Perfect, that makes sense, thanks Vid.

Thanks guys, up and running.

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My Bride of Pinbot and my Taxi machine both shock me a little sometimes while touching the outside metal. They both have grounding pins on the plugs though. I always figured something inside must not be grounded correctly, I have checked for loose wires or anything touching metal that shouldn't be and come up empty. It never occurred to me to check the actual power plug. I wonder if that could be it.

If you have a voltmeter set it to AC and measure the rails from one machine to the next. Should be 0 or very close to it. If you get around 60 volts then you may have an open ground. If you get 120V then you may have a hot/neutral swapped on the power cord of one machine, Not safe. Start with the voltmeter and go from there.

So turn the machines on, put the multimeter in AC, volts and put the red on one machines rail and the black on the other machines rail?

I will try that and see.

Not so fast.

The game ran for a minute and then died. Apologies for the noob questions, but what’s the best method to pinpoint the issue at the filter? I ordered new 130V MOVs just in case, but with my multimeter, how can I test voltage?

Best source for a replacement filter if that’s the issue? I didn’t see the same type at Marco, but I’m working with a 40-year old filter.

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Yes. When I had a machine with a bad ground plug I would see around 60V on one. That was fixed when I fixed the ground on the cord. If someone replaced an end or a cord and mixed up the neutral and hot leads then that would explain it too.

Yes sir. 122V

However, my wall plug GFCI keeps tripping. Normal voltage for a minute, then nothing as the breaker trips. Nothing from the game at all. I tried a different plug with no luck.

Bad MOV? There’s some hacked shit running from the filter to the alternate power plug. Just seems weird it was running for one minute and then totally died.

In fairness, this was in conjunction with a playfield swap, so it could be a number of other things.

image (resized).jpgimage (resized).jpg

I am getting 64v. It's the Taxi machine. 0v between the BOP and the STTNG, but 64v between Taxi and either of the others.

Makes sense, the Taxi is the one that has straight up shocked me before.

edit:
Probably a bad plug. Upon closer inspection, the grounding pin wiggles when pushed. It's probably not connected properly. I'll buy a new plug end next time I hit the hardware store.

Sounds like an open ground. Same thing happened on one of my machines.

Wall outlet tests good.

Just reposting an earlier question I had here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/replacing-line-cords-plugs-wall-sockets-vids-guide/page/5#post-6199067

Seems my Road Show has no varistor/MOV? Is that normal for a WPC-S?

Thanks Vid. If my line filter is shorted or bad, would a generic 115V replacement line filter suffice?

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Just replaced the plug. Looks like that was the issue.

The old plug was pretty grungy. None of the 3 wires were really attached properly, I am kinda surprised the machine worked at all.

Great thread!

Yeap.

What about Data East games? I’m specifically working on WWF and looking to replace the whole cord. I figured I’d wing it but everything about this thread says do not.

Regarding rewiring EM games, could someone please be so kind as to explain to me the purpose and logic of attaching the earth/ground wire to the frame of the transformer?

Following an incident a few years ago (see below) I no longer include the transformer frame when introducing grounding to a game. Instead I create a central hub on the bottom board to which I attach the ground wire, and from which I radiate earthing braid to all exposed metal parts.

But I know that when grounding started to be introduced on EM games the ground wire was always attached to the transformer frame (only) so it leaves me wondering if I am missing something

Any comments will be much appreciated, as I have been pondering this for some time and only just come across this thread

Thanks, David

The incident I referred to relates to a 1964 Williams Heat Wave which has been in my possession since 1980 and was my second ever game.
It had been played constantly over the years at home with no problems, but when I was due to take it to a public show in 2015 it needed to be able to pass a UK "Portable Appliance Test" and so needed grounding.
Following all the advice, I replaced the mains cable with a three core cable, and ran the ground to the foot of the transformer, and from there to all exposed metal parts.
When the game arrived at the show, my son went to play test it, and reported getting powerful electric shocks from the flipper buttons (which being metal, had been grounded)
It turned out that my crimped connection on the mains ground wire to the transformer foot had not been done well (moral - always tug on new crimping!), and had come apart in transport, hence severing the main ground.
As a result, mains voltage leaking from the old transformer (240v in the UK) was being distributed via my grounding connections to every exposed metal part on the game - the exact opposite of what was intended.
Whilst the problem arose from my faulty original connection, it made me aware of the potential danger of grounding games in this way, and since I could see no obvious danger to the player from the transformer itself I decided in future to leave it out of the grounding loop since as seen it is a potential source of shock in itself.

Definitely, something is not adding up.

Thanks for the comment vid1900 but that doesn't really answer why to include the transformer in the grounding, and why manufacturers started running a ground wire just to the transformer

I was intrigued by your suggestion that there was an undescribed fault in my game so I did a little experiment. I took 4 "factory state" ungrounded games and measured for each the voltage from one of the mounting lugs of the transformer to a grounded point on a grounded game. As I am not an electrician please be gentle with me if that was not an appropriate method of testing.

