Kutztown, PA
Just purchased a 1980 Gottlieb Counterforce pinball machine that has upgraded boards and is functional, however there are about 6 controlled lamps (green multipliers) that are not working properly —-> very dim when they are powered up. I thought I would reach out to the experts & veterans on these forums as I am a newbie. They were tested with a DMM, and they are getting power, but not enough to light them fully. The irony is The original MPU was replaced with a Swermmer board, and the original driver board was replaced with a Ni-Wumph board. In addition, the Swermmer board is connected to the Ni-Wumph driver board with a ribbon cable (instead of the original Gottlieb multi-wire connector — so there should be no issue with a worn / corroded / damaged pin causing problems with the signal going to the driver board.
I inspected the A3 - J3 plug connector and did notice (1) lamp pin connector (one of the problem lamps) was replaced with standard Molex edge connector pin (System 1) and not the Molex 08-03-0304 bifurcated edge connector pin. Could this incorrect pin cause problems or issues? Is this be some sort of ground issue? Defective lamp sockets? I have the Counterforce manual with schematics, and they show the controlled lamp signal coming from the driver board to the map but then ties into a common connection — but it does not look like a ground (on schematic). However, in reality the wire comes into light socket the goes to stapled ground wire, which is tied into all the other multiplier controlled lamps. For example, lamps L41, L43, and L45 have the problem, but L42, L44, and L46 cycle and are operational. Therefore, I do not think it is a ground issue because all lamps would have issues. Could this be defective pins on the edge connector for these lamps? Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.
