2.54 mm = 0.100 inches, so they should be the correct ones.

The voltage at TP1 is fine.

Since you've already hooked up J3 to the rectifier board you should now go and measure the voltages on the solenoid driver board - it's the board in the top right of the backbox.
All voltages there are DC. See the nominal solenoid test point voltages here: note TP2 and TP4 are high voltage so be careful.

http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Bally/Stern#Solenoid_Driver.2FRegulator_Test_Point_Values

While you're in the backbox measure the voltages on the MPU board test points too:

http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Bally/Stern#MPU_Test_Point_Values

Yes it looks like you're on the right track with the connectors. Yes the rectifier board has the same type of connector but is the .156 inch size. Also used on displays and solenoid driver. I would replace the header pins on the MPU as well, at least the bottom left and right just to get started.

Hmm, I'm looking at a Stern MPU-200 based rectifier board. The feature lamp voltage trace comes from J3-6, goes up to J1-7 then to J1-3. Where do you see them all converge at J1-7?

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This seems normal to me. I've never seen a Bally/Stern in lamp test mode with the full brightness of all lamps being the same as the brightness of very few on lamps, all lamps on are dimmer due to the current strain on the transformer causing the voltage to drop.
If you're concerned the copper foil is an issue, measure the voltage loss across it (when all lamps are on) between the entry point you've soldered the power wire to and at the end of the foil chain. It should be close to zero/negligible voltage loss. Then measure the voltage at the end of the foil with respect to ground and compare it to the voltage at TP1 on the rectifier board. If voltages are about the same when all lamps are on, your copper foil run should be ok - presuming the foil is making good contact with the lamp sockets.

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That's what Bally does. Seems like a lot of work to me to do it on your Big Game though. The connectors are the weakest point (hence so many get burnt over time at the rectifier boards) which is why I mentioned to splice the wires and double the crimp terminals for improved connectivity/redundancy.

BTW, are you running LEDs or incandescents?

Sorry. Bad choice of words. They don't converge on pin J1-7 but all three feed into the same trace on the board that leads to BR 1. So BR 1 is taking all of the load per design. At least, this is what I am thinking. Can I assume that the weak link is all of this is the crimp connector and if the three blue wires were hardwired to their respective pins there would be no current overload issues?

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Thanks. I'll try this.

OK. I understand now. Thanks. Someone did this action with the GI return wire on my Nine Ball. Now I know what's up. Talking about this stuff helps me to understand it.

I installed all LEDs in the Big Game not long after I had it up and running.

Yes.
See this post which will be of interest - infact BigAl56 comment earlier in the thread about bulbs is interesting too:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/six-million-dollar-man-fitted-with-555-lamps#post-4459732

Yep, BR1 runs closer to current capacity and has the higher rate of failure of those three bridges on the rectifier board.

As you're probably aware LEDs draw less current so they put less strain on the system - note, LEDs with four or more SMDs can consume just as much as an incandescent..

Interesting link. Thank you. It almost sounds like I should be hardwiring all of the pins with a pigtail wire and crimping on AMP Mate-n-Loks.

Nice info. on the 4SMD power consumption. I find 2SMD to be bright enough with out being blinding.

This is common for a MPU not to boot if there's an issue with the sound board. With these Sterns that use the SB-300, those old ribbon cables are usually the culprit. Another thing to watch out for is when connecting the ribbon, it's very easy to place the cable on the header pins and be off by a pin or two. Double check and make sure they are on correctly. The sound board probably doesn't need new resistors, most often the capacitors go bad from age. It's very common to "re-cap" early solid state sound boards. In fact, there are cap kits available. Aaaaaand there's also a replacement SB-300 recently available here:

https://nvram.weebly.com/new-pcbs.html

For shits and giggles, try to boot the MPU with the ribbon cables attached. If it doesn't, then try pulling the speech board (VSU-100) cable and see if it boots. This may eliminate one of the two.

While hardwiring is going to give you solid connectivity, I'm not suggesting you do it. The link to what Bally did was more a FYI.

May I ask what problem you're trying to fix?

"AMP/TE Connectivity" also make 0.156" connectors - their terminals look better with more surface contact than your standard Molex crimp terminals:
https://mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity-AMP/3-770476-1-Cut-Strip?qs=sGAEpiMZZMttKWgNLnZcJpC%252BDDMIV%252BS%252B

I bought some a few years ago but never got round to trying them. If you want closeup pics of the crimp terminals and housings, let me know.

I'm not dealing with problem right now. You have been willing to answer my questions, challenge me when I am wrong, and share your knowledge so I just kept asking. I have learned a lot in these last few posts.

It all started with this:

I'm interested in knowing what options the MPU-200 Sterns have in the way of rectifier boards. There is the Rottendog--I have one. Barakandi/Weebly is offering completed boards and DYI boards. Are there any other options for these pins?

