Machine: Bride of Pinbot, The
Williams, 1991There's a "string" of lights in the back glass on my Bride of Pinbot that are all out. They are all connected by green and green/white wires. Replacing with new bulbs didn't help. I checked the fuse and it is good. What else could it be?
PXL_20210612_155551273 (resized).jpgPXL_20210612_155625773 (resized).jpgPXL_20210612_155655933 (resized).jpgQuoted from adamw:There's a "string" of lights in the back glass on my Bride of Pinbot that are all out. They are all connected by green and green/white wires. Replacing with new bulbs didn't help. I checked the fuse and it is good. What else could it be?
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC
6.25.2 General Illumination Problems
Quoted from Completist:Connector issue is my go to. Have a look for a burnt header, or cold solder joint.
Yup, likely a connector problem.
Quoted from KenLayton:Yup, likely a connector problem.
Which connector, exactly? And aren't a bunch of lights on the same connecector? So wouldn't multiple strings of lights be out?
Quoted from adamw:Which connector, exactly?
Power to the board or off the board for GI lighting. Manual or Pinwiki article will pin point it.
Quoted from adamw:So wouldn't multiple strings of lights be out?
Not if only a part of it is burnt.
LTG : )
Looks to me like your issue is with GI String 5.
IDC connectors aren’t great after all these years and even if the connector is not burnt it could just be as simple as the green wire not seated well in the housing. I had a similar issue on my AFM and i could press the wires on the connector to light up the string. Installed a new molex connector and solved the issue.
J120 on the driver board. I’d start there. Its fuse 108 and not sure how you tested it. Best to use a DMM with one end out of a clip. Not assuming you didn’t do that but thought i’d mention it just in case.
76F48311-A373-4256-BD48-F3C8D4715031 (resized).jpegHey guys.
I'm still stumped by this!
I checked the fuse 108 it's fine. I even swapped it with other fuses and it is still an issue, yet all the other lights still work fine.
Here is a pic of J120. While the far right side is burnt and you can see the brown wire that is supposed to be in the connector is simply still connected to the board, the rest of the connector looks completely fine. The entire run of bulbs on this green/white wire combo still do not illuminate.
What else could be wrong? What else can I check/do to fix this?
It's driving me nuts!
PXL_20210810_163627672 (resized).jpgQuoted from adamw:Hey guys.
I'm still stumped by this!
I checked the fuse 108 it's fine. I even swapped it with other fuses and it is still an issue, yet all the other lights still work fine.
Here is a pic of J120. While the far right side is burnt and you can see the brown wire that is supposed to be in the connector is simply still connected to the board, the rest of the connector looks completely fine. The entire run of bulbs on this green/white wire combo still do not illuminate.
What else could be wrong? What else can I check/do to fix this?
It's driving me nuts![quoted image]
The wire being connected does not mean that things will still work. The links provided previously should outline how to repair things. You should replace the connector and the header as well.
Quoted from DudeRegular:The wire being connected does not mean that things will still work. The links provided previously should outline how to repair things. You should replace the connector and the header as well.
The brown wire is not the wire in question. It is the green & green/white wires that are used for the circuit that is not illuminating.
Check for 6.8VAC at pins 5 and 10 of J115. This is the green white/green string.
https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:GIBuzzGreen.jpg
Check for continuity from the connector wires (ground and power) to lights on the string. If you have it, the board header and connector both need to be replaced. The header could have cracks in the solder. If you don’t have continuity, you have a broken wire somewhere. As others have mentioned, I’m betting on header and the connector. Very common on older games. Also, you said you checked the fuse, just want to confirm you used a meter to check it.
If you don’t have voltage at J115 work your way back to the transformer connector.
If you do have voltage at J115 work your way forward to J120.
This way you can see where you are losing the connection.
Edit- do you have voltage at pins 5 and 10 of connector J121?
Thank you everyone. I believe I found the issue! I did use the Wiki linked above, and followed some of the testing procedures. Then I came to this 12-pin connector at J115 (5781-10862-12). It is quite burnt at the top. I pulled it out and the top part actually broke off from the rest of it. I managed to put it back in so I could keep playing, and interestingly, the lights started working!!
So, now I guess I need to buy a new connector. Can anyone confirm that this is the correct part? The part number doesn't quite match, but otherwise seems like it would be ok.
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/5792-10847-12
Thanks!
PXL_20210811_003744640 (resized).jpgQuoted from adamw:I guess I need to buy a new connector.
You need a new connector. And you need new pins on the board. If you don't replace the pins, the new connector will burn again pretty fast.
Ed has both, and tools if you need. Size .156 - https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/
LTG : )
Quoted from LTG:You need a new connector. And you need new pins on the board. If you don't replace the pins, the new connector will burn again pretty fast.
Ed has both, and tools if you need. Size .156 - https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/
LTG : )
Forgive my ignorance, but the pins on the board look completely fine. Why would I need to replace those? (which I'm guessing is a giant PITA to do!) If the look fine, why would the cause the new connector to burn up quickly?
Quoted from adamw:If the look fine,
If the connector is burned. They are too. Looking fine or not. The plating on them is gone.
And they won't make good contact, which in turn burns the connector like what you see here. The connectors handle more current than they are rated for. Not a problem for the manufacturers. They would last 3 or 4 years and the game would be replaced. These games weren't made for 20 years later.
As far as the pins. Get help if you haven't done board repair.
LTG : )
Ken and LTG are very knowledgeable on these things bud. I highly recommend you follow their advice. If you only do part of the repair the issue will pop up.
Those header pins may look ok, but replacing them is worthwhile for sure.
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