Power question pertaining to lights

[newkillergenius]

Hey guys (and gals?)

Ive a quick question.  Ive got a machine that was recieved with the marquee dark.
I decided to open it up and replace the bulb, when I got it open there was no bulb in the ballast.
So I put one in.  And there was a spark.  And the bulb was blown.,  And the monitor wiggled.  And the whole game reset?  What the heck is going on here?  In addition, the coin door lights do not work either.

Any clues?    Thanks all!

[RetroACTIVE]

Hey guys (and gals?)

Ive a quick question.  Ive got a machine that was recieved with the marquee dark.
I decided to open it up and replace the bulb, when I got it open there was no bulb in the ballast.
So I put one in.  And there was a spark.  And the bulb was blown.,  And the monitor wiggled.  And the whole game reset?  What the heck is going on here?  In addition, the coin door lights do not work either.

Any clues?    Thanks all!

No bulb in the ballast?   The ballast is not the bulb socket... I assume this is a florescent type correct?

I think maybe the reason why there was no bulb in the socket was because of the situation you just experienced.  Its quite likely you have a defective socket that shorts when a bulb is inserted... but I'm guessing.

Coin door lights are powered from the game hardware (specifically the power supply) and not directly from the AC.  Your bulbs could be burnt out... you need to visually inspect the bulbs to see if they are burned out and check the voltage at the bulb socket to see if the bulbs are getting power to begin with.

[whammoed]

What game is it?   (nintendo games used a different type fixture/bulb...100v?)

[newkillergenius]

Duh, sorry, yeah the socket...
OK, will do, thanks for the reply!

Is there a place to get replacement marquee lights anywhere known?

@ Whammoed-  its a Cyberball 2 player upright.  Not the 4-player wedge of cheese model. 

Ive just never seen this sort of thing before.  Ive seen burnt out bulbs, bad starters, lights that just dont work period, but never one that shorted like that and reset the whole game and everything....

[RetroACTIVE]

Is there a place to get replacement marquee lights anywhere known?

.. you can use any old 18" florescent fixture.

Ive just never seen this sort of thing before.  Ive seen burnt out bulbs, bad starters, lights that just dont work period, but never one that shorted like that and reset the whole game and everything....

.. me neither... however since it did not have a bulb in it to begin with... it seems suspicious.

[whammoed]

The easiest thing to do may be to just buy and install a whole new fixture.  You can get them at any home center for cheap.  Like an under cabinet style light or similar small fixture.  I have a spare one I would just give you if you were close.

[newkillergenius]

Thanks guys-

@ Whammoed:  Ive got several Pede light/speaker pullout thingys I can rob from.
Question is, doya think the same thing will happen once I wire that one in?  Like the problem may not be with the
fixture, but possibly with the power supply or the line to the marquee?  A visual inspection inside the back door revealed nothing, though this machine has obviously not had a marquee light in it- there was a custom cut piece of
black plexi behind the vinyl marquee....

[whammoed]

Usually the only thing before the fixture is the connection to the mains supply so there shouldn't be anything wrong there.  If there were a short before the fixture you would know it when you turned the game on, not just when you plugged in a bulb.

[RetroACTIVE]

Thanks guys-

@ Whammoed:  Ive got several Pede light/speaker pullout thingys I can rob from.
Question is, doya think the same thing will happen once I wire that one in?  Like the problem may not be with the
fixture, but possibly with the power supply or the line to the marquee?  A visual inspection inside the back door revealed nothing, though this machine has obviously not had a marquee light in it- there was a custom cut piece of
black plexi behind the vinyl marquee....

I suppose it could be completely wired wrong... such that when a bulb is inserted somehow there is a connection made from hot to ground? but I wouldn't think that would happen either since the bulb is basically air.

[whammoed]

If you want to be overly cautious, you could unplug the game boards and monitor while you try out you new fixture.

[SirPeale]

If the bulb blew immediately, it sounds more like a bad ballast than a bad socket.

Of course, it'll cost more for a ballast than for a cheap assembly @ Wal-Mart.  Buy one of those assemblies and use the parts to rebuilt the unit. 

[Lutus]

I would just strip the ballast, wiring to the marquee light and everything out of the thing.

