Never ends..new problems with the Shuttle.

Frax

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So put probably 10-15 games on it since I finished replacing all the playfield bulbs with LEDs and fixed the flipper up with a new coil.

One of the links on the board has burned up half of it's insulation and completely desoldered itself on one side as well. I knew this was a possibility because when I first got it home, I knew that part of the power board was burned up and hacked back together. GI didn't work until I fiddled with that solid wire jumper, and I've had to adjust it periodically.

I'm guessing it finally got too much resistance in the joint from being loose, and that's what caused it to heat up like crazy? Either way...I think I can repair it, but the question is this...

Is it worth it? PINLED makes a 100$ replacement power board. I was going to end up buying it ANYWAYS because I want to replace the plasma gas displays with the LED ones that will last pretty much forever, hopefully. The power board I have, as said...is burnt to a crisp. Traces black charred and lifted off in some parts, the connectors removed and soldered directly to the board in at least two places etc etc...

Should I just go ahead and spend the money on this, and a crimp tool, and learn how to make a connector right for this thing to use the new power board, or try and fix the board I have? =\
 
If you plan on keeping it, I say spend the money and have it right. I'm in a situation similar to yours with my Pinbot. It was a project when I bought it, but I love the game.
As stuff craps out, I try to bulletproof it. This has led to a parts list that approaches the original price of the game, but I doubt I'll ever get rid of it anyway.

I went with a Pinscores power supply on mine. Even though I'm still running the original displays, it supports both. Since my original supply was also hacked but working, I put it in a box for a spare/test part.
 
TBH I would really love to replace every single light socket and the entire wiring harness when I swap the playfield but probably not a realistic desire there, lol. :)

My end goal would be to have this thing as bulletproof as possible, but I know that's just not a realistic expectation when dealing with PCBs that were problematic 30 years ago when they were built, much less AFTER 30 years. This particular machine was out on route for at least five years from the tax stickers I removed. :p

But yeah, good to know that I can spend the money and not have to worry about it being some big huge deal to get the power issue resolved. And I'm already just under the price of the machine in parts already...but if I hadn't LED'ed it out and am changing out star posts and things like that, my cost would've been substantially lower. I think I've spent about 50$ on LEDs. I'd have to go look at my receipts. :p
 
It's not mandatory to replace the power supply if you upgrade the displays..

Just a simple cost/reward/skill equation at this point. With time, effort and a little $, you can make your existing board very reliable.

With considerably more $ (tho still a reasonable amount), you can start over.

Based on what you've said, it sounds like you have some connectors that need to be rebuilt. Buying a new board would kind of be like throwing the baby away with the bathwater

I don't think "fixing it right" requires a new board, but if you decide to do that, what the heck. That's what keeps the repro board manufacturers in business. $100 versus $10, only you know the real impact of that. Good luck!

and also - you are correct - even with a new board, you are going to need to learn how to crimp and rebuild that burnt connector..
 
Really hate this part of repair in general. Crimping will be yet another skill, and more tools to buy, and they're not cheap, at all, from what I've seen. Everything in this machine is all IDC connectors. Obviously they should be replaced with actual crimped connections on the power side because it was not enough to handle this, or it wouldn't have burned up. :p

I just don't know that there's enough left of the circuit traces there in that bottom right corner to actually FIX the thing properly. Guess I need to take it out and actually look at it, but that's going to mean that I have to unsolder the GI line to actually get at it...means I have a non working machine sitting there that I can't do anything with...frustrating. I've been looking for a second pin but my leads have dried up at the moment, and knowing how close supposedly the repro playfield is, I don't have the money to spend on it anyways ATM. =\
 
I would buy a non-working power board that's complete and rebuild it. Great Plains Electronics sells the kits.
 
Jumping in late on this one, haven't had time to prowl KLOV lately....

Sounds like you're talking about the GI connector on your power supply? That same board design was also used in System 7 and early System 11 machines, and the GI connection is one of the bigger weak points in the design. The connector they used wasn't rated for the amperage they were putting through it. In the System 11 years they changed it a bit by putting a wire pigtail on there and used a higher rated connector a few inches down. Pretty much every system 7 or 9 power supply is going to be fried and repaired or hacked up in that area.

Going to the LED's for the GI lighting is going to help a lot long term, but if that spot's already damaged, it may not be able to hold even the reduced power of the LED's.

You're best bet is going to be to replace both sides of the connector. You're just going to have to break down and get a crimper, as connector problems are the biggest issues with Williams machines in general.

A pinscore power board will still be an upgrade, as it's a much more efficient design, but if money is tight then repairs of the current board will be more than sufficient if done right.

Got a photo of the spot you're dealing with? Can give some more specific recommendations in that case. But also look into updated it to a system 11 style connector for the GI lights. I don't have the part numbers on hand, but should be able to dig them up with a search on RPG or maybe here as well.

-Hans
 
There's no connector. No pins. Just some charred traces and two big wires looks like soldered directly to the board. LOL.

I'll try and post what I'm talking about tonight. The existing pics I have of it are garbage and the wife wants it working by wednesday evening..because you know I have SO much time after working 9-9 today and more overtime tomorrow to fix this! LOL!

Man! What an albatross! I wanted the kids to play it...looks like I succeeded!

Here's what it looked like before it crapped. :p

 
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gawd, I hate to suggest it, but if Wednesday evening is important for some reason, just carefully solder the loose wire directly back onto the board. Unless you already have the parts on hand, it's unlikely you'll be able to source them before then anyway.

It'll get you through a month. Probably been there years already.

And then, when time pressures have eased a bit, remove the board and fix it right.

The traces - could be a problem, but until you pull the board you'll never know. And they are pretty easy to fix anyway.
 
Short end is..

I pulled the board last night. I did solder it back to the board as it was at some point....it was completely loose in the through hole. It's now a solid joint, and like you said, as far as I can tell, that solid wire jumper has been there for years, as have the other two wires.

I had to desolder those two wires to even get the board out, but the new joints are much stronger, and cleaner than what was there. I mean seriously, there was excess wire wrapped around the top of the wire because they used too thick of a gauge, and then soldered to it to get it out of the way. I had to actually cut the wire to get the board loose to take it over so I could see what I was doing. Took me probably 20 minutes to unsolder that mess once I got it to the table. I've really gotta get a solder sucker, lol.

The traces are lifted bad. If I was going to put connectors back on this board in some fashion, I'd go out of my way to remove the rat's nest of spliced-by-wire-nuts connectors that currently exist near the power board and rebuild that part of the wire harness. Would still have wire soldered directly to the board, and just place the connector inline to make the board easy to remove.

Ugh.

I may get around to all of this, but this is just way beyond my skill level and tool sets, lol.

I've got pics of all this mess but have to get them off my wife's camera and resize them. :p
 
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