TSPP. Leds on &quot;Mode Sign&quot; are acting up.

Maybe a cold solder joint on the header of the board with the LEDs? Easy enough to reflow all the solder on those and see if that works (or replace the header with a new one.)

#3 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

I've already checked continuity from the pins on the header to the tracks and all of them work ok.

#4 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

Continuity may be there even with a cold (broken solder joint). As the board heats or shaken, the connection can break, causing the LEDs to flicker. I'd still start there -- easy to check, easy to fix (just heat up and reflow the solder on the header at the joints). Make sure to rule it out completely before moving onto the next thing.

#5 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

I've followed your piece of advice and heated up all the joints on the header. Unfortunately it hasn't solved the problem and the leds keep flickering.
Thank you for your help.

#6 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

Sorry that didn't help. Can you take a photo of the board and post a video of the flickering?

#7 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tspp-mode-sign-flickering

Behaviour on attract mode.

On the next video you can see that the leds behave as they should on test mode.

#8 6 years ago

JFK

WODKA

Pinside member

9y 36,800 297

Same problem but no solution.

#9 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

Thanks for the videos. So it really isn't flickering, but what you are seeing is the strobing of the signal doing down the row or column of the light matrix. If you notice, the first LED (Duffman) is out. Test its LED and its resistor -- and replace the bad one (or just replace both of them). I'll bet that fixes your problem.

#10 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

Thank you lyosden for your time. I was checking the leds with the multimeter. When I put the two probes on the legs of the first led it beeped. None of the other leds did that. Does it mean the first led is defective?

#11 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

OP
Quoted from guido:
Thank you lyosden for your time. I was checking the leds with the multimeter. When I put the two probes on the legs of the first led it beeped. None of the other leds did that. Does it mean the first led is defective?

I can't think of a time where I have seen an LED blow and create a short (they fail open). However, there is probably something wrong in that circuit. Replace the LED and the resistor. I checked the manual, and there isn't a breakdown of parts for that board, so I am not able to tell you what you should put in. You should be able to figure out the resistance of the resistor based on the color bands. Also, measure the base of the LED in millimeters. With those data, it shouldn't be too hard to guess at the LED (I can't imagine they used anything exotic). Feel free to post a picture of the board and I'll see what I can come up with. For ordering components, check out https://www.greatplainselectronics.com. Ed is an active poster on pinside, he sells very reliable products and his prices can't be beat (and he has helped me numerous times on pinside).

#12 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

Here you are

IMG_20170728_153756 (resized).jpg

#13 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

1/2W: https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=RCF1/2-220
1/4W: https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=RCF1/4-220

You'll want to replace the top "beige" resistor. Color code is red-red-brown, or 220 ohm. I'm not sure if it is a 1/2 or 1/4W, but here are the links to buy them from GPE:

They are $0.05 so get some of each.

The LED is probably probably either a 3mm or 5mm:

3mm: https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=HLMP1790
5mm: https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=HLMP3507

Each is $0.20, again, get a couple of each.

I think there is a $5 minimum order from GPE, so it is a good time to stock up on connectors, headers, transistors, etc.

#14 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

Thank you for the links. Even though I'm not in the u.s I'll take those references to get them.
I'll start changing the top beige resistor since the original triangle shaped led is difficult to get.

In case the led is defective. I was planning to cut the end part of the original one and glue it on top of the new led. This way I can keep the original appearance of the board.

I really appreciate your help

#15 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

No problem. Hope this solves your problem, and post back either way as it may help others down the road.

#16 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

Problem solved.

I have checked all the resistors and all of them were ok. Then I checked the leds and all of them lit but the first one.
I have taken the first led out since it is clear now that it is the cause of all the problems. I have reassembled the board on the pinball and now all the leds are working as they should.
I missing one led, the first one. I'll look for one replacement.

Thanks again for your help.

#17 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

Congrats! Doing a quick search for the correct triangle shaped LED, I came up with this: ebay.com link: 20 x VQA29 Miniature LED TRIANGULAR GREEN 20 pieces

Hope that helps.

#18 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

Thank you for the link.
I have ordered order some leds in a electronic store near my city. They appear to be the same size and shape as the ones used in the pinball. I hope they work.

#19 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

This is the led I have ordered.

(If = 10mA): 1.25 - 8mcd

diodo-led-5x7mm-verde-triangular-1-8600_thumb_450x450 (resized).png

Ref. L323GD

#20 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

Digging some more at digikey, this looks like this is a good replacement: https://www.digikey.com/catalog/en/partgroup/4-0mm-x-4-5mm-triangle-with-flat-top-led-lamp/35917. It has looks like it can handle 20mA, with an input voltage of 2.2V. Using this resistor calculator: https://www.digikey.com/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-led-series-resistor and assuming an input voltage of 6.3V, the 220 ohm resistor is perfect. (But keep in mind that I am just guessing at the size of the LED.)

Screen Shot 2017-08-02 at 3.03.11 PM (resized).png

#21 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

Thank you. That is an interesting tool to know which led will be good for our pinball.
According to the specifiations given in this link : https://www.soselectronic.com/products/kingbright/l-323-gd-12032
I think the led I have ordered is very similar to the one you have posted.

2017-08-03 (2) (resized).png

#22 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

The one your ordered looks good. How long do you think it will take to get it and report back? (I hope it works!)

#23 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

I think I will get them by Friday. I'll post the result.

#24 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

I hace just received them. They are identical.
Standing side by side.

IMG_20170803_125003-1 (resized).jpg

#25 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

Excellent!

#26 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

Led installed and...

IMG_20170803_131721 (resized).jpg

... WORKING!!

Thank you for taking your time to help me lyonsden.

#27 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden

Nice work! If you can, post the part number of the LED.

#28 6 years ago

JAF

guido

Pinside member

I posted it some posts above. The led number is L323GD.

More information in this link: https://www.soselectronic.com/products/kingbright/l-323-gd-12032

#29 6 years ago

___

brainmegaphone

Pinside member

9y 73,550 1,337

Great info on this post.

#30 6 years ago

ATI

atipinball

Inactive member

Saint Paul, MN

7y 15,150 11 2

OP
Quoted from guido:
I posted it some posts above. The led number is L323GD.
More information in this link: https://www.soselectronic.com/products/kingbright/l-323-gd-12032

I am having the same issue but mine is with one of the red LED lights. I tried to use the information you provided to find a red LED with the same specs but I'm having trouble. Can you help me, please?

#31 6 years ago

EHL

lyonsden