I do have a rectifier board in one pin that is getting weak. It is only a matter of time and I am leaning toward the Weebly DYI unit.

I'd love to see close ups. I am always interested in options.

I would go weebly for rec board. Excellent design.

Thanks. I ordered two. Within 15 minutes I was sent a tracking number. That’s fast action.

Ditto. @barakandl's rectifier board has thick traces and multiple eyelet through holes between back and front board traces.

FYI, pictures of the "AMP/TE Connectivity" 0.156" (3.96mm) crimp terminals. They come in 3 different spring strengths depending on the application.
I haven't tried them yet and don't know how they compare performance wise over Molex Trifurcons.

IMG_0001a.jpg
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AMP is *always* better than Molex.

I'll probably be switching over from Molex to AMP now that Molex has moved their operations to India.
Trying to look for those contacts in loose form but AMP's website has had issues all night. Will try again Sat.

Do you have to replace the plug housing also to use AMP connectors? Or will the fit into the Molex housing?

I have bought terminals on belts before. They are easy enough to strip down; I would have no prob if you were selling the belted ones.

The AMP terminals above are easy to cut off the strip. Molex on a strip are another matter.. A fraction too wide and they won't fit in the housing.

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You have to replace the housing, but they're cheap.
Molex housings have internal guides that slot their crimp terminals into position. Those guides block the particular AMP/TE dual wipe terminals pictured above in post #116 from fitting.

The reason I originally purchased these AMP/TE connectors to try was they were cheaper than Molex and I liked the fact they had a flat side that sat along the pin header to provide more surface contact. The AMP/TE website is working now and details on their terminal I listed in post #116 indicate they're rated to 10 amps max.

There will never be a time when the balls are ever in the position they are now in that video. Take them out and put them in the trough by the outhole. Check all your fuses and turn the game on. See what happens.

What is showing on the displays after the game boots up?

How long are you giving it to boot up? Are all the switches for the three balls working? Are the wires intact and the pins for those ok in the connector shell at the MPU board.

Not just reseat but shine a light in the connector shell for the switch matrix to look fir broken or sprung contacts. Had that problem on mine. Fixed the broken contact then it worked fine. Until another broke. Then I repinned all the pins in that connector and the issues went away. The contacts on some games are brittle and break easily.

Should be the upper right on the MPU board.

For the flickering displays you probably have cracked solder connections at the .156" header pins. a few of mine were like that too. I just fixed a couple more 7 digit displays this morning with the same problem. I prefer to use a desoldering tool to remove much of the old solder first then resolder those pins.

Also check the pins for the display glass too. I've had to resolder some of those as well.

As long as the glass display panel itself is ok those aren't too bad to repair.

I'm sorry that I haven't chimed in sooner. I was away for 2 days at a pinball show. I see you are making great progress. It seems to me that this game has sat for many years and that some switches need to be cleaned and/or adjusted. It also appears that the rubbers are shot as well. First start with the upper pop bumper leaf switch under the playfield (PF for short). With game off, use a Q tip and rubbing alcohol. Soak a Q tip in the alcohol and run it between the contacts using slight pressure. NEVER use abrasive cleaners, sand paper or files. This will destroy the gold flashing on the contacts. The gap between the contacts should be approx. 1/16 of an inch (2 MM). With game off, you can slightly bend the leaf blades with a long needle nose type pliers if you don't have an adjusting tool, if it needs adjusting. Also on the pop bumper switch assy there is a plastic (spoon) that the tip of the actuator sits into. The tip of the actuator should be centered in the spoon. Sometimes the tip of the actuator ( or skirt) can be worn down and will not close the switch enough to make contact. Fire up the game and test the pop bumper. Let the ball roll thru the A or S lane and see if the weight of the ball fires the pop bumper. If it doesn't, try adjusting the switch a little closer. You don't want them too close, otherwise vibration from the lower pop bumper will cause the upper switch to close unintentionally. If the upper pop is still firing inconsistently, then you may need need to disassemble the pop bumper and clean or replace the skirt and/or the spring undernieth the skirt. The spring might be rusty or dirty. Then do the same for the ball walker switches. I bet this will get the ball walker to start working again. If you hear a humming sound coming from the ball walker, it may be stuck from sitting. Believe it or not, that thing can be disassembled and lubed if needed. The white plastic bushing can also be replaced. You can take it apart by removing the E clips. Lube with white lithium grease and use sparingly. Also check and make sure the ball walker coil is good, not burnt looking or swelled. Make sure the plunger moves freely.

Replace the dry-rotted rubbers, this will help with closing the sling shot switches. You will most likely end up having to clean all the switched in you game. It will help immensely!

