JST 3-pin connectors to plug into the GI LEDs and about 6 feet of wire.

2. On the other end of the 6 feed of wire, solder the connector that plugs into the Pinduino (make sure to add/use heat shrink tubing to protect the splice)
Note: Make sure that you have +5V, Data/SIG, GND pins correct

3. Plug in the GI LEDs.

4. Run harness with Pinduino plug to the back of the machine, and up and through the backbox

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Apron/Backpanel LEDs and harness

1. Cut LED strip into (assuming 60LEDs/M):
-1x 27 LEDs (backpanel)
-2x 12 LEDs (Apron)
NOTE: There is a direction to the LEDs (denoted by an arrow)

2. Solder ~6 inches of wire to connect the two 12 LED strips (Apron).
NOTE: I have tips on how to solder wires to LED strips: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16LbYL2x28CdcNPdOtlQ6sCq2ZnG9WlICS7bRPxxhEcw

3. Solder ~6 feet of wire to the input side of the two 12 LED strips

4. To the other end of the 6 feet of wire, solder the 27 LED strip to its input side)

5. To the same solder pads, solder in another 4 feet of wire (this will connect to the pinduino)

6. To the other side of the 4 feet of wire, solder the connector that plugs into the Pinduino (make sure to add/use heat shrink tubing to protect the splice)
Note: Make sure that you have +5V, Data/SIG, GND pins correct

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Install Apron/backpanel LED strips

1. If your strips have tape on the back, great. If not, add double sided tape
Note: you don’t have to take off the apron, but you can.

2. String the apron LEDs through the playfield hole under the apron

3. Run the LEDs and wire harness over the ball trough eject

4. Remove tape and apply LEDs to apron. Wires connecting the two strips are tucked into the ball trough hole in the apron.
Note: You can modify this to have a smaller set of LEDs in the ball trough under the apron if you don’t want LEDs visible

5. Run 27 LED strip under the playfield to the backpanel.

6. Take bulbs out of backpanel

7. Remove tape and apply to top of backpanel (wires on right side)

8. There is often a wire clip on the back of the backpanel you can use to string the wires

9. Run the 4 feet of wire with the Pinduio plug up and through the backbox

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Installing the Pinduino
DISCLAIMER: feel free to use someone else’s microcontroller, build your own, etc. I’m one of the designers behind the pinduino. We made it because we wanted something to control stuff like this. If you can find a better one, please let us know so we can use that.

1. Here are instructions for assembling and installing the Pinduino: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y68ZkTQ2VHid4RKTt7BpwDiLYukaT8Dqg48kC-UWgqU

2. Instructions for getting up and running with the pinduino library on the Arduino: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xk9QtnBrs58lnKNAFGCy8bAlQ9cdEmo1Trk4WAJEpYM

3. If you are using this code: https://github.com/elyons/professor_pinball_pinduino_sketches/tree/master/IM_interactive_GI
-GI goes to plug X1
-Apron/backbox goes to plug X2
-Note that for the GI lights I received, the red and green channel were reversed. I have that documented in the code, but you may need modify the code if your LEDs are correctly designed. For adrLED1:
--Swap red<->green
--Swap purple<->cyan

4. Power on and test!

Hopefully it all works.

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Spotlights

1. To power the spots above the slings, just make a wiring harness to connected them to the +5V aux power port by the coin door.

2. I made a Y-connector with two .156 IDC connects that use a Z-connector to plug into the lights with a 6 foot wire

3. On the other side of the 6 foot wire, attach “Crimp Contact, 0.093", Pin” and push the pins into the “Connector, Plug, 3-Pin, 0.093"
- The ground goes to the hole closest to the point of the plug
- +5V is the middle hole
- Note: which is ground and which is +5V doesn’t matter for standard LED bulbs

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Congratulations! You are finished. Time to test, troubleshoot, and play pinball!

Post questions and corrections. A google doc version of this is available: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q4ocskLaG9377kGTRL-7TVRDCNNiFv-U_TAz9zaoilE/

Just a bump for the weekend. This is seriously awesome and I have ordered another set of GI lights for a second machine. Not sure which one will get the treatment. Going to borrow a friends SM and have a Met in the house, so perhaps one of those.

Thanks Vid!

The addressable GI bulbs and LED strips when on full (each RGB channel on max and brightness on max) is warmer than "cool" LEDs, but definitely cooler than incandescent bulbs. Also, if you look closely that the GI bulbs, you can see shades of red/green/blue from the individual LEDs in it, which is difficult to do with the LED strips. I should take one of the GIs apart and see how it is constructed. In any case, I tried to take a photo of the two lights on max white (with an iPhone camera). Hopefully that gives you an idea.

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After all the talk about getting color changing GI in other threads, I'm wondering if anything has done something similar to what is shown here. I'd like to see what other folks have implemented to get some ideas.

Thanks, Dave.