Stern Lightning - static playfield lighting issue | Tech: Early solid state

0

#1 9 months ago

OP

JAY

Blubberpud

Pinside member

Hamilton, ON

2y 16,150 14 1

Stern Lightning (1981); working on getting this back to former glory, games starts and plays, having an issue with the static playfield lamps right now.

All flashing and dynamic lights work and interact with the game as they should, but static lighting is out (backbox is fine). I'm just not sure where I need to start looking for cause of this?

Any help much appreciated, thanks in advance!

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#2 9 months ago

???

pinmike

Pinside member

Bossier City, LA

10y 54,100 5,361

Check for continuity on the wiring

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#3 9 months ago

ZAC

zacaj

Pinside member

Rochester, NY

7y 139K 8,827 53 60

Does this game have a GI relay?

Besides from that, check votlage across the lamps. Should be 6.3VAC. if not there, check it at the rectifier board, etc

0

#4 9 months ago

OP

JAY

Blubberpud

Pinside member

Hamilton, ON

2y 16,150 14 1

Quoted from pinmike:
Check for continuity on the wiring

Hmm continuity to ground on both sides of a few lamps......short somewhere? Where to start?

0

#5 9 months ago

OP

JAY

Blubberpud

Pinside member

Hamilton, ON

2y 16,150 14 1

Quoted from zacaj:
Does this game have a GI relay?
Besides from that, check votlage across the lamps. Should be 6.3VAC. if not there, check it at the rectifier board, etc

Where would I look for the GI relay? No voltage across lamps, I believe there is a short somewhere, but I am getting 7VAC across rectifier board TP4.

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#6 9 months ago

ZAC

zacaj

Pinside member

Rochester, NY

7y 139K 8,827 53 60

GI relay is usually either mounted on the bottom panel near the rectifier board or in the bottom of the backbox

0

#7 9 months ago

OP

JAY

Blubberpud

Pinside member

Hamilton, ON

2y 16,150 14 1

Quoted from zacaj:
GI relay is usually either mounted on the bottom panel near the rectifier board or in the bottom of the backbox

No, I don't think so, only see a flipper relay on SDU Board in backbox and nothing by the rectifier board.

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#8 9 months ago

ZAC

zacaj

Pinside member

Rochester, NY

7y 139K 8,827 53 60

Only other thing in the chain then is the connector from the rectifier to the playfield, and the wiring itself...

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#9 9 months ago

OP

JAY

Blubberpud

Pinside member

Hamilton, ON

2y 16,150 14 1

Okay, I'll trace from rectifier board, are backbox lights on a different circuit (must be they are still working would you happen to have a schematic? Any idea of what pin to start with on rectifier board?

Sorry for the flurry of questions

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1

#10 9 months ago

OP

JAY

Blubberpud

Pinside member

Hamilton, ON

2y 16,150 14 1

Well....looks like it was the harness right off the rectifier board, the white wire (playfield lighting) was a little burnt and brittle at close inspection. I will replace that harness.

Thank you for your help! zacaj and pinmike.

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1

#11 9 months ago

ZAC

zacaj

Pinside member

Rochester, NY

7y 139K 8,827 53 60

One connector on the rectifier goes to the playfield, one to the back box. Same fuse for both though. The GI pins commonly burn on them. Best to replace both gi pins with trifurcon if possible

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#12 9 months ago

JCW

LOTR_breath

Pinside member

Fultondale, AL

8y 103K 4,540 9 90

One thing to note is the GI circuit also runs through connector J3 on the speech board. IIRC, if you blow the fuse for GI, you will not only lose GI but also speech.