gottlieb system 3 flash lamps

[slither]

So I am working on a nightmare on elm street, no flash lamps working, I thought I read somewhere that these are wired like the old xmas lights, one bad bulb and they are all out, not sure, I havent tested the playfield bulbs yet, but the backbox ones are ok. None are lighting, any thoughts?

 

[Menace]

If they were all wired in series (which is what you are describing) every single lamp in the game would flash all at the same time so I don't think that logic is quite right.

Now, usually they all have a common power wire and then each one (or bank) would be tied back to a MOS-FET (Sys3 used FET's instead of transistors) on the driver board. From what I've seen, games usually treat flashers the same way they do coils. Bust out your DMM and check for power on each wire of the flasher socket in reference to ground. You should get a reading on both lugs. If you only get a reading on one suspect a bad bulb. If you get no reading on any lug, check fuses / connectors / wiring.

D

 

[slither]

no reading, fuse is good,suspect now is R1 resistor under pf, need a new battery for dmm , maybe tomorrow.

 

[slither]

tested r1 getting a reading of 1, tried a few different ranges, thats all I get, I did leave it in circuit though, kind of a bad area to try and work on. 1 usually means out of range?, correct?, so I tried the next higher. Does this mean its no good?, or do I need to remove it?

 

[Menace]

The resistor I'm guessing is one of the large ceramic type, it should have a value printed on it. I'm not familiar with your DMM so not sure what you mean by getting a reading of 1 and trying different ranges? I would pull one leg of the resistor out of circuit and test again to ensure a correct reading.

If you have the schematics for the game, you might want to look it over and test the entire flasher circuit for any breaks as well.

D

 

[slither]

5 ohm 33 watt, dmm has setting of 200 then 2k then 20 k, tried all, get a reading of 1, put a 6volt 555 bulb in flasher areas on head, all worked till they burnt out, original bulb is 12 volt, so it is getting some power, if the resistor is no good would this apply?, or is it all or nothing?

 

[Menace]

I'd have to look at the schematic but the resistor is either used to "warm up" the flashers or used as a load resistor. If the resistor is borked then it's likely the reason your flashers are not working.

As to your DMM question, if the resistor is 5R you should get a 5R reading when in 200 setting. (that setting will read up to 200R) As I mentioned, you may have to take the resistor out of the circuit to get a good reading though, so lift one leg. If the leads of the resistor are not broken, it could be broekn / cold solder joints as well...

D

 

[slither]

removed it and only get 1,if I buzz it with the dmm should it not beep, it does not.

 

[Menace]

It should not beep, it's a resistor not a diode. My guess is that resistor is shot, but if you have any other of the same type in the game I would test those to see what you get. Alternatively you could grab any resistor from anywhere and test with your DMM to make sure you're using it correctly.

D

 

[slither]

set it at 200, get a redaing of one, it looks bad lol,on the back side. Yes have tried othe r rsistors and they test ok, thanks, trying to find one now, that wont cost me 10$ to ship here lol.

 

[Menace]

Try Ed at Great Plains Electronics, or even Digikey or Newark.

If you're handy with the soldering iron you could always pull one of the other known good resistors and install it in the suspect location to verify your findings. If it works, then you can install your replacement resistor when it arrives in the location you borrowed it from.

Of course this is only advisable if you're comfortable with soldering components.

D

 

[slither]

http://www.digikey.ca/product-search/en ... ageSize=25

can you advise on which one to order from digikey?

 

[slither]

a pic,all the info I have lol..This is from the net, not my actual machine..but its the same..

 

[Menace]

Oh, that's a 0.33R not a 33R! Make sure you order up the right part!

D

 

[sylvain]

Like Menace said above. 0.33 ohms, 5W, and not 33 ohms...
Easy to test on a DMM in continuity/beep test, such good resistor should read almost like a short.
And opened (infinite resistance) if burned/opened.

To prove that the resistor is indeed bad/opened, and if you have two alligator clips, you can try
connecting two alligator clips in series, and connecting the other ends to R1, e.g.

to left side of R1 <----- alligator clip #1 -----><------ alligator clip #2----> to right side of R1

Make sure the clips ends do not touch any other electrical connections with the playfield up or down
(use electrical tape if you must), and see if the flash lamps now work.

The two alligator clips in-series would add a few tenths of a ohms across them, thus temporarily somewhat replacing the resistor (if opened).
Do not do this alligator clips trick with any resistor value greater than 0.50 ohms, as the clips are close to a dead short...

Cheers,
- Sylvain.

 

[Dave Astill]

one more thing , many people use 89 bulbs when they shop these games , tat is wrong , you need 67 , 89 burn out fast in goittliebs , i have ha sveral with everybulb burned bcause they used 89 .

 

[Menace]

one more thing , many people use 89 bulbs when they shop these games , tat is wrong , you need 67 , 89 burn out fast in goittliebs , i have ha sveral with everybulb burned bcause they used 89 .

+1

Completely forgot about that, thanks for the reminder Dave!

D

 

[slither]

got the new resistor, .33 5 watt, put it in place, no flashers, resistor started to smoke, blew fuse for controlled lamps and switches 10 amp. The only thing I did not do is screw the 2 sides of the wires back onto the playfield bottom,(each side is a ring terminal , connected to the resistor) as its in a bad spot, and wanted to try first, would that cause this problem?, was very hot..

 

[Grauwulf]

The transistor for that flash lamp circuit is likely shorted and locked on.

 

[sylvain]

I agree with Grauwulf's post above.

I also received a PM from slither earlier tonight and it seems there may be more confusion.
My response sent back as PM:

I do not have a Freddy manual here, but have a System3 Premier Gladiator manual.
The Gladiator manual shows R1= 0.33 ohms 5W resistor there too, just like your pic on PBREV site.
(slither had read on a web site that the resistor should be 120 ohms 5W - this is wrong for this game)
Did you check that all flash lamps are #67 bulbs ?
----------> Is one or more flash lamp(s) stuck on all the time ? <-------------- This would most probably be due to a bad driver transistor 12N10L on the driver board).
I think the 10A SB fuse is for the controlled lamps in this game, not the flash lamps...

- Sylvain.