Help with a Marquee light - No starter??

80sarcade

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2007
Messages
142
Reaction score
6
Location
Pickerington, Ohio
I just picked up a Star Trek SOS, the marquee light just went out. I figured, it was the bulb or more likely the starter. I pull it apart and no starter? There is this small bulb looking thing? This is the first Sega machine and looking for help.

Included is a picture.
 

Attachments

  • mms_picture.jpg
    mms_picture.jpg
    38.3 KB · Views: 52
That is your starter, it's just not in a typical case that you are used to seeing. The most common fluorescent starter is called a "glow tube starter" (or just starter) and contains a small gas (neon, etc.) filled tube and an optional radio frequency interference (RFI) suppression capacitor in a cylindrical aluminum or plastic can with a 2 pin base. While all starters are physically interchangeable, the wattage rating of the starter should be matched to the wattage rating of the fluorescent tubes for reliable operation and long life. I would just go pick up a new starter, and base. Mount the base, wire it up, and plug in the new starter. Or just get a complete new light.
 
If that's using a 18", 15 watt F12 (1.5" diameter tube), then you should use a FS-2 starter

You will need to cut out the old one, then wire in the new one. You can either install a quick swap socket for the starter (a $1 or so) or you can directly solder to the base of the FS-2 starter pins, or you could disassemble the starter can and solder the capacitor and neon tube inside to match the way it is in that. Of course open it is not as safe to have it open like that, and you really shoud just solder to the FS-2 pins and cover them with tape, or put in a socket.

Also you should meter the transformer BEFORE you put in a new tube. Compare the resistance to the transformer on a known good one, and they should be very close in resistance. from my experience, old transformers can start to cross-short inside and then reduce resistance and then putting in a new tube will burn it out in just 1 second with a nice super bright glow on both ends.
 
Last edited:
What's right behind the "bulb looking thing" ?
(looks like a hack job)

The manual shows what appears to be an SF-2 starter and socket.
 
looks like someone cut the starter socket out, decased the starter, and hard wired it...
 
Thanks everyone, I figured it was something like a hack job. I will install a new socket and a F2. It is a standard 15W bulb.

Now I have to figure out the coin door. They ripped out the coin mechs and put in a push button to coin up the machine. The issue it takes a lot of presses to get the machine to coin up. Looking over the wiring it looks like it reads both the NO and NC inputs, which a normal push button does not have. They wired both NO and NC to one side and neg to the other. I have ordered a freeplay chip for ST and hope the gets rid of this issue.

Thanks again
80sarcade
 
Back
Top Bottom