world cup soccer GI light issues

wikedauto2010

New member

Donor 2012
Joined
May 16, 2012
Messages
382
Reaction score
3
Location
fort lauderdale, Florida
OK so while on Pinside i found out why my GI lights arent working. Looks like two of my plastic connections are burnt. if i wiggle the end wire the right side GI lights pop on....but not the left side. Whats the proper way to replace these? So i need to do any board work? or can i just replace the two ends and plug it back on? other than that ive got everything working and im starting the tear down soon to shop it out. So school me guys on how to repin these connectors (and which ones should i even buy for that matter) thanks

attachment.php

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • wc.jpg
    wc.jpg
    80.9 KB · Views: 30
  • wc1.jpg
    wc1.jpg
    58.8 KB · Views: 29
You're gonna need to replace both the male and female connectors. Plus on the back side of the board, you'll find corroded/burnt solder and maybe lifted traces that will need to be fixed too.

You will definitely need to do work on the board.
 
usually a cold solder joint on the back. the connection is weak and starts to heat and burn. if you have your board out to fix the GI plugs, it's worth taking a good look at all of the other solder points
 
Usually a cold solder joint on the back. The connection is weak and starts to heat and burn. If you have your board out to fix the GI plugs, it's worth taking a good look at all of the other solder points.

That and coupled with a piss-poor design that overloads the connectors.

IMO, There never should have been the General illumination circuit going through so many connectors. Each connector adds a slight amount of resistance which is dissipated as heat. The connectors are running at the top end of their specs (maxed out).

After you replace the connectors and repair the foil traces & solder joints, you should consider reducing the load on the connectors. You can do this in several ways:

1. Switch out all the #44 bulbs in the G.I. circuit to #47's instead. The 47's draw less current.

2. Remove several bulbs and leave the sockets empty. Good if your machine uses # 555 bulbs.

3. Switch from incandescent bulbs to LED's. You can either go with all LED's in the general Illumination circuit or just some LED's mixed with incandescent bulbs.

Any of the above will greatly reduce the load on the connectors so that they never burn up again and your machine will stay lit.

Oh yes, I almost forgot, anytime you spot burned connectors in the backbox, you should also look at the 4 pin general illumination connector (the one with the yellow and yellow-white wires) down in the cabinet at the power transformer. I've personally seen that one burn to a crisp too.
 
Last edited:
That and coupled with a piss-poor design that overloads the connectors.

IMO, There never should have been the General illumination circuit going through so many connectors. Each connector adds a slight amount of resistance which is dissipated as heat. The connectors are running at the top end of their specs (maxed out).

After you replace the connectors and repair the foil traces & solder joints, you should consider reducing the load on the connectors. You can do this in several ways:

1. Switch out all the #44 bulbs in the G.I. circuit to #47's instead. The 47's draw less current.

2. Remove several bulbs and leave the sockets empty. Good if your machine uses # 555 bulbs.

3. Switch from incandescent bulbs to LED's. You can either go with all LED's in the general Illumination circuit or just some LED's mixed with incandescent bulbs.

Any of the above will greatly reduce the load on the connectors so that they never burn up again and your machine will stay lit.

Oh yes, I almost forgot, anytime you spot burned connectors in the backbox, you should also look at the 4 pin general illumination connector (the one with the yellow and yellow-white wires) down in the cabinet at the power transformer. I've personally seen that one burn to a crisp too.

Very good info there. All of which i never knew. My plans are to LED the machine out but its just so much money to do all at once so i guess ill do all the GI lights first. For GI lights what are the best LEDS? Ive heard some are annoying more than others.
 
Cointaker frosted 2-led under plastics and put of direct line of sight. Retros where they are in direct line of sight.
 
Cool, thanks. Do color LED's make more heat or use more energy? Should I stick with all white or clear?

In general, LED's use much less power and generate very little heat.

Here is what I use for general illumination LED's:

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1174

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1175

CoinTaker makes kits for certain machines:

http://shop.cointaker.com/category....FD07E249D2373C90F0.qscstrfrnt03?categoryId=10

The nice thing about the CoinTaker kits is that they make several different kits for each machine. That way you can choose what you can afford or desire. Examples:

General Illumination kit, playfield only
General Illumination kit, backbox only
General Illumination kit, playfield, backbox, and coin door
Playfield kit, General illumination and switched illumination
Playfield kit, switched illumination only
Flashlamps only kit
Full kit, every bulb and flashlamp in the machine
 
Back
Top Bottom