Hello Pinside Friends,

I had help discovering a GI issue with my ninja turtles pinball machine from another pinside Forum. Before I purchased this game in 2017, I should have listened to my gut and had the owner snap a picture of this connector. I was foolish and assumed the owner was honest or at least aware of all issues. Anyways, I've been trying to tackle all issues that I've encountered over the past year. I'm hoping to get some feedback regarding repairs for the pins shown in the attached photos. 1st question: Is the PPB board beyond the point of repair? That burn mark going to the brown-white wire (for the lower string of backbox lights) looks pretty serious. 2nd question: If repair is possible, can anyone here recommend the parts needed for replacement? Do you guys have experience changing the pins and connector? I really appreciate everyone's time, and hope there is a way to get this connector repaired/replaced. I have a soldering station, which should help (vs. Cheapo soldering iron from Radio Shack).

Thanks!!!

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TheLaw and cp1610, I greatly appreciate the support. I think this is something I can fix now that I have some direction. As for the wire nut, I noticed it as well. I'll make sure to check the power supply connectors.

As for everything else, the machine operates as intended. Sound effects, noises, everything seems to work except those string of backbox lots that are powered through the brown-white cable.

I found another burnt looking connector on the PPB and it not coming off. Should I put a little more effort into getting this connector off the board? Maybe I need to remove everything except this connector, then somehow desolder the header pins to get it completely removed? Or, I could pull out the wires and remove connector once board is removed from backbox?

cp1610 - The wire nut you mentioned contains 2 wires, one of which (red) goes behind the ppb. The other wire is brown-white, matching the other wire in that GI burnt connector location. Not sure what it could be.

Thanks!

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cp1610, excellent advice! Thanks for the input. I'm going to follow your advice on removing header first, then wires using the pinball life tool. I was just trying to visualize how to desolder while the wires were still attached, keeping the board in the backbox...unless there is a disconnect somewhere upstream from the connector. I would very much prefer removing the PPB before any soldering is performed.

Thanks again!

After doing a lot of research, I'm still leaning towards IDC since this machine is not in a heavy use environment.

I was looking at a pinside thread posted by TheLaw mentioning the use of 18/20 gauge connectors for GI instead of 22 gauge. I received conflicting info regarding use of 22 gauge connectors since my wires appear to be 22 gauge. Do you guys recommend using one size over another? I appreciate your help!

TheLaw,

Thanks! This project may not start until after Christmas. I'll try getting the board removed and take photos, in the meantime.

Yeah, you're probably right about the smaller gauge wire referenced to a different game. I attached a screen shot of the post that confused me.

I'll assume 22 gauge for the burnt connectors wires.

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TheLaw motivated me to at least get the board out. Check out my pics! The hack was for that brown-white wire that connects to the non-working string of backbox lights. I'm gonna ask again: Can this be repaired using new pins (male and female)?

Thanks Guys!

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I do have a multimeter, but I'm inexperienced with using it. This process will be tough for a newbie like me. I'll keep looking for examples on jumper wires. Also, I need to figure out how to effectively use my mastech digital multimeter.

Good catch on the cold solder.

Agree. Repair cheaply first, then buy new board when all else fails. Hope they still sell these boards in case I really mess up.

I tried attaching just one pic showing my multimeters but 3 other pics hitched a ride.

Thanks again!

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Excellent! I checked continuity in the current condition and everything checked out, even the ugly azz red jumper cable. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I used one MM lead at the frayed end of the red wire and the other MM lead at the corresponding fuse connection (and fuse end). I checked all the suspect connections and they beeped during continuity check.

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Just to let you guys know, I'm planning to push back this project until Christmas break is over. From my previous post, it seems the red wire hack has continuity from exposed wire end to the respective fuse. This has me wondering if the issue is still due to this wire. I guess it's hard to tell unless you have all the information, but it seems more than a coincidence this wire, which was attached to the brown-white wire via wire nut, wouldn't be causing the issue, since the string of backbox lights not working are connected to this brown-white wire. I'll keep doing my homework and hopefully avoid causing further damage. I'm also planning to order all IDC connectors, and maybe some extra 22 gauge wire for jumpers. Thanks for all the support! This is a great learning experience.

GLSP3022, thanks for your feedback!

Every board connection checked out for continuity. I did find an issue with the brown-white wire inside the cabinet (spliced portion). It was not reading as continuous between the exposed end and at the z-connector pin. I did check the other side of the z-connector and the actual bulb and it was continuous. Could the wire not have enough surface area within the z-connector for conducting? Should I just pull out the seated end of brown-white wire and reseat with z-connector for continuity? This is getting interesting.

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Hey Guys,
I'm ordering the following:

9-pin IDC connectors (header pin replacements)
Tool for pushing wires into IDC connector
5A s.b. fuses
22 gauge wire (jumper)
Fuse holders

Ok...I'm also thinking of replacing all backbox (non-blinking) incandescents with soft white LEDs. Do you guys think this will help reduce some of the heat at the GI PPB connection for those specific circuits? I know using crimped style pins (trifurcon) will be a good long term solution, but I'm sticking to IDC connectors. I know what many are thinking...if you're going to go through the trouble of repairing the board and buy new LEDs, why not upgrade everything?

I attached another pic of the wire hack. I'm planning to replace the 9 pins with new 9-pin header, then add solder to the backside of the new pin at burned hole. Then I will attach a jumper to that solder point and attach the other end at the location where red wire is currently attached. Do you guys see an issue going this route?

Thanks again for the help! I won't be home to make all these repairs until after Christmas. Stay tuned.

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I want to make a correction to my post #21. The brown-white wire that ties into the red jumper goes up to the power board. That brown-white wire is soldered to a green wire that plugs into the power board. There is continuity at all brown-white wires. Seems everyone was right about the root of this problem. Nee pins should solve the problem. Just. Owning up to my mistake.

Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to help this stranger out.

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I happened to buy a heat gun and shrink tubing for any possible wire-to-wire (splice) connections. I'm planning to twist together and solder the extension from the new idc connector to that splice point.

I forgot to ask you guys about removing wire from the original idc connector. Is it recommended to cut the wire so that the new connector has a fresh tip to use for conduction? I had a tough time trying to remove a wire from the tight grip of that idc connector, so I gave up on that task. Just wondering what you guys think. I haven't found much on the web regarding this subject of wire removal from idc housing. I have a feeling cutting wire close to the connector will be my best option. I'll just have to hope there is enough length to prevent splicing to those cut ends.

Thanks again!

Started back on the project today. I successfully replaced the male header pins without needing a jumper wire. I'm currently stuck trying to insert wires into the new idc plastic housing. The tool doesn't seem to be enough to push these wires into a permanent choke hold. I'm all for any tips you guys have...unless I'm doing correctly. I had to push the tool with plastic connector on a flat surface. The instructions for the tool say to tap until it bottoms out. Seems I'm not putting enough force on the tool.

So close...

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I did it!!! Yes!!! Thank you to all who helped!!!

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Swapped incandescent with led. Love it!

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