They are using cheap China made LED grids. Hopfully they realized their supplier was shitty and have switched. They are through hole and easily replacable, but whats the point if stern does it for free.
(Topic ID: 70825)
Linked Games
Metallica (Pro)
Stern, 2013
Topic Gallery
Hampton, VA
If I could find the correct LED replacment part I could just replace it myself. Shipping it back and forth seems like a hassel. I did do a search and came up with a few part numbers but found little to no info on them but this was the best I could find. Can anyone confirm these will work. Ebay has 8 for $15.99 part # 0788BS
8 pcs Dot Matrix LED Display 1.9 mm 8x8 Red Common Cathode 20x20mm 16pin
ebay.com link: itm
Quoted from hassellcastle:ONe single dot not working on my Met pro. Its still under warranty i havent replaced it yet as Stern wants me to send the defectiveone in before sending a replacement. I cant take two weeks without playing my Metallica!
I played the crap out of my Tron without the display when it had to be replaced. Mine went completely dead lol...
Never know... I set the GC score on mine when I didn't have the display! It was fun trying to figure out how to enter my initials. 
Quoted from SaminVA:If I could find the correct LED replacment part I could just replace it myself. Shipping it back and forth seems like a hassel. I did do a search and came up with a few part numbers but found little to no info on them but this was the best I could find. Can anyone confirm these will work. Ebay has 8 for $15.99 part # 0788BS
8 pcs Dot Matrix LED Display 1.9 mm 8x8 Red Common Cathode 20x20mm 16pin
ebay.com link
That is the right part. Not sure if you get qty 8 or qty 10 in that auction.
remember, stern is probably using silver solder here. Bit more difficult to rework.
My AVLE developed a dark solid line and a light solid line about 6 months after purchase. I sent a picture to Stern and was told that if I were still under warranty, it would be replaced but that I am out of warranty so sorry.
Weird thing is, I bought a UPS battery backup and plugged the machine into it. After about a week, the light line disappeared and the dark line became light. Another week later, the light line disappeared.
All was good until my son left the machine on overnight. Since then, there is a new dark line (with one burned out dot) that hasn't gone away for a couple of months.
Thanks for the part number on the grid. I may just try some home repair.
Quoted from sanctumwear:the old burned-in plasma displays are starting to look way better now. glad i kept them.
dmd.jpg 376 KB
Converted my Met Pro over to plasma and have had no issues since.
Leicester
Stern is crap.... they have a 9 month warranty on the DMD.... 9 months... really? Obviously their quality control is garbage... goes right along with the fact my TRON lightcycle ramp wiring was backwards. When a person is spending $7k on a machine, it should work and not be incorrectly wired or have a display issue so quickly.
I bought a Metallica Pro that only had 20 plays on it and there was already a line in the display. I contacted Stern and they said they would replace it which I thought was very fair considering I wasn't the original owner. Funny thing is... the line has gone away-at least for now. I was assured that if it did return they would still honor the exchange.
Well my ST LE should still be under warranty,just over 6 months old but I just ordered 8 of those Dot Matrix LED Displays off Ebay from China so I'll just replace it my self and see what happens. I'll provably replace it with a ColorDMD by the end of the year anyway. I still havent warmed up to the RED dots. 
I have 2 Stern red LED displays. One I bought used had a single line out and when I plugged it back in to test it, the line was working! I think that points to a bad solder joint on the board or a bad connection in one of the LED modules. I was looking for blue LED modules to replace all the red ones on the spare board but could never find a cost effective source for them.
If someone gets a confirmed correct part for these boards, please post the part number and source!
I just ordered some of the parts SaminVA posted above, I will let post back once I get it installed to let you know if it works and how well the color/brightness matches etc.
1 week later
So I received the LED modules from eBay and have the following update:
1) The Sterm LED DMD uses Common Anode 8 X 8 1.9mm modules
2) The LEDs from that seller match well from a black background and size perspective but the LED color or brightness is off (see picture)
I am going to contact the seller through eBay to see if they have other colors or brightness.
Rockingham
I had a line go out on the DMD of my AC/DC Premium. If you tapped the front of the display it would pop back in but would disappear again after a while.
Tried lifting out the backglass and 'flexing' the board whilst on the dot test and the line (and a few others) would flash on and off. Took the screen out of the machine and noticed that it had a definite curve to the PCB and wondered if the LEDs were being unseated by this defect.
I tried a ghetto fix by glueing a piece of wood to the back of the PCB to act as a brace to keep it flat. It worked for a while and then just went back to how it was.
