Replacing Standard Fluorescent Lighting in an S2000 Topbox w/CC Lites.

[stayouttadabunker]

Got this in my PM today.
I decided to make a topic of it so more of our NLG members can benefit from it.>>>


Hey Stout,

I couldnt remember if its you or Captain Happy that is the wire harness guru
so IM sending this to both of you in hopes one of you guys can lead me in the right direction.

I have been wanting to change the flourescent lamps in all my games to LEDs
but have found that its about $70 per bulb to do it.  I have these under cabinet lights from pinball life

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1774&parent=247

for my pinball machine and noticed they run off of 12volts.
One red and one black wire in a molex connector as you can see in the picture on the website.   
I looked at the wiring for my toppers and they have four wires,
I am thinking two for the flourescent and two for the LED ring so I am wondering if
I can replace the molex connector on this kit with one like is on a topper and
plug that into the top power distribtion board in position J2 next to my topper.
Making sure to use pins 3 and 4 on the molex to get my 13 volts instead of 25v right?   
I can cut and splice longer wires in or I think I can get into the little blue box from the kit
and disconnect a couple wire nuts to lengthen the wires and add the new molex
but at $25 for two light tubes and a couple dollars worth of connectors and
such it may be worth a try to see if the white ones are bright enough.
Just need to know if Im going to burn anything up if I try it?
 
If I knew what I was doing with multimeter I think this question would
probably be answered already. Hope you can give me an answer.

Any idea on a part number and source for the molex connector? 
Im working on S2000 and IGame machines.


Thanks

cruisepl

[stayouttadabunker]

Okay,
You're lucky I had an extra cold cathode light kit unopened and
around at home on a Sunday night cruisepl....

I took a multimeter and touched various points on the
power distribution board and found a source of 12Vdc for you.
Click on the photos below and study them
I removed the yellow pin and the pin w/the black ground wire from the cold cathode (CC) kit.
I spread the receptor pin tangs apart a little wider with the pointed tip of an Exacto knife so the
pin tangs would grab onto the plastic walls of the power distribution Molex socket housing.

You can see I used the top 2 female pins on the power distribution board.
Please do this with the power off!!!!
I stick them in with the power on because I know how to use a multimeter...

The other photo of the cold cathode lights sitting on top of the
door is to show you the location and position of the red power switch that comes with the kit.
If this were to be installed into a desktop computer cabinet, the red switch
would be in the "DOWN" position in order to close the circuit to allow
power to reach the cold cathode electronic ballast (blue box in civilian terms... )
The rest of the extra wires that come with the cold cathode kit is
just extra stuff you don't need for what you want to do.
Just tie it all up neatly with some plastic tye wrap. 

As far as get the 4-pin Molex connector that fits in the power distribution board - you have to:

1st: get a parts list of the IGT S2000 topbox
2nd: see what that particular part is
3rd: order the Molex housing and receptor pins from Mouser.com
4th: wait for them to come in.
5th: put it together and stick it the power distribution board!

I hope this helps you cruisepl!


Click on photos below to make them larger to see what I'm gabbing about...lol >>>

[reho33]

I found some CCFL 12" lighting kits for 9.95 on flea bay

[stayouttadabunker]

Cool!

Would you be so kind as to provide us a link
or are you hoarding these for yourself? 

[slot monkey]

I found this one after a quick search on ebay..... $9.49 including shipping

http://cgi.ebay.com/12-DUAL-WHITE-COLD-CATHODE-LIGHT-KIT-MOD-CASE-BRIGHT-/380281735477?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588a8ec935

[stayouttadabunker]

Good post SM! 
That's the exact ones I use! 

[reho33]

http://cgi.ebay.com/CCFL-Computer-Blue-light-tube-kit-12-inch-NEW-/390222715355?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5adb1619db
Sorry to be a Late Louie but I have actually purchased these kits for other uses and they work really well. I think the link above is better (and cheaper). Stout, I guess we could get the 12V off the power distributor in the case? Maybe I will order a kit and put it in the Tabasco and take before and after pics.

[stayouttadabunker]

I thought about changing it reho, but my topbox is huge...lol
I wonder what it would look like in the belly glass? Hmm...
Gotta find another 12Vdc source down there now...

[Foster]

your VFD  LED display, buttons all have 13V. which is perfect for CCFL as long as you watch the current draw.

[cruisepl]

I thought about changing it reho, but my topbox is huge...lol
I wonder what it would look like in the belly glass? Hmm...
Gotta find another 12Vdc source down there now...

How about extending the wires to reach the belly glass and still using the power distribution in the topbox? There are three or four power sockets up there right?

Anything stopping me from putting two sets in a machine?  Im thinking one set for the top box and my topper, and the second set for the belly glass. Or since my machines are RT maybe one tube for belly, two for the top and one for the topper. How brite are these things?  Realistically I would like it a bit darker in the gameroom than it is now with 17 machines running all the time.

Thanks

[stayouttadabunker]

Personally, I don't like the idea of connecting a belly glass ballast
all the way from the topbox power distribution board.
The wiring seems too long for me to be comfortable with.

Think of what's happening here - the wiring to the topbox power distribution
board is coming from the bottom of the machine.
Then you'd be running it back down around by the door hinge out to the belly glass area.
That's like climbing to the summit of Mt.Everest to get to the Base Camp...
Anyways, that may cause too much current draw as Foster said earlier.
I'd much rather connect from a source of 12Vdc from somewhere nearer
to the belly door if I were to change that area out with a CC kit.

