STTNG Backbox 1/2 Lights Not Working

[Marcel]

Hi All,

Does J120 feed the backbox lighting?

I have one circuit not working of backbox lights fed off wires Soid Yellow & White+Yellow.

Chasing them back they seem to go to J120, but looking at J120, the wiring of that plug:-
a) Doesn't match the manual
b) It looks like it may have been soldered previously

The manual says:-


My J120 has:-
J120-1. NC
J120-2. White/Green
J120-3. White/Yellow
J120-4. White/Orange
J120-5. White/Brown
J120-6
J120-7. Solid Green
J120-8. NC
J120-9. Solid Yellow
J120-10. Solid Orange
J120-11. Solid Brown


So, I've got more wires than I should have in J120.
If I just had x4 wires detailed in manual, I would simply put correct wires in correct slots and check.

Has anyone got any suggestions please?

EDIT:-
Seems the additional Green and Brown pairs should be in J121. Perhaps I just swap em back and wire both correctly.

 

[s000m]

Dear God, did you buy it like that?

Thats some bodgery!

You need to buy some new IDC connectors.

IDC Connector 0.156" Pitch - Choose size

pinparts.co.uk

Choose pin length to match the connector required.

Also worth buying the 'key' plug to no one in the future can force it somewhere it doesn't belong.

You'll need this punch tool to get the wires back into the IDC connector.

IDC Insertion Tool for 0.156" pitch connectors. Plastic

pinparts.co.uk

Check out my CFTBL shop log. I had to re-wire a connector recently.

In fact I think it was J120.

Cheers,

scott

 

[Sgt GrizZ]

Hi All,

Does J120 feed the backbox lighting?

I have one circuit not working of backbox lights fed off wires Soid Yellow & White+Yellow.

Chasing them back they seem to go to J120, but looking at J120, the wiring of that plug:-
a) Doesn't match the manual
b) It looks like it may have been soldered previously

The manual says:-
View attachment 173905

My J120 has:-
J120-1. NC
J120-2. White/Green
J120-3. White/Yellow
J120-4. White/Orange
J120-5. White/Brown
J120-6
J120-7. Solid Green
J120-8. NC
J120-9. Solid Yellow
J120-10. Solid Orange
J120-11. Solid Brown
View attachment 173906

So, I've got more wires than I should have in J120.
If I just had x4 wires detailed in manual, I would simply put correct wires in correct slots and check.

Has anyone got any suggestions please?

EDIT:-
Seems the additional Green and Brown pairs should be in J121. Perhaps I just swap em back and wire both correctly.
View attachment 173907

120 and 121 are interchangeable - for some reason someone has just gone rogue on yours What condition are the actual header pins in under those bodgy connectors ? Any signs of burning they will need replacing.

Crappy connection or blown fuse usual suspect on missing GI chain.

 

[Marcel]

Dear God, did you buy it like that?

Thats some bodgery!

Cheers,

scott

Yes Scott, I am no expert at buying pins, but after owning this one, I have gained lots of additional knowledge and skills and I'll be better equipped next time.

Looks like the same quality repair as The Last One I found, I fixed this one already to a proper standard. So more confident this time. In future, I will look more closely.

120 and 121 are interchangeable - for some reason someone has just gone rogue on yours What condition are the actual header pins in under those bodgy connectors ? Any signs of burning they will need replacing.

Crappy connection or blown fuse usual suspect on missing GI chain.

Good call thanks Grizz, J120 has a snapped pin 8 and I need pin 8 to wire correctly.

It looks like J121 has already been replaced.



I've never soldered a PCB before, my soldering skills have improved somewhat recently, but is this doable as a DIY? I do like to learn new skills and I have the equipment already.

 

[drhex]

Yea, you can solder these yourself. Best is a proper desolder gun but you can grab the single pins with a cutter, heat the solder up and lever them out one by one. Usual caveats apply on hole plating, stitch if needed, don’t overheat or pull when not melted through.

 

[pinballmania]

I wouldn’t replace the header pins unless you really have to. They don’t look too bad to me. Make sure you’re reading the PIN numbers right. There is no snapped pin 8. What I see on j120 is correctly missing pin 4 which is the connector key. This pin should also be cut on j121. Then the plugs can go on either of the two.

Use your meter to measure the voltages out of these coloured pairs of pins eg between brown and white/brown on an ac scale. Determine where the problem is before replacing.

 

[Marcel]

Completed just today, finally had time to swap out J120 and J121 with the two red ones ordered from pinball heaven.

Simply cut old off and wired according to the manual. Worked first time, can't understand why it wasn't wired correctly before.

Anyhow, thanks everyone for their input in helping me get my first wiring fix good

 

[Jay Walker]

I don't intend to alarm you, but in the picture of the insert board, there's one lamp brightly lit, which I take it is a flashbulb, i.e. not part of the G.I. circuits. It's not lit permanently, is it? It doesn't seem so, from the picture with the translite in.

 

[Marcel]

I don't intend to alarm you, but in the picture of the insert board, there's one lamp brightly lit, which I take it is a flashbulb, i.e. not part of the G.I. circuits. It's not lit permanently, is it? It doesn't seem so, from the picture with the translite in.

Thanks @Jay Walker but no, I had just finished a game and they were flashing as they should at the end of a game. I could not find a flasher setting that I could choose from the menu that would light the back box flashers so did it this way.

 

[Jay Walker]

There's usually a test function 'Lamps and Flashers', which shows all the lighting of the machine; G.I. circuits steadily lit, feature lamps blinking and flashbulbs operating in sequence, though games with a cut-out switch on the front door would need the switch pushed in to include the flashbulbs.

 

[Marcel]

Aha, yes I didn't shut the door as I'm a novice. I did find that test though cheers @Jay Walker