I need some opinions on fixing my pinball machine

shane7951

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I have a 1979 Stern Dracula Pinball machine that I just picked up yesterday. While playing the lights that illuminate the playing field and backglass went out. The sound went out too. I've never worked on a Pinball machine so I don't know what to do, what could be the problem? Here are some pictures, the last one shows the machine working normal.
 

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do you have a volt meter? are you willing to repair the machine?

http://www.pinrepair.com/bally/index.htm

i know it says bally but bally and stern go together

it looks like you have a blown fuse there, take a volt meter and test for continuity, remove the fuses from the fuse holders and test, one by one so you can make sure you dont mix them up, let us know what you find
 
Thanks everyone, I'm gonna read over the information you guys gave me and look into replacing the fuses. I will follow up with the results
 
that looks like an awesome playfield !

now i want one

theres a reason why the F5 fuse blew. just replacing the fuse might fix it, it might not. sometimes fuses just fail after years and years of service, other times something else goes wrong and the fuse does its job saving the circuit from more damage and the pinball machine from even a fire !

if it blows again, start to look at each bulb/socket in the circuit. sometimes an obvious problem can be detected with your eye, sometimes theres something in the bulb socket thats a problem from something shorting the socket like a little piece of metal. look at the wiring, bulbs everything. something is making that fuse blow, hopefully just a new fuse will fix it
 
Okay guys I replaced the blown fuse and the lights work now but the sound still doesn't work. Any thoughts?

Thanks again for everyone helping me out!
 
Not sure how much this will help but the speaker produces a hum but no gameplay sounds.
 
Not sure how much this will help but the speaker produces a hum but no gameplay sounds.

If a fuse were blown causing this problem the MPU wouldn't boot because it's using the same voltages as the sound board.

I would start by checking the voltages at the test points. They should be (based on looking at the schematic):

TP1 = +5VDC
TP4 = GND
TP6 = +5VDC
TP7 = 12VDC
TP8 = 6.2VDC
TP9 = 10VDC

You could also try re-seating the cable connecting to the MPU.
 
If a fuse were blown causing this problem the MPU wouldn't boot because it's using the same voltages as the sound board.

I would start by checking the voltages at the test points. They should be (based on looking at the schematic):

TP1 = +5VDC
TP4 = GND
TP6 = +5VDC
TP7 = 12VDC
TP8 = 6.2VDC
TP9 = 10VDC

You could also try re-seating the cable connecting to the MPU.

Thanks, where can I get schematics for the machine?
 
Alright so an update on my Dracula Stern Pinball machine. I replaced the fuse so the lights are good but the sound is still out. The speaker still omits a hum but no gameplay noise, I've tried reseating the cables and still nothing. Any ideas?
 
Alright so an update on my Dracula Stern Pinball machine. I replaced the fuse so the lights are good but the sound is still out. The speaker still omits a hum but no gameplay noise, I've tried reseating the cables and still nothing. Any ideas?

Did you check the voltages?
 
I'm new with Pinball machines, how do I do that?

I posted the voltages that you should be seeing above. To test them take a multimeter set to measure DC voltage and connect the black lead to ground. Then touch each of the test points with the other lead and note the voltages. If any are missing or incorrect then you've found a problem and can act accordingly. If they're all good then you know you have some other problem and you can move on.

Be careful when doing this as there are voltages present in a pinball machine that could hurt you.
 
I'm new with Pinball machines, how do I do that?

There's really no getting around the fact that you will have to read the materials at the pinball repair website listed earlier...unless you can afford someone to come and fix your machine.
 
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