Finding a GI short

[GameyMcGame]

My dr dude is blowing a fuse and losing it's GI on the right side of the playfield. Nothing obvious is shorting it (no pinched wires etc) so I'm thinking it's a bad socket...before I go and start de soldering every light...any suggestions on how to track it down? Thanks

 

[creepykenny]

could be a bad socket, could also be something inside one of the sockets causing the short - solder being main culprit

these GI shorts are a pain, i usually start with a good inspection of all bulbs and the inside of each socket and go on from there

 

[GameyMcGame]

could be a bad socket, could also be something inside one of the sockets causing the short - solder being main culprit

these GI shorts are a pain, i usually start with a good inspection of all bulbs and the inside of each socket and go on from there

Yeah total PIA. Hapless out of nowhere too. Was sitting for a month and had been working. Fired it up and it blows a fuse. Weird.

 

[KenLayton]

Take every bulb out of the sockets on that side of the playfield then try a new fuse. If it does NOT blow then you had a bad bulb (shorted bulb). If it still blows then you have socket or pinched wires problems.

 

[creepykenny]

you inspired me to finally look into a GI short in my MSF, reason i put it off for so long is both ramps had to be removed and a couple other annoying pieces.

found my short - was a bad lamp holder/socket - internally shorted by the little springy thing, replacing socket and hoping there is not another one bad in this string

 

[gutz]

Take every bulb out of the sockets on that side of the playfield then try a new fuse. If it does NOT blow then you had a bad bulb (shorted bulb). If it still blows then you have socket or pinched wires problems.

+1. Get a 5a circuit breaker and save same fuses.

 

[GameyMcGame]

+1. Get a 5a circuit breaker and save same fuses.

ahh....Thats an interesting idea...

 

[LyonsArcade]

Those really suck, like Ken said you have to remove every bulb to even test it with a meter, because bulbs are almost a direct short (that's how they work)... I had a bulb once that was shorted out of the box, took me forever to find it but once I removed it (had just put in all new bulbs) there was a little blob of solder connecting the side to the nub on the end, blew a fuse of course immediately.

The whole string will measure shorted as long as either a bulb is installed somewhere OR the short is still present = very hard to figure out where the short is.

 

[ryanwanger]

found my short - was a bad lamp holder/socket - internally shorted by the little springy thing, replacing socket and hoping there is not another one bad in this string

This just happened to me too. The spring was collapsed and no longer protruding upwards as it should have.

You can probably just remove all the bulbs, fire it up and then see what happens to the fuse. If it doesn't blow, then replace the bulbs one by one till you find the problem.

 

[GameyMcGame]

Found it...I started with the last 4 bulbs in the string, took them out and the short was gone. Replaced all 4 bulbs and it seems to be working now...

thanks

 

[ArcadeTechGW]

You could also ohm each socket - if it reads 0 ohms or close to it, you found your short. Of course, if it's in a string of lamps, you'd have to remove each lamp until the short cleared.