help with LW3 lighting issues.

boostedskex

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Hi guys. I finally bought my first pinball machine. Its a Lethal Weapon 3 and we are having a great time with it. When I went to look at it everything seemed to work correctly and after it made the trip home everything still seemed good. I noticed yesterday that approx. half of the backglass on the left side was out. Now tonight the backglass lights are staying on but while my son was playing the lights in the lower playfield by the slingshots both went out after the game was on for 3 to 4 hours. If I turn the game off and let it sit for a while and then turn back on all of the lights come on but then will turn back off.

I will be honest I havent tested anything but did look at all of the connectors and none of them are burnt. Any help where to start looking would be great.

Thanks
Alex
 
Well I have been looking over wiring and connectors all day and can not seem to find anything wrong. Since the lights work just fine when the machine is initially started and then stop working it seems that something is warming up and then failing? It seems to happen under 3 minutesof powering on the machine. Can anyone shed light on whats going wrong?

Just carefully watched to see what lights go out. It is the lights in the middle of the playfield on both sides, the lights at the bottom of the playfield in the slingshots, the lights in the guides down to the flippers and the coin door lights. They all flash in sequence to the music of the game but generally i think they are for lighting the playfield because when they go out it is very hard to see.

Should the coin door lights be flashing with those lights?

please help a pinball newb out!

Thanks
Alex
 
Last edited:
Probably a solder/header issue.
Locate the part of the wiring harness that drives those lights and when the machine is on and warmed up, wiggle that connector. If the lights stay on and/or go on and off pull the board and reflow the header. It is also possible the header needs a new one and/or the female side is burnt and/or simply a loose connection on the female molex connector.
 
thanks deadly i will try it now! I have been checking just waiting for someone to reply hahahahahah!!

Thanks
Alex
 
ok i found out what plug it is and moved it around and it def. affects the lights on the backbox that were coming on and off and also all of my playfield lighting that was acting up. Everything looks fine on the plug and ond the board. Do I have to remove the board and look on the backside? What are you expecting I will find on the back of that board, it is on the playfield power board.

Thanks
Alex
 
Yep, need to pull the board out. Get yer shapie pen handy and label every connector so you are sure to put them back on correctly.

Once the board is out reflow the solder on the affected header.
Inspect all the other headers also and if they look iffy reflow the solder on those as well.
 
just to make sure when you say reflow, I just need to apply the soldering iron at low heat just enough to melt the old solder.

Thanks for the help
Alex
 
Last edited:
Exactly.
But if you're feeling froggy, you can use a solder pult to remove the old and flow on new solder.
 
ill try to just heat it up ahhaahh not feeling that froggy! Thanks deadly, iappreciate your help. Ill let you know how it goes

Thanks
Alex
 
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