Bit the bullet and bought a new display that, touch wood, after several months has behaved perfectly.
Quoted from Schwaggs:So I received the LED modules from eBay and have the following update:
1) The Sterm LED DMD uses Common Anode 8 X 8 1.8mm modules
2) The LEDs from that seller match well from a black background and size perspective but the LED color or brightness is off (see picture)
I am going to contact the seller through eBay to see if they have other colors or brightness.image-818.jpg 511 KB
Bummer, I just got mine today from China but haven't had time to open the package yet. If it's from the same Ebay seller I ordered mine from I guess theirs no need. When you removed the original module from the Stern DMD did it have a part number on it?
Yea, the part number is visible on the modules on the bottom row of the Stern display. Mine has 2 rows of numbers:
LA-078811SE1WB
MO 130917
I found a place called Parts 4 Pinballs that list the replacment Stern part for $13.33 each but they say their current unavailable. Looks like they are in Norway
http://www.parts4pinballs.com/112-0073-00/red-led-block-for-stern-led-displays/
Quoted from Schwaggs:So I received the LED modules from eBay and have the following update:
1) The Sterm LED DMD uses Common Anode 8 X 8 1.8mm modules2) The LEDs from that seller match well from a black background and size perspective but the LED color or brightness is off (see picture)
I am going to contact the seller through eBay to see if they have other colors or brightness.image-818.jpg 511 KB
Looks liek you got the right part type, but different / wrong LED color.
Dear Stern,
It would appear a class action lawsuit may be in your future.
Sincerely,
Every other Stern pinball owner in last 3 years
Sense the part I got on Ebay did not match I decided to call JJ, my distributor and see if it was still under warranty. He said it should be and would order one from Stern and have it shipped to me and I'll have to send the old one back.
We'll see what happens.
1 week later
I have my replacement red DMD display up for sale, if anyone is interested in it as a replacement or as a backup...
Quoted from John_I:I noticed a single dot out in my ACDC. Will be looking into fixing it or getting a replacement.
Same thing happened to mine. It's literally just one dot, slightly to the right and up of the center of the display. Makes me a sad panda 
Quoted from DrMark12PA:Dear Stern,
It would appear a class action lawsuit may be in your future.
Sincerely,
Every other Stern pinball owner in last 3 years
Wow, so far 64 votes have had issues with Stern's DMD display. I would consider a class action suit at this point. If anyone is interested in this as well, it may be worth gathering some names and move forward with this as it's quite evident this is a widespread (known) issue that is not being addressed by Stern with their short warranty.
Quoted from DrMark12PA:Wow, so far 64 votes have had issues with Stern's DMD display. I would consider a class action suit at this point.
Seriously?? 
My DMD was under warranty and replaced within days. I was very happy with the customer support.
Quoted from DrMark12PA:Wow, so far 64 votes have had issues with Stern's DMD display. I would consider a class action suit at this point. If anyone is interested in this as well, it may be worth gathering some names and move forward with this as it's quite evident this is a widespread (known) issue that is not being addressed by Stern with their short warranty.
Good luck with that.
How many times will Stern keep replacing the same game's display? I'd assume the replacement will fail and then it's out of pocket at that point...
Quoted from SunKing:Seriously?? My DMD was under warranty and replaced within days. I was very happy with the customer support.
Their warranty is 9 months per Stern.
The fact that their is a thread on this and as many people have noted this recurrent issue (whether is was replaced by Stern or people out of warranty are stuck either with a crap display and have to pay >$200 to replace), there is a known issue with this part.
I just talked to tech support at Stern and they are considering doing an exchange program for out of warranty DMD for possibly a different DMD though this has not been implemented as of yet. So, suffice it to say, Stern is aware this is a known issue. Tech support did mention the block is quite cheap as far as parts go ($10) but the labor is the issue because it's intricate soldering so if you send in for repair you are looking at $150 by the time you have it shipped to and back. A new DMD is $200.
Below is Stern's warranty. Note that the warranty starts as soon as the game is shipped to the distributor, not when you take delivery. It also is just circuit boards and the DMD, nothing else (unless damaged in shipping).
