Burnt Connectors

[KenLayton]

A few days ago I repaired for a friend a board from a Terminator 2 pinball with not only burnt connectors, but burnt board too.

Check out the pictures where someone had hard-wired the lighting circuit.

 

[ModCity]

Egad, that's horrifying. Replacing pins and plugs is not really difficult and it can pay big returns if you learn how to do it. Recently did it with an Elevator Action on which the power supply plug into the PCB would get so hot after 10 minutes switched on that it would burn your fingers if you touched it. As in it would blister your fingers. I was shocked how hot it got, it probably would have started on fire eventually. And it was causing game lock-ups and resets.

Got a new upgraded cord (with new connector) from Bob Roberts and did my first repin on it as well. Problems all gone - it's actually quite satisfying to touch the plug after hours of operation and have it literally cool to the touch.

I've done connectors only in the past because I was nervous about repinning on my pinball PCBs. Now that I see how easy it is I'll probably go back and repin those connectors as well. It's worth it.

 

[Fulltilt]

In follow-up to Ken's post. For some reason, T2 seems to be a master at burning the J115 connector. This is what I found when I bought my T2. And yes, the GI was actually working. It was a beast to repin the board. Had to add jumpers to the burnt traces.

- Don