I finally have some time to get serious about cleaning up The Shadow that I bought a couple of months ago.

First question is about playfield inserts. Looks like a previous owner tried to put down some clear liquid (superglue?) on the scene designators then cover it with squares of mylar. There is also a chipped insert below upper right ramp. Can any of these be replaced fairly easily or do I need to consider a new playfield? (The rest of the playfield is in pretty good shape, IMO)

Also, just a couple of weeks ago the bottom half of the general illumination on my translite went out. A study of manual led me towards J120 and it looks like all 4 wires have burnt spots on the 11 pin connector. Should my first attempt be to just replace the connector? Never done that before so wondering if it is easy to do. Also curious about what might have caused this recent issue.

As always, I really appreciate all of you helping me to learn this hobby. I love working on these but as you can tell, it is still a work in progress. THANKS!

sorry, I will have pics in a few minutes

You can see the mylar squares. Some of the "bubbles" under it are indeed bubbles. However, there is also some bumps from the hard, clear "superglue" stuff. Looks terrible! Actually doesn't seem to affect game play too often but even the few occassions are too many.

scenes.jpg insert.jpg

Yes, I have a meter. I checked all fuses before I noticed the J120 connector.

Connector Pic. Let me know if any other pics of playfield, etc. may help.

J120_Connector.jpg

Per picture, there are 4 wires on this connector. The 2 left pins on the board test at 7.4v while the two on the right test at .4v. When I check the same spots on back of connector when plugged in they are slightly and relatively lower. Like 6 something on left and .1 or so on right.

Lights will come on and off as I move the connector. For example they may all come on if I slide it back just a little bit but then may blink or look dimmer than normal.
I can tell that the connector is getting hot. At least two of the four spots seems to be more burnt after messing with it and warm to the touch. I have the connector completely unplugged now.

Does any of this narrow it down to either the board, the connector, or the wiring?

Ok. I will plan to replace the connector with trifurcon and also the header pins.
Just curious, we're the voltages what you expected? (I had neg/black probe to ground strip)
Thanks!

Also still interested in anyone's thought about the playfield. Always nice to order everything I need at once to save on shipping.

It is likely the same machine but I actually got it in Springfield. The seller was a good guy and disclosed everything and I just couldn't pass on a title that I wanted that was also so close to home.

Wife and I have love it and it plays well enough for us. I am actually just more interested in learning how to fix this sort of thing to better "learn the craft". Not sure we want it out of commission that long though.

Does anyone know how to find a decent Shadow replacement playfield? I have done a few informal searches with no luck. Replacing it would also be a great experience and I could then take my time restoring this one.