i need some help figuring out a controlled lamp issue .
i am working on a night moves pinball which uses gottlieb 80b parts.
the controlled lamps don't come on during gameplay but they do come on during the lamp test mode.
i was think that during gameplay more power is needed for everything else so the bulbs don't end up getting enough power to come on .
i have checked the controlled lamp fuse but no issues there.
is this a power issue or some logic issue?
let me know what i should check first .

i did test mode again ,
but i noticed the bulbs are not as bright as they should be for a 2 smd led .
but also test mode tests one bulb at a time so there must not be enough power for all the bulbs to be on at the same time.
the gi lamps and solinoid controlled lamps use the same led's but are much brighter.
so i will test out the voltage and see if its low.

i have already tried reinserting in all the connectors but no luck yet.
the only other thing i noticed that might be wrong is that when i boot up the game it seems to reset and turn itself back on
the gi lights turn on during boot but then turn off then come back on .
i can see one of the controlled lamps try to turn on before this happens .
i will look some more into this tomorrow.

maybe its the filter capacitor causing a reset or something else causing a reset?
when i turn it on , the gi lights turn on and the controlled lamp L5 turns on for a moment but then it sounds the pinball resets and turns off for a moment then turns back on but only the gi lights come on but not the controlled lamps but everything else works and plays like it should.
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do you think it could be that some of the led bulbs are defective or not socketed properly ?
i have reseated a few of the bulbs and the rest of the bulbs are brighter during test mode and some do kinda flicker on during gameplay now.

i noticed that all the controlled lamp bulbs that were put in are NG "non ghosting" which have i have replaced some of them with the 2x smd non ghosting bulbs and the bulbs i have replaced so far are starting to work during gameplay , so i don't if the non ghosting bulbs were not the right ones for this pinballs power configuration or some were defective.

i have replaced more of the bulbs with the 2x smd led bulbs that don't have non ghosting and while they do work they still don't seem as bright as they should be . all of the bulbs work during test mode and are brighter but test mode only tests one bulb at a time. they work during gameplay but its seems like the more bulbs that are on , the dimmer they get.
the brightness of the gi and flashers is not affected.
i have already checked the connectors and pins on the power supply and the auxiliary power supply and they seem fine. maybe the auxiliary power capacitors could be weak or filter capacitor is weak .

someone let me know what i should check next , i am still not sure what to do.

i have replaced all the bulbs , cleaned the bulb sockets and used dielectric grease and while they do come on during gameplay , they still not nearly as bright as they should be . the gi lamps are not affected. it seems like the bulbs in the lower left side are brighter then the bulbs in the upper right , the upper right bulb barley are visible when they come on. i still don't know what the deal is.
in test mode when one bulb is turned on , it gets as bright as it should.

yes i can use a voltmeter and see what the voltage is , i think the red goes on the on the lead of the socket and the black on ground.
shorted led bulb ?, do you mean the led bulb itself or something else causing it to short ? could one of the gi bulbs have shorted cause this problem?

i guess its possible a bulb has shorted but i have already replaced all the bulbs on the pinball , gi and controlled , expect for the flashers.

i think maybe i am getting somewhere now.
i reseated the fuses and reinserted a12j1 plug and also checked the wires to the bridge rectifiers , and now the controlled lamps are brighter.
i still think they should be brighter so i will look more into those connections.
the yellow/red wire felt a bit loose on the top bridge rectifier and there is a couple of resistors attached to one of ends of the bridge rectifier , not sure if it has anything to do with my problem.
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not yet but i will also test the other areas like the a12j1 , fuses and bridge rectifier when i do.

good news . After reinserting the a12j1 connector and cleaning it . the controlled bulbs are almost as bright as they should be but still can still get dimmer when all the bulbs are on.
the bulbs do change in brightness when i move that cable around so i will repin that cable .

okay , seems like i don't have a tool to remove the pins ,
it looks like a atx power connector , would this tool work for removing the pins?

ebay.com link: itm
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YES! i have figured it out . %100 for sure.
it was that bottom bridge rectifier.
when i move the wires that go to it around in the right spot , the bulbs return to their correct and full brightness .
i thought maybe it was the top bridge rectifier . since the other ones seems to look on there good .
but i will figure which wire it is and get it fixed.

i guess the wires are soldered directly to the bridge rectifier.?

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i found out what wire it was . it was the upper right wire . the bulbs are working at full brightness now after repositioning the wire but
i will resolder it to make sure it i don't have any more problems from it.

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i got it fixed. i used a fast-on spade connector to go on that wire to the bridge rectifier.
it looks like the solder attaching the wire had broke off the connector so the only thing that was keeping the wire in there was the shrink wrap.
but the lights are working %100 now.
maybe the score display could be a bit brighter but that's likely due to the displays being 30 years old .
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okay , i will solder it if the spade becomes loose and loses its conection.