--
STERN PINBALL INC. FACTORY LIMITED WARRANTY :
STERN PINBALL INC. SELLER WARRANTS ONLY TO THE INITIAL PURCHASER OF ITS
PRODUCTS THAT THE ITEMS LISTED BELOW ARE FREE FROM DEFECTS IN MATERIAL
AND WORKMANSHIP UNDER NORMAL USE AND SERVICE FOR THE WARRANTY PERIOD
SPECIFIED; WARRANTY PERIODS ARE EFFECTIVE FROM THE INITIAL DATE OF SHIPMENT
FROM SELLER TO DISTRIBUTOR.
1. PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS AND GAME LOGIC : TWO (2) MONTHS (60 DAYS)
2. DOT MATRIX DISPLAY BOARDS: NINE (9) MONTHS
NO OTHER PARTS OF SELLER'S PRODUCT ARE WARRANTED.
Quoted from DrMark12PA:Their warranty is 90 days I was told
I think you were told wrong. From another thread:
Quoted from absocountry2:Re TF pro......from the manual:
Printed circuit boards psb's: 2 months
Dot matrix display pcb: 9 months
...and...
Quoted from Lermods:Stern covered a DMD with a horizontal line on it 15 months after shipping date and I wasn't even the original owner. Had to go through original distributor, but they covered it. I've used them for other issues and they are always helpful and responsive.
Do you have a bad DMD? Have you tried contacting your distributor?
My replacement DMD only had one vertical line, whereas the original broken one had two. Improvement, lol?
Now long out of warranty. Stern should do right by this. It's systemic.
Quoted from DrMark12PA:Their warranty is 9 months per Stern.
The fact that their is a thread on this and as many people have noted this recurrent issue (whether is was replaced by Stern or people out of warranty are stuck either with a crap display and have to pay >$200 to replace), there is a known issue with this part.
I just talked to tech support at Stern and they are considering doing an exchange program for out of warranty DMD for possibly a different DMD though this has not been implemented as of yet. So, suffice it to say, Stern is aware this is a known issue. Tech support did mention the block is quite cheap as far as parts go ($10) but the labor is the issue because it's intricate soldering so if you send in for repair you are looking at $150 by the time you have it shipped to and back. A new DMD is $200.
Did they happen to give you the Stern part number for the LED block? Will they sell just that part so we can have color matched replacement parts?
I received my replacement DMD from Stern. It was still under warranty and they even sent a UPS return shipping label so all I have to do is repack it in the box and drop it off at UPS. I guess I got lucky, the new display works like new. For how long only time will tell. Hopefully after the warranty expires and if another LED block goes out we will find a source for the correct replacement part. Soldering in a new LED block looks like it would be a piece of cake to me if we had the correct part. Anyway I know most of you can swap out a DMD blindfolded and with one hand behind your back but I figured their might be a few people new to pinball that might like to see how it's done so I took some video.
Quoted from Schwaggs:Did they happen to give you the Stern part number for the LED block? Will they sell just that part so we can have color matched replacement parts?
I should have asked but could always call back their tech support. The Stern tech said it would cost about $125 in labor because of how intricate the soldering was to have it done. I can solder to get by but I don't think I have the skills to do something super detailed
Quoted from DrMark12PA:I should have asked but could always call back their tech support. The Stern tech said it would cost about $125 in labor because of how intricate the soldering was to have it done. I can solder to get by but I don't think I have the skills to do something super detailed
It is really not a bad solder job. There are people on this forum that would charge way less than $125. Sourcing the right part might be an issue, but once that is on hand, replacing those blocks is easy to someone who is practiced.
Yea, I've replaced one module for the test above https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sterns-red-led-dmd-anyone-have-issues/page/2#post-1708231 I wouldn't want to do it without a real desoldering tool like the Hakko 808. The traces and pads are TINY! You need a light touch and a fine tipped soldering iron to solder the new module in place too....
Quoted from Street:Mine has a line on my AC/DC.
Contact your distributor. Chances are they will help you out. BTW, Stern isn't really picky on those warranty dates. As others have said, they replace parts long after the warranty has officially expired.
1 month later
Link to a possible Stern part number here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/where-to-buy-stern-dmd-8x8-block-for-acdc-display#post-1777579
2 months later
You can find LED blocks here, LA-078811SE1WB and LA-078811HWB
The same part number as we need
http://www.ledist-opto.com/matrix.htm
How many of those blocks would be needed to fix 1 vertical line out on the display? Also, who can be hired to do the work for those of us who don't have the technical know how, skill, or tools to do the super fine soldering?
Quoted from ledblock:You can find LED blocks here, LA-078811SE1WB and LA-078811HWB
What is the difference between the 2 part numbers. Will either part work for our purposes?
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