Nintendo marquee light blinking

isucamper

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So I got my Popeye restore done, and though the cabinet looks awesome, I'm running into a few technical issues. First, the maruqee light won't stay lit. I turn the machine on, and it flickers and then lights up, but a few seconds later it goes out, then it flickers and lights back up again. This happens over and over.

It is the original Nintendo light fixture with a brand new 100v bulb from top bulb. Its got the original starter in it. I tried to replace the starter, but the ones I got from top blub were defective or something and the blew out right away. I tried some starters from blubtronics and they exhibited this blinking behavior. So then I went back to the original starter and everything was fine for about a month.

Anyone know where the problem lies? Is it the bulb? Starter? Or other general power issues? I have not rebuilt the power supply at all, or even check its voltage, but I'm having some graphics issues pop up after the game is on for 10 minutes or so that I think might be related to power (if anybody has a cap list for the power supply I could use it).
 
sounds like the starter to me

Not necessarily, I've seen traditional-ballast fixtures flicker due to a borderline bulb. I *always* try a new bulb first, and if that doesn't help, put the original bulb in and swap the starter. If that doesn't work, put the new bulb back in with the new starter. If THAT doesn't work, try a third starter, and if it's STILL not working, throw out the whole machine because it's possessed and will kill you in your sleep.

On a side note, aren't fluorescents somewhat voltage-universal? I mean, between the ballast and the starter, the tube never really sees the input voltage, and for ballasts, input voltage is a safety limit, not an operating spec... starter is a wildcard though, I don't know how those work.
 
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So here is my history with this marquee light:

1. Got the machine. Light was lighting but very very dim. Ordered new bulbs and starters from top bulb.

2. Put a new bulb in with the original starter. Worked fine. Figured I'd also put a new starter in since the one that was in there looked original and was probably decades old. Both the starters I ordered from Top Bulb blew up on power up (went poof then nothing, opened them up and they were all black inside). Put the original starter back in and it worked fine.

3. Things were fine for a few weeks but I figured I would try some starters from bulbtronics, since the ones pictured on their site looked more like the original than the ones I got from topbulb. Received them and they looked just like the ones I got from topbulb. Tried 1 of them, and it exhibited the blinking behavior. Replaced with the original starter and all was fine.

4. A few weeks later the new bulb with original starter started blinking. In desperation I posted on here.

5. Last night I figured I'd try a fresh bulb from bulbtronics with a fresh starter from topbulb (not sure if the starter I grabbed was the same one I tried in step 3). Everything works fine again. However, I'm not sure it won't start blinking again in a few days. We'll see and thanks for the suggestions!

If anyone needs links to the bulbs and starters I ordered, check my restore thread:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99886.msg1170275#msg1170275
 
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