Asteroids Deluxe - Problem with Bulbs

ScumBum

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
5,240
Reaction score
395
Location
California
I'm having a problem getting the fluorescent bulbs for the marquee and black light to work .

How much voltage should I be getting up there for the lights ? I'm getting 120v .
 
What is the light doing? There are three components, the bulb, the starter, and the ballast. All three can be replaced with parts from Lowes or Home Depot. The bulb and starter usually fail before the ballast...
 
Here's what happens if certain parts are bad on your fluorescent fixture:

1) Ballast good, Starter good, bulb bad - usually you'll see that the end of the bulb are darkened. Sometimes the ends will light up partially, the bulb may try to light but look dim, or it will be completely dead. Easy to fix - just put in a new bulb.

2) Ballast good, bulb good, starter bad - If you've put in a new bulb and the bulb does nothing, lights on the ends but won't light fully, flickers on and off quickly, or takes more than 15 seconds to light, then your starter is bad. Sometimes you can get the bulb to light by removing the starter while power is on, but it won't light again after you remove and reapply power. Easy to fix - put in a new starter.

3) Bulb good, starter good, ballast bad - this is a little trickier, because if the ballast is bad, then your starter and bulb are probably bad, too. If you put in a new starter and a new bulb, power it up, and the bulb flashes quickly and then stays out, then your ballast is bad and just shorted out your new bulb. New ballasts can be bought for about $5-6 at Lowes or Home Depot. Just get the ones rated for 25W or less. I usually keep bulbs around that are semi-bad - meaning they are dark on the ends or only light at the ends. If I have a game with a dead bulb, I stick the semi-bad bulb in first to see if it blows immediately - indicating a bad ballast. This keeps me from blowing new (and expensive) bulbs. I remember Ken Layton once mentioning a way to test a ballast with a meter, but I've forgotten what he said. Perhaps I'll look for the info later....
 
Here's what happens if certain parts are bad on your fluorescent fixture:

1) Ballast good, Starter good, bulb bad - usually you'll see that the end of the bulb are darkened. Sometimes the ends will light up partially, the bulb may try to light but look dim, or it will be completely dead. Easy to fix - just put in a new bulb.

2) Ballast good, bulb good, starter bad - If you've put in a new bulb and the bulb does nothing, lights on the ends but won't light fully, flickers on and off quickly, or takes more than 15 seconds to light, then your starter is bad. Sometimes you can get the bulb to light by removing the starter while power is on, but it won't light again after you remove and reapply power. Easy to fix - put in a new starter.

3) Bulb good, starter good, ballast bad - this is a little trickier, because if the ballast is bad, then your starter and bulb are probably bad, too. If you put in a new starter and a new bulb, power it up, and the bulb flashes quickly and then stays out, then your ballast is bad and just shorted out your new bulb. New ballasts can be bought for about $5-6 at Lowes or Home Depot. Just get the ones rated for 25W or less. I usually keep bulbs around that are semi-bad - meaning they are dark on the ends or only light at the ends. If I have a game with a dead bulb, I stick the semi-bad bulb in first to see if it blows immediately - indicating a bad ballast. This keeps me from blowing new (and expensive) bulbs. I remember Ken Layton once mentioning a way to test a ballast with a meter, but I've forgotten what he said. Perhaps I'll look for the info later....

Thanks for all the info !!! Thats a good list to help trouble shoot !!

In my situation I picked up the game and there were no bulbs in the game . So I bought 2 new bulbs , put them in and got no sign of life at all . So I tested the voltage and got 120v , so I thought maybe the bulbs got messed up in shipping . Went and bought another new bulb and still nothing , no sign of life , no flicker , nothing . But I'm getting 120v .

So it looks like number 2 - replace the starter .
 
If you have another game cabinet, you can test the starter (and maybe the bulb) in there to see if they work. If they do, then suspect a bad ballast. if not, try a new starter first, and hope the ballast is okay.

Or, if you don't want to chance losing the bulb, spend $5 on a new ballast and replaces "just 'cuz"...
 
The starters are only like $3 for a 2 pack at homey depot. That said they were tough to find - they're in the fluorescent light aisle in little boxes that may or may not stand out much.

You need FS2 starters. Both of mine were bad on my AD.
 
If you have another game cabinet, you can test the starter (and maybe the bulb) in there to see if they work. If they do, then suspect a bad ballast. if not, try a new starter first, and hope the ballast is okay.

Or, if you don't want to chance losing the bulb, spend $5 on a new ballast and replaces "just 'cuz"...

I'm just gonna replace both the starter and ballast , they're cheap and I don't wanna risk blowing bulbs .

Thanks again for the Help !!
 
The starters are only like $3 for a 2 pack at homey depot. That said they were tough to find - they're in the fluorescent light aisle in little boxes that may or may not stand out much.

You need FS2 starters. Both of mine were bad on my AD.

Thanks for info on the FS2 starters , I'm on my way to home depot ,
 
I'm just gonna replace both the starter and ballast , they're cheap and I don't wanna risk blowing bulbs .

Especially since the back one is a blacklight - a white blacklight, although some prefer the purple blacklight...

And remember, two bulbs means two starters and two ballasts...
 
Thanks modessitt for the info and orion3311 on what starter to get . $15 and I got both lights working . I got a "warm white" bulb for the marquee but I think I could have gotten a brighter one . I also got the "white" black light bulb but haven't tried it yet . Using the "Black" black light bulb right now and it looks pretty cool ! Once its in the game room I'm gonna try switching the black light bulbs around and see which one I like better . This game is awesome !!

Asteroids-marquee.jpg


Asteroids-gameOn.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom