(Topic ID: 103728)

Stuck LED on ST:PRO?

By PWhiz

9 years ago


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  • 18 posts
  • 10 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 9 years ago by KeithinMI
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#1 9 years ago

I think I may have something wrong with one of the LEDs on my Star Trek Pro. It's the top 1 of 4 under the light lock target housing(not the actual green dots on the playfield).

What happens is, when I turn off the machine, that particular LED stays lit, but then slowly fades out over maybe a minute or so.

This is my first pin and I'm really a noob when it comes to maintenance. I don't know if this bulb just needs to be replaced, or it is a more complex wiring issue.

I've added a series of pictures to show exactly what I mean.

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#2 9 years ago

I also forgot to mention that the light under "Beam" triangle (Beam-Me-Up) is out. Anyone know where I can get a replacement bulb for that?

#3 9 years ago

Talk to your distributor.
It could be a back RGB board (which drives the GI)... or a wiring error; not sure.

The bulb out issue; could just be a socketting problem. Try removing the bulb; straighten the LEDs on the wedge base and re-inserting.

#4 9 years ago

It turned out the bulb under the Beam was just dangling loose for some reason. Maybe it caught on something while the playfield was opened. Popped that one back into place and its working perfectly.

The other light issue seems to be beyond me right now. This is one that is screwed to the underside of the playfield. As far as I can tell the wiring looks solid. It's a pretty short run to one of the main looms.

Would need someone with more electrical experience than me to check it out. It's not a game killer. The only time I notice it is when turning off the machine or during Klingon Multiball when the playfield goes dark.

#5 9 years ago

Hmmm, looks like the one that's on all the time is the flasher, i.e. Flash Centre 3 Bank # 27 (Diags -> Flash -> Test). Not sure what that means but it could be a stuck driver as Zitt suggests.

As for loose bulbs, I'm forever finding them in mine. I think the 6 weeks on the ship from the USA to Australia must have shaken the shite out of it. I've had to re-seat at least 10 because they didn't light up. Most of the time they seem to be seated ok, but pulling them out and putting back in gets them working again. So far I've had no dud lamps, just poor seating in the socket. I've got one in the upper pop area that's going to mean pulling the ramp off to get at it. Waiting for a few spare hours lol.

I did have one bad RGB LED board, that didn't show any red on the Enterprise arrow in front of the Vengeance, it was pretty much like that from day one. The Aussie distributor got me a new one from Stern under warranty, and it's been fine since.

Let us know when you fix the stuck lamp. Good luck.

#6 9 years ago
Quoted from filthyPierre:

Hmmm, looks like the one that's on all the time is the flasher, i.e. Flash Centre 3 Bank # 27 (Diags -> Flash -> Test). Not sure what that means but it could be a stuck driver as Zitt suggests.
As for loose bulbs, I'm forever finding them in mine. I think the 6 weeks on the ship from the USA to Australia must have shaken the shite out of it. I've had to re-seat at least 10 because they didn't light up. Most of the time they seem to be seated ok, but pulling them out and putting back in gets them working again. So far I've had no dud lamps, just poor seating in the socket. I've got one in the upper pop area that's going to mean pulling the ramp off to get at it. Waiting for a few spare hours lol.
I did have one bad RGB LED board, that didn't show any red on the Enterprise arrow in front of the Vengeance, it was pretty much like that from day one. The Aussie distributor got me a new one from Stern under warranty, and it's been fine since.
Let us know when you fix the stuck lamp. Good luck.

Both my GI led lights on top of the kickers fell out. I put them back in and they gone. I'm just going to leave them. One bulb made it's way into the ball holder and messed up my game play because the ball couldn't hit the switch. So the machine thought there were missing balls. Im a noob as well so everything is a learning experience

#7 9 years ago
Quoted from pinballophobe:

Both my GI led lights on top of the kickers fell out. I put them back in and they gone. I'm just going to leave them. One bulb made it's way into the ball holder and messed up my game play because the ball couldn't hit the switch. So the machine thought there were missing balls. Im a noob as well so everything is a learning experience

I have this problem freaquently on both my Star Trek and AC/DC. I think all the vibration in these games kind of works some bulbs lose. I've tried to tighten them, but that doesn't seem to work. They really should have used 44's in the pops and not 555's. If it gets annoying enough, I might have to switch them out.

#8 9 years ago
Quoted from pinballophobe:

Both my GI led lights on top of the kickers fell out. I put them back in and they gone. I'm just going to leave them. One bulb made it's way into the ball holder and messed up my game play because the ball couldn't hit the switch. So the machine thought there were missing balls. Im a noob as well so everything is a learning experience

This is a common problem. With the bulb in, put a dab of hot glue on the bottom of where the bulb meets the saucer.

#9 9 years ago
Quoted from Nokoro:

This is a common problem. With the bulb in, put a dab of hot glue on the bottom of where the bulb meets the saucer.

Thanks for the tip. I will try that out.

Part of the reason I left them out. I'm actually scared that an air ball could hit the led and break it. Anyone experience that before?

