Display dots fading in and out (out when cold, brighter as the glass gets hot) is a symptom of the display glass outgassing... there is no fix, buy a replacement Dot Matrix Glass, or better yet get a ColorDMD.

Color display on an Addams Family is a really great experience.

Transformers of that age get quite warm, but if it's too hot to put your hand on for a count of 1.2.3.4.5... well, it's not a good situation.

I don't know of a replacement transformer you can buy, and this is one of the ways transformers fail.

I would probably just live with this as long as I can. Normal transformers get hot, some of them get quite hot, but when they get REALLY hot without other things in the game getting really hot... Well, if it were 1996 I'd be getting a replacement transformer.

The good news is that until it starts leaking black goo or blowing fuses you probably don't have a fire hazard.

To help alleviate some stress on the transformer, redo all of the solder points on it, and their first connections beyond the transformer. I would even redo any connections from the outlet plug, to the transformer. By redoing, I mean desolder the points, clean all solder off and really clean the tabs on the transformer and other points. Then solder wires back on with fresh solder.

Would be a good idea to replace the connectors and header pins, if that’s where the wires leaving the transformer land. Been awhile since I’ve seen the inside of TAF.

What you’re wanting to accomplish, is giving the transformer a clean path to work, coming into it, and out of it. Age, dust/crud, corroded connections, will make it work harder than it should, due to the resistance being caused at those points.

Clean path = happy electronics.

I can’t guarantee this is a 100% fix, but it will help, and ensure it has a clean path to work as it should. A little time consuming, but will give peace of mind after it’s done.

Power can be created, but not destroyed, it has to be repurposed in other ways, for it to dissipate(usually turned into heat). Examples being heatsinks, resistor bodies, ect...some way to eliminate the power it’s not going to use. If an item is getting too hot, something’s clogging up its path, to where it can’t breathe/function.

Think of a water hose, when clogged, doesn’t operate very well. When cleared, it works as it should. Same theory.

Good advice, Sterlingrush!

There is no downside to spending some time getting your pinball to stop wasting power as heat by frying connectors and plugs.

But this is the deal... all the heat from the transformer is either because it's wasting electricity, or it's processing electricity.

If connectors are warm to the touch, improving the connections will decrease the amount of power the transformer is processing, in proportion to how hot the connectors are getting.

Full LED's decrease the amount of power the transformer processes significantly.

Various other things can be done, but mostly it comes down to heat. If something on your pinball is warm/hot, the transformer will be processing that power.

In my experience, 'Hot Transformer Syndrome' (Hehe) is not justified by the power being processed.

The transformer is just freakishly hot, and gets uncomfortably warm even when only the power is applied without any of the output plugs connected.

Transformers that get hot in 90's model pinballs (and probably other pinballs also, though I've only seen really seriously hot transformers in 90's machines...) are wasting power. Getting hot on their own.

It's not proportional to the amount of power the transformer is processing, it's just HOT!!!

So, when the transformer is wasting a lot of power as heat, you can either live with it or replace it.

Not to say that some connectors aren't getting too hot also! But I really think this is one of those 'transformer gets really hot, doesn't it?' situations.