Buy a new 18" fixture from Home Depot or Wal-mart or whatever.  Install that, and then run the power cord to the mains side of the isolation transformer in your cab.  The mains side is NOT the same side the monitor power comes from.  The mains side is connected (usually through a fuse) to the input AC power from the wall.

That would rule out wiring that may have become nicked, or the insulation burnt off or is pinched somewhere, grounding the marquee lines and shorted out the whole cabinet.

[SirPeale]

I would just strip the ballast, wiring to the marquee light and everything out of the thing.

Buy a new 18" fixture from Home Depot or Wal-mart or whatever.  Install that, and then run the power cord to the mains side of the isolation transformer in your cab.  The mains side is NOT the same side the monitor power comes from.  The mains side is connected (usually through a fuse) to the input AC power from the wall.

I wouldn't do this.  The new cheap fixtures have a starter that's not of the screw-in variety.  They're a big PITA to wire a new starter in place.

Likely there's nothing wrong with the unit other than the ballast.  Replacing it with one from a cheap unit is a quick, cheap, easy fix.

[Lutus]

I would just strip the ballast, wiring to the marquee light and everything out of the thing.

Buy a new 18" fixture from Home Depot or Wal-mart or whatever.  Install that, and then run the power cord to the mains side of the isolation transformer in your cab.  The mains side is NOT the same side the monitor power comes from.  The mains side is connected (usually through a fuse) to the input AC power from the wall.

I wouldn't do this.  The new cheap fixtures have a starter that's not of the screw-in variety.  They're a big PITA to wire a new starter in place.

Likely there's nothing wrong with the unit other than the ballast.  Replacing it with one from a cheap unit is a quick, cheap, easy fix.

I think we are talking about two different things.  Too tired to clarify.  Do as Peale says.

[Kevin Mullins]

I forget the exact specs and whatnot, but I've picked up small ballasts from Home Depot and Lowes for marquee fixtures before for around $5-$6 or so.

Example - Small Ballast at Lowes

[Lutus]

Ah, everyone please welcome me back to sanity.   

I see where everyone is going with this. 

Do as Peale and Kevin say, my 2 cents are overkill.

[newkillergenius]

Cheers all,  It's happening this week end.

[Ginsu Victim]

On my Track and Field, I just yanked out the old lighting fixture and installed an 18" from Wal-mart. Works great. I have a Tron style MAME marquee, so I'm wondering how it would look if I put an 18" blacklight bulb in there.

[RayB]

Some people like to keep things original or close to it though.........
Home Depot has all the parts, don't they? (They seemed to last time I checked)

[Ginsu Victim]

I realize that...just backing up what others said...

[The_Tyler_Black]

In my wacko cabinet it was a similar thing (just minus the spark). i simply went to walmart and bought an under counter light for 6.50 (including bulb).

I was scared at first to do wiring in this machine (since i was not shure of how it was done prior to my birth). i at first plugged it into the socket on the power supply but that plug remains on even with game turned off!

After i realized that i wanted it to turn off when machine was off i looked at the harness from the old light and looked at wires in the cabinet. determining that the green and yellow striped was ground and the black was negative and white was positive. (usual wiring colors).

I then cut the plug end off of the walmart lamp and wired it to arcade light plug! and walah light worked great and turns on and off with the power switch.

moral of the story... dont puss out do it the right way!!

[Kevin Mullins]

the black was negative and white was positive. (usual wiring colors).

Black - Hot
White - Neutral

 

[SirPeale]

I forget the exact specs and whatnot, but I've picked up small ballasts from Home Depot and Lowes for marquee fixtures before for around $5-$6 or so.

Example - Small Ballast at Lowes

Sure, you can do that.  You can buy *just* the ballast for $6.00 or so.  Or for about the same amount you can get that, plus a bulb.

[Kevin Mullins]

Agreed.....

It's just some of those "cheap" fixtures are just that...... cheap. And so goes for the ballast that's in them.
I've used the ballast that I listed for many different size and types of fluorescent fixtures that may be found in various machines. They seem to be fairly robust, meaning they will probably last as long as the original 20 year ballast did.

So many ways to accomplish the same task. All a matter of choice.