It sounds like your condenser is possibly out. Luckily, they're cheap and easy to replace.

There's a cylindrical part about 1/2" to 3/4" in diameter in the upper left corner of the backbox (I think). Follow the wires. Twist it out and take it to Home Depot. They should have a replacement for you there.

If that's not it, it's the ballast, but my guess is it's your condenser.

Check to see if the 120v supply is still plugged in. If you follow the black supply wires from the transformer over and down the left side of the back box there is a crimp on wire disconnect about half way down. This has come apart in my TSPP before leading me to much consternation before I actually figured it out. Solid troubleshooting technique on my part, with a multimeter, would have easily found it in about 30 seconds but for whatever reason I farted around replacing components to no avail.

Have you replaced the ballast?

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=232&pg=1

check ballast as well....had to replace one on my Shrek machine a while back before I sold it.

There's nothing to that circuit - ballast, starter, tube. If you change the tube and starter and still have nothing then the ballast is bad.

You can get the correct ballast at Home Cheapo for about $7.

viperrwk

If you mean the ballast, it should be in the upper right of the head. See the link below. Above the caution sticker. If needed, follow the wires from the starter and the bulb sockets.

http://ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=4674&picno=47533&zoom=1

No polarity for a ballast, but it is high voltage. I solder and shrink wrap new ones. One or both sides may need to be tinned before soldering them together.

Probably not. All the parts are cheap. Find a similar ballast, then pick a bulb size listed for it. Starter too.

You need an FS-2 starter. It's made for 14 watt to 20 watt bulbs.

Had the same issue on my RFM last week, used the FS-2 from my TSPP to test it out and it worked fine. I have had to replace the ballast on a friends Spider-man though, and they're about $6 at Home Depot. Takes minutes to swap out, just turn the game off while you do it.

Section 4, chapter 1, page 60 of the manual. Item 11 (10 in the pic) is the starter and 12 is the ballast:

http://mirror2.ipdb.org/files/4674/Stern_2003_The_Simpsons_Pinball_Party_Manual.pdf

viperrwk

I've started switching mine over to LED:

http://www.polar-ray.com/24-LED-T8-Tube--Frosted-Diffuser_p_181.html

The color is a bit cooler than flourescent, but it's nice to have the backglass light up immediately. Don't forget to bypass the ballast if you do this.

If the LED tube is "inductive ballast-compatible" then all you have to do is pull the starter and install.

Nonetheless, bypassing the ballast is a good thing because it saves energy and you'd have to pull the ballast anyway and rewire once the ballast goes bad.

viperrwk

ballast is in top upper left corner of the back box.

I believe that is correct. The ballast is the transformer that gives the voltage that you need. The starter is the part that is flourescent specific.

No.

The page says must remove ballast before installing and does not say inductive ballast compatible from what I can see.

There are other tubes out there that all you would need to do is remove the starter.

viperrwk

Removal should just be dealing with some screws, wire nuts, and twisted wire. Most of them aren't much more secured than that. I guess you could run into some solder, but there's nothing really complicated about replacing these. Just put the new one in the exact same way as the old one, and you'll be good.

Sorry missed your earlier post - too much action on this forum...

You're better off pulling the ballast anyway. As Jar said it's easy. Follow the link I posted earlier that shows you where the ballast is located. There are two wires that come from the ballast that are connected on each side by a wire nut. Undo the nuts, remove the ballast, connect the two remaining loose wires with a wire nut. Pull the starter - done. Instant light, lower power consumption, less heat in the backbox. Bob's you're uncle.

viperrwk

I don't remove the ballast; I just bypass it (disconnect the wires) so it's easy to reverse the change. I'll try to take a few pics tomorrow.

What voltage are you seeing at the contacts?

Ah...it's not enough to disconnect the ballast, you have to bypass it. I'll snap a picture when I get home.

Whether you leave the ballast in place or not is up to you but you must complete the circuit after disconnecting the ballast. That's why you must connect the loose wires that previously went to the ballast.

There is nothing to the circuit. Here's the wiring diagram if that helps.

viperrwk

tube.JPG

Ah - nothing like newbies fiddling with the mains wiring - I would suggest caution and if in doubt get an electrician or technician to do it and perhaps show you for next time.

Don't end up frizzled or with a fire on your hands for the sake of $50

Yes - when you disconnect the ballast you break the circuit - joining the black wire that was on one side of the ballast to the red wire on the other completes it again.

viperrwk

Had a SST do this and it was the starter. Went to Home Depot and bought a new one. Works fine now.

A photo to see how it illuminates the backbox would be nice...

viperrwk