The results I got were as follows:
Gtb Hearts & Spades 83v
Wms Trade Winds 117v
Gtb Sing Along 140v
Gtb Cow Poke 165v

I find it hard to believe all these games are also faulty, although I could understand if it is the case that transformers get more "leaky" over time

Clearly any of these voltages if transmitted to the flipper buttons would be enough to give a nasty shock

I began to wonder if the purpose of manufacturers running a ground wire to the transformer only was to carry away safely this leaking voltage - if so it would seem totally inappropriate to then link the transformer frame into ground wire radiated to all the metal touch points

I may be talking total BS here - I'm just trying to gain an understanding, that's all - so all comments are welcome

It would lead me to believe there is a fault/short in the transformer itself (primary or secondary windings) allowing electricity to flow to the core of the transformer.

The core should be insulated from any electricity.

Did you ever try a separate transformer in the Heat Wave?

Was your meter set on AC or DC? Have you compared readings with another meter to rule out equipment failure?

The ground wire/braid should touch anything that may have unwanted current present. Its purpose is to safely dissipate that current by providing a better path to ground than someone touching that thing would provide, thereby preventing the person from getting a shock.

It seems odd that a common failure of transformers is start providing current to the mounting lug. I think breakers would trip often with old games if that were the case.

Pin-Pilot No, I haven't tried a separate transformer in Heat Wave - but my other results would suggest Heat Wave isn't an isolated example

YeOldPinPlayer It was set on AC. I'll find another meter and try that, but the one I was using is my regular use one

What would be helpful would be if someone with an early or mid 60's game could replicate my situation
If with an ungrounded game, measure from a transformer mounting lug to a ground point somewhere.
If with an already grounded game, then remove the main incoming ground link to the transformer and then see what voltage is measured between a transformer mounting lug (or any grounded point) and the loose main ground

Obviously our base voltage here is much higher (240v compared to your 110v) but it is really the principle that is of interest - as I understand it from the previous comments in this thread you should find 0v AC when measuring as above

I don't know if this is also a potential cause:
https://americas.hammondpowersolutions.com/en/resources/faq/general/can-you-operate-a-60hz-transformer-at-50-hz
Some earlier games I think used the same transformer for both 50hz and 60hz countries, whereas I think later export games were fitted with a different transformer specifically designed to operate at 50hz (our frequency in UK) (and with a 230v tap)

Any chance someone knows the part number or a source to replace the missing grommet from this Gottlieb System 80B? I’m redoing this machine, and don’t want to plug it in again with sharp bare sheet metal against the cord and no strain relief.

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I would check with pbresource.com to see if they have them. It is an odd size. If you can't find one then at least put some grommet edging on the metal opening:

https://www.amazon.com/Tueascallk-Flexible-Protector-Plastic-Thickness/dp/B07K8F951B

https://www.amazon.com/grommet-edging/s

The hard plastic slotted version works well and I've used it for similar reasons.

Good call. I’m reasonably sure I have an assortment of wire clamps in my tool box already.

I just happened upon the answer to my own question while crawling on PB Resource. It wasn't where I would have looked for it.

http://www.pbresource.com/tools.html

Gottlieb® Electrical Line Cord Cover

This is a NOS Gottlieb® Line Cord Cover. This was used when the line cord went directly out of the back of the bottom cabinet. This was designed for a round electrical cord. It will work with our 14' flat cord listed above but it's a very snug fit and may take some tweaking to snake the wire through.

GTB-A14180

$3.60ea

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I am having a problem with my Whirlwind. Every time i turn it on, the fuse trips, I'm in norway, so its 220V and the fuse is 16amp.
Looking at the powerbox the MOV is installed. could the MOV be bad? Edit: should the powerbox be grounded to the ground braid? Could that be something? Edit 2 Doh! Its connected to the braid when i mount it again....
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Should be 4amp, not 16.
See page 96 in your manual.

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Sorry, bad wording, i meant the fuse that the game is connected to in the house is 16Amp.

Looking for some help/guidance with wiring up a line filter with a new AC cord. I'm re-assembling a Stern Meteor after restoration. It was a working pin before tear down, and the first power test is failing miserably.

I have no connectors plugged into any PCBs, not even the power supply rectifier. The problem is the circuit breaker for the power outlet is tripping.

Here's Vid's photo of the Bally line filter example. Left to right on top is Neutral (Ribbed), Ground (Green), and Hot (Black). Out the bottom left to right is Blue (Neutral) to White and Brown (Hot) to Black.

