Still seems like a hypothetical problem to me. I know the early machines had high failure rates, but Stern stepped up and provided replacements well beyond the warranties. I had a v2 board go out and it was easy peasy to get a replacement.

I haven't heard many issues with the late version boards, and only vague rumors of a couple people actually paying for replacements.

They will go bad eventually, but I believe aftermarket repair capabilities will catch up by the time it is a widespread problem. How was the reaction in the 70's when the first boards came out, were techs immediately capable of repairs?

At the end of the day, a replacement board is about 5% of the cost of a new machine, so it's not great, but it's not a life changer. I've had 5 spikes and had $0 out of pocket for boards.

I'd love it if stern charged a more reasonable markup, but based on the pinball market these days, that is really unlikely.

Looks like I poked a bear this morning!

My vague comment was poorly worded. I know people have paid for boards, but of all the node threads I've seen on pinside, I think there are fewer than 5 people who have admitted to being out of pocket. So vague meant the size of the issue, not its existence.

Compare this to playfield issues, where many more times the number of people have been affected.

Hell, I think the coil stop quality issue has had a bigger impact on Stern owners than node board payments. I know its impacted me more.

I understand the risk of a node board, and it won't stop me from buying a machine that I want. YMMV.

We are all frustrated with the accumulation of quality issues and price increases, but until the market collapses, I don't see any relief.

This by the way is just bullshit:

That means 4 to 5 times the price they were 10 years ago.

1,000 2009 Price
3,000 300% more
4,000 2019 Price

4,000 is 4 times 1,000 - (ignoring about 17% inflation)

So a premium today at 7,000 would have cost 1,750.
A pro at 6,000 = 1,500

Where machines really that cheap in 2009?

He said 300% MORE THAN 2009 so that is 1,000 + 3,000 = 4,000

If he said 300% OF the 2009 Price it would be 3,000.

OP, did you just post that pic in post #1. If not I missed it before. That is not a Spike node board.

That board on TWD has been an issue because it sits between the flippers. It is usually the power connector - the red and black wires in your picture. If you jiggle them do the lights come back on? Most of the GI is daisy chained to the board, so if there is no power, there are no lights.

There is a connector repair available for it. Mine went out early in the life cycle, and I just soldered the wires directly to the male connectors on the board.

Not pretty but havent had an issue since.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twd-gi-is-flickering-help-please#post-2748271

Just saw the post above. These are different problems. So giggle your wire, and if it doesn't temporarily fix it, use the one above.