Any ideas please….

[Andydn]

Stern spike pin, all insert lights function as expected but there’s a bash toy that moves via a small motor, when the bash toy motor runs the same few playfield inserts start flickering away. When the small motor isn’t running, the flickering stops.
Swapped over node boards, issue remains.
Reseated back box connectors, no change.
The lights that flicker are on different led boards & are not controlled by the same node board.

Any ideas what to check next at all please?

 

[Pick Holder]

On some motors they put a capacitor across it to get rid of noise. Is there one on this motor????

Can you give us a clue with the game - it could be related to a problem on that pin....

 

[johnwhitfield]

Is it walking dead? Mine used to strobe like a bloody Christmas tree before stern issued a new wiring harness.

 

[Andydn]

It’s on GB Pro, no capacitor on the motor.

 

[Fubar]

Is the bash toy mech moving freely? If you have a spare motor that might also be something to try.

I guess you could try tracing the power cables from the motor all the way back to the PSU. Check for damage or any close contact with the signal wires of the flickering lights. Are there any other connectors to reseat?

What do the affected lights have in common?

 

[Andydn]

Motor is all behaving & moving freely, as the lights that are affected are on different led boards & different node boards the only common link is the RJ45 cable that goes back to CN22 in the back box. Reseated this several times but no joy.

What is it with the motor that can cause inserts to flicker? I can’t make the link.

 

[russdx1]

Motor is all behaving & moving freely, as the lights that are affected are on different led boards & different node boards the only common link is the RJ45 cable that goes back to CN22 in the back box. Reseated this several times but no joy.

What is it with the motor that can cause inserts to flicker? I can’t make the link.

Motors give off horrible EMI emissions which can upset other electronics especially digital signals. Is strange why only a select few leds are affected especially if not on same node board. Adding a cap might soften the EMI.

 

[Fubar]

Not sure it matters but the motor is driven from a lamp output. If I'm looking at the right schematic, that FET is a stunning 320mA...

 

[Ashbo]

Probably well off here so please take this with a pinch of salt, but if the LEDs are suffering from low current, this could affect them too. If they go flickery when the motor is on, perhaps that could also be a cause?

 

[Ashbo]

Not sure it matters but the motor is driven from a lamp output. If I'm looking at the right schematic, that FET is a stunning 320mA...

View attachment 231153

+1

 

[Andydn]

Not sure it matters but the motor is driven from a lamp output. If I'm looking at the right schematic, that FET is a stunning 320mA...

View attachment 231153

I think that’s just the top and bottom limit switches, not the actual power as such to the motor?

The power comes from this small board that isn’t listed in the manual?

 

[Moonraker]

@Andydn it sounds like you might need to add both the capacitor and neon light for the motor, I would add those first before looking in to anything else.

Many stern motors have them... just a few examples.

Stern Pinball Flipper Motor Assembly Spinning Disk #511-5190-00 | KMS Handels GmbH Shop

Stern Pinball Flipper Motor Assembly Spinning Disk #511-5190-00

www.kms-handel-shop.de

511-5024-00 - PIRATES CARIBBEAN (Stern) Ship Motor - Marco Specialties Pinball Parts

Stern PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN ship motor. Reference: 041-5101-00

www.marcospecialties.com

511-6968-00 - AC/DC (Stern) Cannon motor - Marco Specialties Pinball Parts

AC/DC (Stern) Cannon motor

www.marcospecialties.com

I wonder why they left them off the gb mechanism? cost cutting?

511-7757-00 - GHOSTBUSTERS (Stern) Slimer motor assembly - Marco Specialties Pinball Parts

GHOSTBUSTERS (Stern) Slimer motor assembly

www.marcospecialties.com

 

[Andydn]

@Andydn it sounds like you might need to add both the capacitor and neon light for the motor, I would add those first before looking in to anything else.

Many stern motors have them... just a few examples.

Stern Pinball Flipper Motor Assembly Spinning Disk #511-5190-00 | KMS Handels GmbH Shop

Stern Pinball Flipper Motor Assembly Spinning Disk #511-5190-00

www.kms-handel-shop.de

511-5024-00 - PIRATES CARIBBEAN (Stern) Ship Motor - Marco Specialties Pinball Parts

Stern PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN ship motor. Reference: 041-5101-00

www.marcospecialties.com

511-6968-00 - AC/DC (Stern) Cannon motor - Marco Specialties Pinball Parts

AC/DC (Stern) Cannon motor

www.marcospecialties.com

I wonder why they left them off the gb mechanism? cost cutting?

511-7757-00 - GHOSTBUSTERS (Stern) Slimer motor assembly - Marco Specialties Pinball Parts

GHOSTBUSTERS (Stern) Slimer motor assembly

www.marcospecialties.com

Looks easy enough if I can find the parts.
There was a capacitor kit released for the node boards - the bulletin said it eliminates 48v interference, I tried this as the connection for the Slimer motor is exactly the same as where you connect the capacitor for the node boards. Made no difference though unfortunately.

 

[carl lawrence]

Neon for Motor

Neon for motor protection.

pinparts.co.uk

 

[Andydn]

Nice one - ordered

 

[Pick Holder]

are all the LEDs on one board or linked with a few wires (not rj45)

 

[Andydn]

are all the LEDs on one board or linked with a few wires (not rj45)

No they’re on multiple boards

 

[Andydn]

Ordered the part suggested above but it doesn’t include the capacitor , any idea what capacitor I need & where I can get one?

 

[slippifishi]

Ordered the part suggested above but it doesn’t include the capacitor , any idea what capacitor I need & where I can get one?

The stern capacitor kit? I have one spare here if you want it

 

[Andydn]

No I have those, it’s this I need:

 

[Andydn]

…..ordered from pinball mania

 

[Andydn]

Neon & capacitor fitted to motor connector - made no difference at all unfortunately

 

[AlanJ]

is it the led control board then?

 

[Andydn]

is it the led control board then?

The LED’s are controlled by two seperate node boards, swapping these made no difference, not sure what else to try.

Here’s a video showing what happens, consistently only when Slimer motor is in use, there’s about 5 or 6 lights in total that it affects.
View attachment IMG_9588.mov

 

[kevlar]

Have you posted this issue on pinside? More eyes will see it there, maybe someone has had the same issue.

 

[Andydn]

This is going up for sale soon flickering lights during Slimer movement still present. Everything else now playing beautifully.

 

[Paul]

Silly Q (You've probably done this already)... why not ping Stern Tech Support??

I know when Chas was there (RIP) the support i had from him was really good. Not so sure what it's like now!!

 

[Fantazia2]

Does it still do it with the motor disconnected?

I think Fubars post above was correct, its using lamp outputs to tell that motor driver board which direction to move the motor in, the limit switches are in the list of switches.

 

[Fantazia2]

The motor drive board is listed in the manual on page 32.

Part no #520-5338-00

Looks like theres also a schematic for it https://sternpinball.com/wp-content...338-00D-Dual-Motor-Driver-24Vdc-requlated.pdf

 

[Andydn]

Does it still do it with the motor disconnected?

I think Fubars post above was correct, its using lamp outputs to tell that motor driver board which direction to move the motor in, the limit switches are in the list of switches.

No only does it whilst motor is running

CN14 connection is all switch outputs, no lamps