(Topic ID: 327644)

Flashers not working on Road Show

By SilverballGamer

1 year ago



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#1 1 year ago

Hello, a while ago I picked up a Red and Ted’s Road Show. At this point the game is in good working order, except for one issue. The flashers aren’t working consistently, and there seems to be no reason why. I’ve checked the fuse, which I replaced a few months ago, and double checked it’s the correct fuse, and the fuse checks out good. My +20V LED for the flashers on the PSU is also on, but still, nothing most of the time. I have checked and noticed that it turns off whenever a flasher is supposed to be activated, and I’m not sure if that’s normal or not, as I haven’t seen the Driver board when the flashers have worked. I’ve tried reseating all connections that I’ve tracked down relating to the flashers, but I still can’t get them to work. However, I was able to get them working once. For some reason, they randomly came on one day and they worked for an entire play session. However, upon next power up, they weren’t working again. When they have worked, all the flashers were working, so I know it’s not a case of “all the flashers are burnt out”. I have also had some instances where in test mode, they work for a few seconds, then stop working again without the coin door being opened. Is there any way I can resolve this? Some additional information is that my driver board is a replacement PINLED board from 2005 that has been working flawlessly. The game did come with a burnt GI connector that had been rigged with Alligator Clips to get all the GI working, so I’m not sure if that shorted something. I should also say that my Auxiliary Driver Board in the top right has both LED’s on, and I’m aware it’s one of the main controllers of the flashers. Thank you!

#2 1 year ago

You've got something not making connection.

If this was a standard power driver board, look at your manual on page 3-9. Your PinLED board will probably be using about the same layout.

Here is the manual:

https://www.ipdb.org/files/1972/Williams_1994_Red_Ted_s_Road_Show_Operations_Manual_October_1994_OCR_searchable_includes_parts_information_and_schematics.pdf

As you can see, the power comes in on J102, goes through fuse 111 and comes out on J107 pin 6. This red/white wire supplies power to the flash lamps.

It's very common for the wire to be not 'quite' connected in the J107 IDC connector. Examine the connector carefully. Replace the fuse (it's easier to replace than to test).

I would make two tests. I'd unscrew one of the flasher caps around Ted, and with my black meter lead on a ground strap somewhere, I'd pull the 906 bulb, and check to see if one side of the flashlamp socket has 20V on it.

Flashlamps have two wires, one has 20V, the other goes to the board transistor that connects ground. To light up, the flash lamp needs power on one side, and ground on the other.

When all the flashlamps won't work I'm suspecting power, so if you don't have 20v on either of the terminals of one of the 906 flashers, you've got a power problem, associated with the above steps (red-white wire).

The second test is to see if you have 20v at J107 pin 6, the red/white wire at the board. So put your meter lead here, and see if you have 20V.

Now, if you DO have 20v, your problem is that the transistors that activate each flasher are having problems.

I'd suspect the ribbon cables! Shut off power, unplug and plug back in every ribbon cable. Go to flasher test and see if things are better.

The next step (if you don't have power) is to pull your PINLED board and carefully examine the connectors. If this were a standard board, I'd be considering replacing pins and the plug (trifurcon!) on AC power in J102, and flashlamp power out, J107. Your PINLED board uses bridge rectifiers all in a row, so I'd check the solder connection to BR4. Look for anything cracked or suspicious.

The next steps are more complex, like replacing the bridge rectifier, or troubleshooting the transistor circuits that activate the flashers, but I suspect you'll find something simple before we get there.

Let us know!

#3 1 year ago

Hello! I’ll be buying new fuses and testing it out. I’ll then try reseating the ribbon cables as well. I’ll get back to you after I do that.

#4 1 year ago

For a quick test, in the bottom lower left corner are five fuses for General Illumination.

These are 5A fuses, and I would pull one of them and swap it with F111 in the upper right corner. If the General Illumination string of a dozen lights doesn't come on, that fuse you pulled from F111 is bad.

Easy enough to test, and you don't have to run to Lowes for a GMA-5 Slow blow 5 Amp fuse.

(EDIT: I was thinking a standard power driver board, which uses MDL fuses, the PinLED board uses GMA...)

#5 1 year ago

Alright, I did some testing today and confirmed a few things.

1. I replaced F111 with another 5A fuse. It had no effect. I also tested the old one, and it appears to be fine. Therefore, the fuse it ruled out.

2. I reseated and tried to push in the wires for the connectors leading back to the connectors. This, also, had no effect. I did, however, confirm both LED’s are on for the auxiliary driver board.

3. I reseated the ribbon cable between the MPU and the Auxiliary driver board. This, also, did nothing.

At this point, I’m kind of at a loss. Everything is telling me they should work, but they aren’t. However, I did notice something. When the coin door is closed, the coil light on the driver board snaps right on, and coils have no issues. In contrast, the Flasher LED (+20V) turns on a little slower. Not that it takes a long time, it takes less than a second or two, but it doesn’t turn on immediately. I’m not sure if this is a sign that it’s not getting enough power, or what exactly is going on? I also do remember that you guys mentioned testing voltages on a flasher bulb. What readings should I be getting? Only wondering, as I just want to see what I can do there. I hope this helps, and thank you all for helping so far.

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