Please reference this post: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/9#post-3109983

So I replaced the failed lamp socket between the rollover lanes with a new one. But the 4 lights I lost when it shorted are still off. Is this a fuse? If so, anyone know which fuse protects those 4 lamps? It’s the bottom 2 lights for the pop bumpers and 2 of the 4 rollover lane lights. Oh, and the coin door lights. Lost those too.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!
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Should the diverter arm be touching the subway plastic as shown when the coil is at end of stroke? I don’t want the plastic to get damaged. Sorry if I’m getting the terminology wrong.

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Before and after subway assembly. What a job it was too. My first ever. As part of my trade, brand new subway plastic was included.

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It is.

Use a tiny bit of synthetic grease on it. This is what I use:
https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-21030-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B000XBH9HI

Yes, its a fuse. The GI fuse for those specific lamps is identified by the color of the wires going to the lamp holders.

NOTE: Yellow wires were used to jumper closely spaced sockets together, in this case the appropriately colored wire connected to the yellow jumpers will tell you the fuse number.

Fuses CAN be checked with them in the fuse holder as this will have no effect on their measurement.

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If it is a new to you game it’s a good idea to remove each fuse, check it for continuity, and then check to verify it is the correct amp rating and type fast or slow blow.

Most of the fuses in mine were wrong.

That‘s sound advice for ANY old machine.

At least you HAD fuses and not nails or tinfoil instead.

Damnation! I just had a good game going on. Got to Final Frontier and the right cannon didn't eject a ball. Finished the game and then the ball kept trying to stage, drain, stage... I popped the hood and found the upper diverter coil was melted.
Now, I had done the tie back mod way way long ago. It still looks like it is fine. It's been awhile since I've done board work on this machine. Any recommendations on where to start? Is this likely the aux board?

Tomorrow I'll follow the suggestions on the 'STTNG Tech Question' and 'STTNG Under-Playfield Diverter Transistor Failing with Tieback Voltage' threads. Sounds very similar to my situation. Just noticed, too, that F103 is blown.

I suggest this all the time. There are multiple methods of doing the Tie Back Mod. The basic on usually breaks off the rear drop target over time. Then your problem is back (Burnt coils and a blown Mini Driver Board)

I say this, because it's happened to me. SO. Take this advice STTNG fans, do ALL of the mods (3 or 4). Some bypass the traditional one and run a wire from the mini driver board and tie into the power driver board. (it's documented on this site).

Others suggest adding diodes (proper direction) on the coils

Other suggest a different method of connecting the power wire side of the coil.

DO ALL OF THEM.
just a suggestion. Do a search for TIE BACK MOD.......

These are still images from my video for the BORG ALCOVE Display Mod I am building.

Video currently in version 6.
If you didn't see my previous postings, this is for the 7.9 inch display which will be located to the right of the Borg Ship.

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Borg Screen Live Wallpaper.00_06_40_14.Still004 (resized).pngBorg Screen Live Wallpaper.00_06_24_04.Still003 (resized).pngBorg Screen Live Wallpaper.00_13_31_13.Still006 (resized).pngBorg Screen Live Wallpaper.00_22_38_19.Still005 (resized).pngBorg Screen Live Wallpaper.00_19_01_07.Still003 (resized).png

Thanks for the input, Eric. I pulled the mini driver board and confirmed Q16 is shorted. The coil is shorted, too.
Now, the tieback mod I had done was the one that connects J4-1 to J107-1. I verified continuity. It's still good.
I just saw another tie back mod that connects J4-1 to J108-1.
Just want to confirm I should leave mine in place AND add this one as well? So, I'd have the J4-1 -> J107-1 mod AND the J4-1 -> J108-1 mod.
Sounds easy enough. Just want double confirmation.

Be careful; a coil can look shorted due to it's low ohm value.
If in doubt; ofcourse, replace it.

Yep. The coil is definitely shot. I just replaced Q16. But I won't power up until I get a replacement coil.
Just wondering if I should do the J4-1 -> J108-1 mod since I already have the J4-1 -> J107-1 in place.