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Here's my Meteor photo before tear down (this was a working game). Left to right on top is Neutral, Ground, and Hot. I presume the Neutral wire is on the left because of the writing/markings on that wire (both wires are flat, black, and devoid of obvious ribbing). Out the bottom left to right is Blue (Neutral) to Black and Brown (Hot) to White. The concerning thing here is that it's the exact opposite of Vid's Bally example as White is usually Neutral and Black is usually Hot, but again this was a working machine so when I re-assembled everything, I used this Blue to Black and Brown to White configuration.

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Here's my Meteor photo after re-assembly with a new AC cord on the original line filter. Left to right on top is Neutral (White), Ground (Green), and Hot (Black). Out the bottom left to right is Blue to Black and Brown to White, just like it was with the old/previous AC cord when the machine was working. That Blue to Black and Brown to White sure doesn't seem right, but again that's the way this line filter was wired originally and it was a working machine.

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As soon as I plug the pin into a surge protector (even with the surge protector turned off), the breaker for the outlet trips.

Is this a symptom of a fried line conditioner / MOV (all PCBs, including the rectifier board, have nothing plugged in)? Recommendations on a replacement for an early Stern SS?

Is this a wiring problem, even tho the original working config out of the filter before tear-down was Blue to Black and Brown to White? Should I try swapping them (what's the worst that could happen)?

What MOV part did you use? Good practice is to install parts so part numbers are instantly visible, not on the back.
Did you do anything with the wiring on the games power switch?

While this will work, for proper protection the important thing is that hot from your power plug first reaches the fuse on the rectifier board before the transformer. i.e. the games main line fuse must be on the hot wire, not neutral.

It’s also good to use a meter set to AC to measure between lockdown bars on all your games. Shouldn’t see any voltage. If you do it could be a broken ground or a miswired game.

How did it work before / could it work before? This is what has me so confused.....before tear down, this pin was flipping fine with this wiring on the line filter:

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It's not the same cord. It had a flat cord and now you used a round one. Did you verify the way they are wired from the pins on the plugs to the actual colors? I've seen some cords where the colors weren't right so I don't trust the colors of the wires.

FYI pbresource.com does sell the flat cords. My Meteor came with a yellow extension cord spliced in and it was horrible. I installed a fresh new flat power cord and it looks great. As a final test I plug in one of the outlet testers (that I try in the wall first) to verify that the service outlet shows the proper polarity and that it is properly grounded.

I forgot to post resolution to this. My problem was with a new coil that came with a diode installed backwards. It was not the filter.

I am doing a cab swap now and will install a new filter. I’ll post pics when that’s done.

You also want to add some strain relief to your set up. You'll notice your original set up had a knot in it. One good tug and you'll rip your connections out of the line filter.

Yes, I did. Metered out the white/neutral wire to the larger flat prong on the plug, black/hot wire to the smaller flat prong on the plug, and green wire to the round ground on the plug. I trust the wire colors on the new AC cable.

Unfortunately, I no longer have the older original nasty/spliced AC cable to meter out to confirm how that was wired.

Don't trust how it was wired before. You need to make sure the wiring from the hot prong on your power plug arrives at the hot terminal of the rectifier board (pin 6 of J2).

The Meteor schematic says:

The power cord hot wire connects to the EMI filter and comes out to the games black wire. This black wire goes to the power switch that connects it to the yellow wire which then goes to the rectifier board at J2 pin 6. This pin goes to the mains fuse on the rectifier board.

The power cord neutral wire connects to the EMI filter and comes out to the games white wire. This white wire goes to the power switch that connects it to the blue-white wire which then goes to the rectifier board at J2 pin 7.

The game will work if hot and neutral are crossed over. However under certain short circuit conditions (eg. when hot shorts to ground), the mains fuse in the game will not blow which could result in it catching fire.

Or if there's a grounding problem with the game, hot shorted to internal ground exposes hot to the outside world via anything metal (lockdown bar, side rails, coin door, etc) where you could get a nasty shock.

For your safety you don't want to leave it wired crossed over even though it works.

I have confirmed continuity with my meter that the hot prong on the end of the power cord tones with J2 connector Pin 6 (yellow) and the neutral prong on the end of the power cord tones with J2 connector Pin 7 (blue-white).

I have made progress, tho. I removed the tilt board service outlet from the wire harness and the machine now turns on and stays on without tripping the breaker. I'll have to have a closer look at that service outlet subassembly later, but for now it remains out of the machine. Based on the hot/neutral continuity check going to the right places and removal of the service outlet subassembly, I think I'm beyond my initial major electrical issue.

The pin now boots up to attract mode but there are issues I need to dive into. Attract mode LEDs are flashing but there is no GI on the playfield (GI on the backbox ok). Coin lamps are lit but pin won't coin up or start a game. No solenoids fire (playfield fuse tested ok with mm). Self Test starts ok. All voltage test points check out ok on the SDB and the MPU.

When I get some time this afternoon, I'll pop in my spare Alltek MPU and see if it makes any difference.