check the connectors on the boards in the backbox. Are any discolored/crispy?

GI fuse blown.

I bet it's a burnt GI connector in the backbox too. I've replaced them on mine before. Not uncommon for this machine.

GI connector as folks have said...same prob on mine.

open the backbox and look at the plastic connectors all along the edges of the boards with wires connected to them. they are sometimes overheated and burnt looking. This causes a crummy connection.

well, G.I. stands for general illumination ( bulbs on playfield that are always on). One plug is for those. A manual will tell you which plug it is, but this is commonly the one that looks crispy.

in NJ by chance? I would be happy to help.

learning is half the fun!

GI fuse looks to be a 5A (6F2)slow blow and should be in upper right corner of backbox.
On power supply board check 3J8 and Gen Illumination IN

ps.jpg

Thanks welcome aboard!

1) To be 100% sure you must take the fuses out of the backbox and test them.
2) sometimes the header pins are cracked, pay attention to that when you remove the GI wire housing.
3) take a look at the connection inside the housing sometimes the problem is not what you see on the top but inside the housing itself.

Those female connectors don't look great in the zoomed in pic. Far top left has melted, broken insulating cover. Next one to the right of that looks to have a nick or melting insulation. Almost all look crispy. They have been exposed to heavy current over the years and all should be replaced, and probably the holder as well - it looks dark. It doesn't have to be specifically a problem with the fuse. Oxidized fuse clips, aged crimps, any introduction of a small amount of resistance generates heat in these heavy current GI circuits that further degrades the connections. I'd replace all of that for certain. I recommend substituting part, if not all, of your GI bulbs for LEDs - helps lower the current, and the stress on these circuits in the long run.

Continuity is not good enough, because you'll get a positive continuity reading or low ohms regardless of the current carrying capacity of the wire or fuse. Just because there is a connection does not mean that the current capacity is there. The reason to pull the fuse is to make sure that the metal conducting housing hasn't broken or separated from the glass (very common). You should also measure from points beyond the fuse to make sure you don't have any resistance caused by cracked solder, poor connections, oxidation or some other problem with the fuse holder and it's crimps.

You can't really trust someone else's handiwork, and sometimes you can't trust the original assembly either. Stuff that looks burned or otherwise questionable is something that you really need to make sure is done correctly. Connectors are generally the weakest link in the chain that cause most of the problems.

Physically remove the fuse, check the rating to make sure it is correct, measure continuity and plug it back in. That's what your test is for the fuses themselves, and that is all you can do. Then look for problems elsewhere: Fuse holder. Connectors. Wires. etc...

Check for GI voltage coming in to fuse block and out of the fuse block. Should be identical. Then we move on down the pipe.

Assuming your GI connection is good out of the power supply, and the fuses are good...Check the relay board on the playfiled. Near the back right corner of the playfled, there is a relay board that controls the GI. If it has issues, it can cause dimmimg or even the GI to switch off (Again, i would rule out power and fuses first), but something to look at...

I think my past post, details the location....
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cyclone-gi-dimming-normal

Yes, I just checked the coil chart. Item #10 in the coil tests is the PF GI relay, Item #11 is the backbox GI relay. If you hear the relay clicking during the test, chances are that if the GI voltage is getting to the under pf relay board, that you may have cracked solder/burned connectors on the relay board(s)

I think the GI comes directly off the transformer secondary, and is roughly 6 volts AC. I used to have a Cyclone, it's been a while since I've been under the hood.

Now were cooking...

I would check the power as it comes into the relay board. No power and the problem is somewhere else.

On this relay board, do you have a burdnt connector or is the PIN on the board burned/damaged?

The good news if this board is damaged, the replacement is available and cheap, otherwise replace the connector.

I'm at work now, and i cant remember the power . I'm guessing it might be AC and about 7-12V. But don't quote me on it.

Just a different way to check fuses is with meter set to voltage and machine powered on.

if a fuse is good and your fuse holders are nice and tight you will have no voltage drop so almost no reading. if fuse holder is loose but fuse is good you will read the voltage drop of the crummy connection.
if fuse is blown you will measure the full circuit voltage. and if unsure of voltage you have to try AC volts then DC volts. but it is sometimes a nice way to test as the machine is on and the lamps (are usually) on. so kind of easy to see.

If you have never tested fuses this way give it a try pull a couple fuses out and try it (pretend blown fuse) you'll like it.

Well great you found the issue. Your header pin may be fine but the connector pin is likely shot no spring tension very high resistance connection. so you get heat build up and large voltage drop across that joint. causing the charring. you will likely need to replace the connector pins to that board.

with a burned connector like that it is possible for the male pin to look fine but have a bad solder joint. trace the board to see what that pin connects too and see if you have continuity from that back to the pin..

You are going to have to replace the burned housing. Since you are going to need to pull out all the wires, it's the best time to recrimp them all. The male pins on the board should also be replaced. It's really the best thing to do, get it all now and likely never have to deal with it ever again in your lifetime.

the pin on the header is most likely has micro fractures in it due to heat. And two the housing will have to be replaced. I know for a fact bevcause I have to do the same thing on my WCS94. It will be a first for me too.

yes agree with wayout all the way!

Ed at great plains electronics will have all you need. crimp tool is the only expensive, thing you will need but is a one time purchase. i don't really have a great one step crimp tool that does the wire to connector and wire to insulation in one step which is real nice to get. purchase a few extra to practice on and maybe a dozen or so more to have on hand. header pins will need to be reworked, wick or suck off old solder, reflow with extra flux and new solder.

Don't under estimate yourself. If your intention is to buy a new board then you might has well try to do it yourself and if you mess up..then buy a new board and keep the old one to practice. If you look at a few videos on youtube you will see that it's not trivial all you need is the right amount of heat and the right amount of solder.

Practice makes perfect.

this is less than $5 in parts (if you have the right tools already). A pinsider above offered to help you with this. It might be time to take him up on it.

Seriously, this board doesn't need to be replaced. You could even send it to a board repair place (I use KsArcade.com) although this repair would be stupid expensive including shipping for what it is. Maybe you can find someone locally on craigslist who does pinball repair.

That doesn't matter so much for this type of bulky work, usually connectors require more heat than something like components, ICs etc... I've been in electronics forever, learned a lot from my pops who was a television station engineer all his life. Most of the soldering work back then was done with non-variable irons. It's what was around and affordable at the time for field service. The "right amount of heat" doesn't mean that you have to have a thermostat controlled variable iron, it means you have to know what your tool is capable of, understand the properties of solder, and learn what you should and should not do to effectively desolder and create a proper solder joint.

You are more likely to run into the problem of having to wait for a very long time to get a connector hot enough for the solder to become liquid if the wattage of your pencil type iron is too low. A higher wattage iron will make for quicker work and less cold solder joints. You can desolder with either a bulb, spring loaded, or wick or a combination until you get comfortable with the techniques. Practice on scrap boards and watch instructional videos. Eventually, you can move into working on the more delicate work as you build your skills and graduate to finesse equipment.

sweet

That's good to know. Those connectors can be buggy