LEDs in a Ice Cold Beer - anybody done it?

kspiff

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I want to change out the lighting on my ICB to LEDs. But going off the manual schematic it appears that the lighting is fed by +12VDC whereas the LEDs commonly available are +6.3VAC/DC.

I got lazy and didn't meter the coin lamp sockets, but this appears to be proven by the fact that when I installed a #44 LED in the coin door it got super hot and I think scorched the lamp socket.

So has anyone done this before? Possible to add resistors? Or rewire the power to use 5VDC from somewhere instead of 12?
 
I want to change out the lighting on my ICB to LEDs. But going off the manual schematic it appears that the lighting is fed by +12VDC whereas the LEDs commonly available are +6.3VAC/DC.

I got lazy and didn't meter the coin lamp sockets, but this appears to be proven by the fact that when I installed a #44 LED in the coin door it got super hot and I think scorched the lamp socket.

So has anyone done this before? Possible to add resistors? Or rewire the power to use 5VDC from somewhere instead of 12?

i think yer math is off there doc :D

go here and staaaaaaaaaaart reading :)

http://www.ledtronics.com/


END OF LINE.

Daniel.
 
What math? I didn't do any math.

And this site is pretty all-encompassing. What am I supposed to be reading here? :/
 
The pinball guys are using a lot of LED's these days, especially in difficult to replace parts of the game. Those retrofit LED's already have the resistors built in them, so they are direct substitutions for the original lamps with no wiring or transformer modifications.
 
So you're saying the Ablaze and Cointaker LEDs should work with a higher supply voltage than what they're rated for?

When I tried either of those two brands the bulbs and socket got hot as hell and started to scorch the sockets. Possibly the built in resistance dissipating the excess as heat?

And I see on this LEDtronics site some lamps that are 12VDC ready, but the minimum order and pricing is a bit high. :( If it's going to cost me $200+ to replace about 15 lamps then I should probably stick with incandescents.
 
i just pulled a couple of lamps out of the playfield and they're #44's so 6v LED's should work fine.

i took a look at the coin door lamps and thought mine looked quite anemic so i thought maybe they were 12v lamps in a 6v circuit. nope, turns out they are 28v 1819's in a 14v circuit! time to order those 1813's from Bob.

so, playfield 6v, coin door 14v (well, 12v unregulated as they say.) start button lamp is also a #44 so 6v there too.

-----

edited to add:

i was thinking about doing this but haven't gotten around to it. i'd love to see pictures or video of the results if you do!
 
I see. I couldn't discern from the schematic in the manual what voltage the playfield lamps were, guess those are 6V and the coin door is 12V. Coin door lamps must not have been 44s?

Sure, when I get back in country and get time I will post pics. Want to replace the two motors, do the LED mod, and install a new CPO when I get back.

I sure wish someone made a repro for the TILT plexi though. That would be friggin sweet.

i just pulled a couple of lamps out of the playfield and they're #44's so 6v LED's should work fine.

i took a look at the coin door lamps and thought mine looked quite anemic so i thought maybe they were 12v lamps in a 6v circuit. nope, turns out they are 28v 1819's in a 14v circuit! time to order those 1813's from Bob.

so, playfield 6v, coin door 14v (well, 12v unregulated as they say.) start button lamp is also a #44 so 6v there too.

-----

edited to add:

i was thinking about doing this but haven't gotten around to it. i'd love to see pictures or video of the results if you do!
 
I sure wish someone made a repro for the TILT plexi though. That would be friggin sweet.

I bet that could be done pretty easily as an overlay. Scan it and have Rich print it. I think that would be awesome too. Mine could use it. I was planning to eventually touch it up by hand but your comment here gave me the overlay thought.
 
coin door lamps should be 1813's. or, if you're just going to go to the auto parts store you can get 1895's but the "bulb" part is a lot larger and might be a tight fit.
 
I may take it out and scan it as you suggest. It's small so would be easy to scan in a normal flatbed. And who knows, maybe Rich can do some inkjet on plexi repros for us? If they were reverse printed on the opposite side of the originals even if using inkjet they should hold up great. Then the only problem would be routing/shaving the curved edges.

And I'm not sure I should post this, but I took a shot at contacting CoinTaker about 12V LEDs with a 44 base. They're not up on the site, but they do have (or will soon have) them in all 9 colors! Asked them to shoot me a invoice for 4x red, 4x orange, 4x white, and 4x warm white. :D
 
LOL... kray37? Funny, I just replied to your email via HAAG group regarding your PC-10 and red tent. :D

As for the LEDs I've got the ones to redo the playfield (standard 6V warm white and red from CoinTaker), but I'm still working on getting them to send me a invoice for the 12V bayonet base bulbs that are not on the site (hoping they finally get the invoice sent to me on Monday).

What is the easiest way to get in to change the bulbs though??? Looked like it requires a lot of disassembly from the time I glanced at the job.
 
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