#10 9 years ago

If you haven't already, reduce the slingshot power to 15. You'll get a lot less air balls. I still get some. Occasionally they knock the saucer and it twists to the left. I don't think they will shatter the led. Wrong angle.

#11 9 years ago

I am having a bit of trouble with the middle proton targets light, when I hit it it turns on for a second but it then flickers and fades out.

#12 9 years ago
Quoted from PWhiz:

It turned out the bulb under the Beam was just dangling loose for some reason. Maybe it caught on something while the playfield was opened. Popped that one back into place and its working perfectly.
The other light issue seems to be beyond me right now. This is one that is screwed to the underside of the playfield. As far as I can tell the wiring looks solid. It's a pretty short run to one of the main looms.
Would need someone with more electrical experience than me to check it out. It's not a game killer. The only time I notice it is when turning off the machine or during Klingon Multiball when the playfield goes dark.

Wow I think that's a stuck on flasher. You should definitely not turn the game on like this. If you want to play it before it's fixed then at least remove the bulb from the socket. I assume if you open the coin door that the bulb goes out much like if you power off.

#13 9 years ago
Quoted from markmon:

Wow I think that's a stuck on flasher. You should definitely not turn the game on like this. If you want to play it before it's fixed then at least remove the bulb from the socket. I assume if you open the coin door that the bulb goes out much like if you power off.

I thought the same thing; that it looks like a flasher. I agree that the bulb should be removed if you're going to play before getting it fixed. Otherwise, it will get very hot and possibly melt the plastic above it.

#14 9 years ago

Yup, it's definitely a stuck flasher. Pretty sure it's the exact one that filthyPierre mentioned. I ran the diagnostic and I could see that it would still flash, but it is just always on. I'm hoping that it is just something wrong with the bulb itself and not the socket or wiring.

I'm not sure how to remove it exactly. I guess you have to remove the screw that is holding the socket in place and then pull the bulb out?

I could see how heat could be an issue, but I'm not immediately concerned about that right now. I don't get to play that often and usually for not more than 20-30 minutes when I do. I don't leave it turned on most of the time. I'll check it out tomorrow to see if there are any signs of heat damage to the plastic and check for excessive heat after being on for a little bit. I have no idea how long it has been that way since I've only had it for a couple of weeks now and it was like that when I got it. Previous owner made no mention of it but maybe he just didn't notice it himself. It could have happened during transport too. Anything is possible. There were those four other bulbs that had come loose at some point too.

If I can figure out removing the bulb, who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and just re-seating it might fix it.

#15 9 years ago
Quoted from PWhiz:

I'm hoping that it is just something wrong with the bulb itself and not the socket or wiring.

If it's lit when it's not supposed to be, it's not a bulb issue. Since you say you can still see it flash, it sounds like it's not getting a full 20V all the time, but it's getting power, and that's not caused by a bad bulb. It could be wiring or a board issue.

Quoted from PWhiz:

I'm not sure how to remove it exactly. I guess you have to remove the screw that is holding the socket in place and then pull the bulb out?

That might be the quickest way, but it looks like removing the plastic and getting at it from the top side would not be much harder. Whatever you do, turn off the power first.

Quoted from PWhiz:

I could see how heat could be an issue, but I'm not immediately concerned about that right now. I don't get to play that often and usually for not more than 20-30 minutes when I do.

If a stuck flasher is getting 20V, it could easily melt a plastic in less than 20 minutes. It sounds like yours isn't running full blast, but it would take about 30 seconds to remove the bulb, so why mess around with it?

#16 9 years ago

Went under the hood just now and pulled the bulb. I pulled one from another known working socket and tried it in the problem one and it still stuck, so confirmed it is not the bulb.

That's disappointing because this is a problem that I have no idea how to troubleshoot. It will have to wait until I get that guy to come over. I have removed the bulb for now. I won't necessarily miss it, but I hate knowing something isn't working as it should.

#17 9 years ago
Quoted from PWhiz:

I have no idea how to troubleshoot.

The first question (that markmon asked) is whether the lamp goes off when the coin door is open. When the coin door is opened, it disconnects the 20V to flash lamps (among other things).

After looking at the wiring to see if anything jumps out, I would disconnect the flash lamp connector in the backbox (J6), then jump 20V from the board connector to the cable connector. This will keep power on the lamp, but disconnect the intended return path through the transistor. If it still lights, it suggests that there is an alternate path (probably a short) allowing current to flow through the lamp.

No offense meant, but based on your experience level, I would not suggest you do this yourself. You don't want to mess things up worse than they are, which is fairly easy to do with this test. Plus, it's just a flash lamp. The game still plays 100% without it.

#18 9 years ago
Quoted from Nokoro:

This is a common problem. With the bulb in, put a dab of hot glue on the bottom of where the bulb meets the saucer.

or a small dab of silicone rubber where the bulb meets the saucer works well too. I like the silicone rubber b/c it's easier to remove, IMHO, if you need to

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