Also note that all 3 balls must be in the trough for F2K to go into attract mode. Attract mode is when the insert lamps light in a specific sequence to attract potential players looking at the game. Also when in attract mode, the score display will change from current score to the highest score to date, repeating approx. every 5 seconds. If any balls are trapped in the ball walker maze, F2K will automatically eject those balls and let them drain into the ball trough. When all 3 balls are in the trough, it should start attract mode. If it doesn't, then you need to inspect the trip wires in the trough area where the balls line up under the apron. There are 2 trip wires there that will close the micro switches under the pf, telling the MPU that all 3 balls are ready and accounted for. These trip wires are small and flimsy and can easily be thrown out of adjustment. There are 2 different versions of the F2K ball trough because of issues from the earlier version. Please post a pic or 2 of your trough area and eject mechanism. I'm curious to see which one your game has. Hopefully it's the later improved version.

Do you know that there is a volume adjustment knob by the speaker in the cabinet? Try turning it a few times and see if your sound starts to work.

Flickering score displays can be fixed by re-flowing the solder on the header pins. Look for and pins that look like the solder make be loose around the pins. Turn display upside down, heat the solder just enough to melt it and quickly release the heat. this will help the solder re-bond to the pins.

Good luck bro!

Sorry for the typos in that last paragraph. Should say "Look and any pins that look like the solder may be loose around the pins"

What you call coil shaft is a plunger. The coil sleeve the plunger slides in is self-lubricating. You should not be using lubricants under your play field.

Check the plunger and make sure it has not mushroomed on the tip.

Mushroomed plungers should be replaced but you can file it down a little if you must for a short term fix.

Also use some 220 grit sandpaper on the plunger to make it nice and smooth.

Agreed, no lubricants should be used on any mechanisms under the PF. Except for the ball walker as I suggested previously.

When I said flip over display, I meant to turn it over to see if there are any cold solder joints on the main header pins. This is usually why the displays will flicker. Using a magnifying glass, closely look at the solder points around the pins. You will probably see that the solder looks like it pulled away from the pin. it could just be only 1 pin or more. If you find any that look suspicious, heat the solder up just enough to liquify the solder so it grabs the pin. Add a dab of solder while doing this won't hurt either. While you're at it, just reheat all the pins on the display to make it reliable.

Sound: Is there any static or noise at all coming from the speaker? Is the connector in the cabinet to the volume adjuster connected? Finally, inspect the ribbon cables by looking closely where the ends of the ribbon connect to the plastic housing. I had one on my first game that only 1 of the wire in the ribbon broke away from the connector housing. It was hard to notice until I looked for it. The ribbon cables are the weakest point of the sound in these games. The connectors are different from the rest of the game. They are IDC connectors which stands for "insulation displacement connector". The ribbons are pressed into the housing by force and the connector housing as tiny pinch points that make the connection. At this age, they are very easily broken away. One verified that the cables are good, check the test point voltages on the SB-300 per pinwiki. The lower connector at the bottom of the sound board could also be weak.

When you say ball kicker, are you referring to the outhole kicker that ejects the ball to the shooter lane? If it's ejecting 2 balls there, then the switches are not adjusted properly. CAn you post a pic of the trough area, I'd like to know if you have the early or later version. Also by pulling the apon off, you can observe the action of the balls while playing a game and look for odd behavior.

I don't envy you as far as having to dig a new drive lol. That has be difficult!.

If any of the ribbon cables are broke, then I figure you won't get any sounds. The SB-300 could also have a bad amplifier transistor as well. Cheap and easy to replace. Also new ribbon cables are available and so is the SB-300.

https://nvram.weebly.com/new-pcbs.html

It looks like you have the earlier trough set up. I haven't seen one in person so I can't help you much for that. My best advice is to remove the apron and observe the balls as you play a game or 2. Make sure the switches close when the balls rest in the trough to ensure that is doesn't eject 2 balls.

As far as inconsistent booting, it could be the ribbon cables but could also be more involved with voltage issues. You need constant 12 and 5 volts to the MPU. Does the game ever reboot (reset) during a game?

My daugter posted this vid when she was 11 years old.

Man that's a ton of work, kudos to you for taking it on.

The speech board may be good. You will know once the SB-300 is 100%. Have you tried to run the self test feature? It's one of the white buttons in the coin door. I can't remember which though, one is for memory clear and the other is self test. Usually the sticker for those buttons has been lost. Press once and the game will cycle though lamps, coils, displays and sound/speech.

You can set the game any way you want for credits and free games etc. I keep mine set to award extra balls instead of free games. Everybody has different preferences for that. The game will hold a max of 40 credits at a time. You can also change from a 3 ball game to 5 balls via the dip switches on the MPU. Do you have a manual?

The speech board part number is VSU-100. It uses a chip that may have gone bad. The chip is obsolete. I bought one as a spare from a reseller for my Catacomb.

He had 14 is so in stock before we started buying him out. I don’t know if he has any left or not.

I’ll check my records for info when I get home.