J106-1, J107-1 and J108-1 are all connected together by the traces on the power driver board so you should only need to connect to one of the connectors. I wouldn’t expect the connection made between them to fail without some sort of catastrophic damage.

I know, 1/4" round copper rods are much better!

Thanks for the input, Eric. I pulled the mini driver board and confirmed Q16 is shorted. The coil is shorted, too.
Now, the tieback mod I had done was the one that connects J4-1 to J107-1. I verified continuity. It's still good.
I just saw another tie back mod that connects J4-1 to J108-1.
Just want to confirm I should leave mine in place AND add this one as well? So, I'd have the J4-1 -> J107-1 mod AND the J4-1 -> J108-1 mod.
Sounds easy enough. Just want double confirmation.</blockquote

I think you've got the right idea with that Tie Back Mod. Other ones include every location (Power Side of the coil) which connects to a coil. I am talking about the line which connects to your diverter coils on the subway. They are chained together with the connections being made on the coil themselves.
I have found actually soldering the connecting wires together with an additional wire then connecting to each coil eliminates a disconnection due to breakage and so on.

In addition, even though it's redundant, reinstalling the diodes Williams took off the coils and located on the boards in the backbox. As mentioned, you are duplicating something already being done. Here is the plus, it will not hurt anything, and if a old component goes bad, you don't have the daisy chain bad results you are dealing with. If you do a search, you'll discover these aren't my ideas, they are the wisdom of others over years.

I think I also ran a new line down to replace the thin tiny purple wire, which was likely installed by some tech early on are the Tie Back Service Mod. Not sure.

I just joined the next generation club a few weeks ago. I got this cool alternative translite off eBay.

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I need to replace at least the ribbon cable between the MPU and driver but it may be time for a fresh set and replace them all. Where is the best source these days for the cables or whole set? Pinball Life, Marco, PBR, etc?

I am thinking about getting these pop-caps for my machine:

http://pinball-mods.com/oscom/star-trekthe-next-generation-popcaps-p-24.html

Not sure what color option I want to go with yet. Would like to see some additional pictures of them installed to help figure out which one to use. The example look great and possibly leaning toward the purple ones.

Yes, those pop up caps look nice. Kinda hard to see on this game.

This might have some additional pictures
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stng-popcaps-any-interest

And there is the option to get both colors

One thing that wasn't clear is the one for the third one under the ramp. Is both the cover and LED lamp pre-cut and ready to install or do we need to cut that out following the instructions included?

When in doubt; look at the install document on the product page. That should explain everything.

To install the cut-down-cap under the beta ramp; you need to cut nothing unless you do the EVO mod. Again see the install document for more detail.

You were right about the fuse for the GI bulbs. The 5 or 6 bulbs I lost came back when I replaced F106. But the 5 switches that are all on the same switch matrix are still out. It’s driving me crazy. I’ve been told my power driver board needs re-pinning. I think I’m just going to replace the board, unless a repaired 1993 Williams board is vastly superior to a new Rottendog board. I already replaced the main switch driver chip. Didn’t fix it. I tried reseating all the connections too. If I buy a new power driver board, is it all plug and play? Or do any chips require soldering to the board?

Please, Please don't but it's your game.
There has been a lot of bad press recently regarding Rottendog...
I wouldn't want a rotten piece of trash in my game long term.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-new-rottendog

It's also better to have matching serial numbers in your game long term.

My advise if you lack the skills...
1) buy rotten trash as a temporary solution.
2) send current board for repair
3) replace trash with repaired board.

That’s why I asked, I’m happy to invest in board work if it’s the way to go. I have my STTNG a couple hours north of where I live, so I have to break it down and haul it down where my tech people are. If I can simply drop a new board in and not have to transport it, that would be easier. But if salvaging the Williams board is best, that’s what I’ll do.

I have both rottendog driverboard and cpu boards as back ups. When I’ve used them i had no issues whatsoever. Can’t speak to durability though.