These cold cathode kits we're looking at, are not as bright
as F15-T8 fluorescent bulbs candlepower-wise.
A single cold cathode tube will be significantly dimmer and lower lit
than the standard lighting used in these machines.




 

[cruisepl]

Personally, I don't like the idea of connecting a belly glass ballast
all the way from the topbox power distribution board.
The wiring seems too long for me to be comfortable with.

Think of what's happening here - the wiring to the topbox power distribution
board is coming from the bottom of the machine.
Then you'd be running it back down around by the door hinge out to the belly glass area.
That's like climbing to the summit of Mt.Everest to get to the Base Camp...
Anyways, that may cause too much current draw as Foster said earlier.
I'd much rather connect from a source of 12Vdc from somewhere nearer
to the belly door if I were to change that area out with a CC kit.

These cold cathode kits we're looking at, are not as bright
as F15-T8 fluorescent bulbs candlepower-wise.
A single cold cathode tube will be significantly dimmer and lower lit
than the standard lighting used in these machines.

I want to be clear here so I dont screw up any of my machines.

Would it be ok to run a two tube kit to my belly glass from a power source in the lower box and run a separate kit with one tube in the top box and one tube in my topper or do you think the topper is too long a run from the distribution box as welll? Or would I better off leaving the topper alone and running both tubes in a kit to the top box?  Will one tube put out enough candle power to light up the RT?

[stayouttadabunker]

I have no clue...I've never tried it as I only have one S2000 -
I use the standard fluorescent lighting.
You're the pioneer! 

Seriously, I think the power supply is already being strained
below by all the components being used in an S2000.
I have absolutely no proof of this however.
What I'm saying is pure conjecture...lol
In layman's terms : pure baloney!

So, like I said earlier - proceed at your own risk!
I tinker with my machines all the time and blow up stuff now and then
because I've hooked up something backwards when I shouldn't have...lol
It's good to have backup parts if you're going to go "where no man has gone before"

[proten]

Can you disconnect the power for the fluorescent ballast and power a 110 to 12volt power supply?
That way you don't overload the 12 volt system of the slot.

[cowboygames]

If you're replacing your existing flourescent fixtures with ccl's that use less power then where is the risk of putting to much strain on the power supply? And running the wiring from the topbox to the belly door doesn't pose any kind of "distance" power loss or additional draw on the power supply for the simple fact that it's not a long enough run on the wiring to cause this. I don't know the amperage draw of these lights, but would guess a 18-24g wire would work just fine.  Try to avoid things like sharp bends, coiling the wire and pinch points between the supply and fixture. Other than that you shouldn't have any issues. If it's DC input just make sure you have the polarity right before you plug it in.

[cowboygames]

Absolutely you can do this. Other than the fact that the input to those ballasts is only 25v. You could go from the 110v supply on the power dist at the bottom of the machine though. A couple of my s2000 have 110v strips they used for plugging in player tracking equipment power supplies

Can you disconnect the power for the fluorescent ballast and power a 110 to 12volt power supply?
That way you don't overload the 12 volt system of the slot.

Sorry, I should clarify. The input ballast voltage is 25v DC. You would have to drop it to 12v DC and it would be a pain in the a$$ compared to just using a 110v AC outlet in the base of the machine

[stayouttadabunker]

Dropping the fluorescent power of 110Vac to a wallywart 25Vdc to 12Vdc
transformer that puts out 12Vdc would work...
That can be solved easily by making a Molex connector
that matches the molex on the belly door for the ballast power lines.

I looked at on the box/packaging of the current draw on
the Logisys CC kit and it asks for 5.0mA of power.
The inverter needs 12Vdc to work.
The inverter then turns around and shoots out an Output Voltage
of 680Volts to the cold cathode tubes...!?!?
Is that right?
I didn't know these little tubes require that much voltage to light them up.

Check out the specs.
Click to enlarge if needed... >>>

[cowboygames]

It could be 6900v and it wouldn't matter. 1/2 amp is still 1/2 amp. Heat comes from power. 27" picture tubes ran on almost 30k volts, but there wasn't much power behind it. The 1/2 amp is a lot less than the current flourescents use so you'd actually be reducing the load on the power supply by converting

[stayouttadabunker]

I agree.. I've heard it's the Amps that kill ya...not the volts. 
I have no clue where to get a 25Vdc to 12Vdc transformer though...it's not common.
He'd might have to go with a 110Vac to 12Vdc transformer -
they're more readily available and cheaper I'd think.

[cowboygames]

Yep, I was always crappy on the math anyway, but converting the 25v DC to 12v Dc is tougher than "plug and go" so why would ya?

[knagl]

If you're replacing your existing flourescent fixtures with ccl's that use less power then where is the risk of putting to much strain on the power supply?

Not main power supply itself, I don't think, but if you're drawing the power for the new lights from a different source (the Netplex distribution board vs. the factory light bulb wiring), you're adding to the draw from the Netplex board.

[reho33]

CORRECTION: The label says 5.0mA To me that is not the same as .5A So it looks like it is really 1/2 MA (one half milliampere)

[cowboygames]

Yep, you're right, I read that wrong. Woulda been 500ma to be half amp. Those things don't use hardly any power at all

[stayouttadabunker]

Yep, you're right, I read that wrong. Woulda been 500ma to be half amp. Those things don't use hardly any power at all

I applaud you for admitting a mistake cowboy...most guys think they're too *schmart*...
You learned a couple things here today:
1) The correct amperage for these lites  
and 2) You may need a better eye prescription!    


( I can't believe said that....here...bean me on the head...      )

[cowboygames]

Damn it! Ihate it when that happens! I just had my eyes checked