IMO it is

Is it possible to purchase the original Williams boards?

Some of them have been reproduced as copies of the originals: https://pinballbasement.com/collections/wpc89-boards

There's others such as the trough optos that have upgraded boards as well - just depends on what you're after.

Yes - from time to time you'll see someone selling off NOS spare boards but they are usually quite expensive (as you'd expect). Also you'll find used boards from parted out machines on eBay, of course most will need to be tested & repaired. You can buy the original PCBs and build the board yourself if you are so inclined or there are people that build & sell them - just depends what you're after and prepared to pay for

Is this better than Rottendog?

If you need your WPC driver repaired let me know. I'm local and can help. I keep parts on hand for repairs and am working on a batch of these drivers now. If your small 8 driver board doesn't have the update to add the resistors on the back it would be a good idea to update that one as well.

Some of the Rottendog boards like their MPU are ok but original boards are best if you can run them.

Wow cool! Never seen these before. How is the quality of these boards?

Awesome, thanks!

I can't speak to the boards myself unfortunately, though I've heard good things. I personally only look for boards that typically very closely follow the original design specs with slight improvements such as swemmer. Just because troubleshooting tends to be closer to the wealth of knowledge of original boards.

If something goes wrong on a board that's been completely overhauled...you've usually got a much fewer base of people to help you out when troubleshooting.

Anybody install BriteCaps EVO? Thinking about getting them for IJ and STTNG. Obviously can only install 2 in STTNG.

https://www.pinballlife.com/britecaps-evo-pop-bumper-lighting.html?Category_Code=

You can install a third ring light. I cut one up from Comet Pinball and ran some small jumpers to complete the circuit.

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I love both kinds of those bright caps. I have some on Road Show and TZ and White Water.

If I had to purchase an aftermarket board I would take a good look at the products produced by DumbAss ... don't let the name fool you, he's really smart and very detail oriented; his boards speak for themselves.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dumbass-test-and-reproduction-pcbs
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dumbass-test-and-reproduction-pcbs/page/10#post-6308140

I agree...great boards...improved over the original design...

They are really nice. I built a pair of his WPC MPU boards as spares. Still prefer originals if possible though.

Here’s a fun one. I have a total basket case STTNG... really a project machine. I’ve had it playable for a couple years but it’s been sitting waiting for a restore.

Anyways I fired it up and one of the diverter coils locks on. Solenoid 38. I thought “tieback problem”. Checked, someone already did the mod. So I turned the game off and unsoldered the +50V (Violet/green) at the coil lug, just so I could boot it and see what else was wrong.

Few minutes later, my daughter smells smoke. Lifted playfield... solenoid 38 cooked real nice... but power was disconnected!

Can you spot the problem?

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I think the previous owner installed the coils upsidedown and it finally moved and shorted to the bracket (can someone confirm?). I’m guessing I have a couple things to fix on the 8 driver board as well.

The 8 driver board is a rottendog so I need to order the mosfets. I think I just need to replace that and the diode? I can’t find schematics for the board... their site is broken.

Anything else I should check to get this right again?

It's possible to use a third Evo.
I have specific instructions on my popcap page in the install instructions PDF. It's one of the Appendixes.

I can confirm that the coils are not mounted in the correct orientation, they are not the correct coils, and someone did some creative wiring on your subway.

Thanks didn’t even notice they were the wrong coils.

You think this is bad you should see the rest. They cut a ton of zip ties off the harness. Not sure how I’m gonna clean it up yet.

anyone near MD/PA that wants to work on and or buy a very nice STTNG. LMK. Game is in Belair, MD...Has a few issues. But owner wants to sell when repaired...Very nice shape, shopped LEDS etc.

If you have / had the power wire disconnected from the coil it wouldn't matter if the leads of the coil shorted to the bracket or not because there's only a path to ground anyway, there's no source for it to return to (no power). The only way this could happen is if something happened on the driver board that put voltage on what is normally only the return path AND the coil is somehow shorted to the bracket and that became the path to return.