Anyone have or know where I can find the schematics to a Stern Magic?  For some odd reason the lights under my bumpers and plastics have stopped working     (only the lights under the playfield work)

thanks for your help!!  

Look in your email account

Just sent you the manual in pdf, look for the G.I. connector on the boards, see if its loose or burned !

Good luck,
Sylvain

That's called General Illumination or G.I.

Check the fuses on the rectifier board (the one behind the cashbox under the playfield).  They're all labeled.  Find the one for G.I. I think it's a 10A.

Wiggle the connectors on that board it could be a loose connection.

Mike

Check on http://www.ipdb.org for the manual.  If you can't find it I have it in PDF format (900KB)

Woo!  That was fast!  Thanks, guys!  (esp. Sylvain)

I tried the one on IPDB.org, but it was kind of crappy.. and has no schematics in it.  

I'll check all the things you guys suggested.  This actually happened when I first brought it home as well, but after a few times unplugging it and plugging back in, it started working.  Now when I unplugged it to put it on a power bar, it stops working again.  Go figure.  

Loose connection or fuse holder.  Pretty common.

Tap the fuse on the left (but don't get zapped!)

Mike

Quoted from machine.slave

  This actually happened when I first brought it home as well, but after a few times unplugging it and plugging back in, it started working.  Now when I unplugged it to put it on a power bar, it stops working again.  Go figure.  

time to redo the connector.

see http://marvin3m.com/bally/index1.htm#connect

Quoted from Mrhide

time to redo the connector.

Indeed.

Wiggling the connectors only pinpoints the problem, and it *may* fix the lights
temporarily (if the problem is not the fuse).
Note that an intermittent connector or pin carrying high currents (such as GI) will
typically overheat, so just wiggling and praying is not enough...  Fix it right.

From a safety's and reliability of operation afterwards, cold solder joints
need to be checked first under the board (especially for the header pins),
and any overheated pins need to be replaced (trifurcon is best for 0.156 pins).
Header pins may need to also be replaced in the area if were overheated.

Sometimes even the fuse clips for the high-amp circuits such as GI also need to be
replaced to ensure of no more overheating at the fuse.

It is a lot of fun repairing correctly these marvelous machines!
(I have seen many poor attempts of direct soldered wires to the pins in the past!)

Good luck,
Cheers,
- Sylvain

Quoted from sylvain

(I have seen many poor attempts of direct soldered wires to the pins in the past!)

I should have taken a picture of the Gi ones on Solar fire ... some people should be  

it takes MORE time to do a bad job then the RIGHT one !  

Quoted from sylvain

(I have seen many poor attempts of direct soldered wires to the pins in the past!)

Probably the most common basterdized repair done by ops. Works for the short term until the day you need to pull the board.

Mr Pinball suggest changing both which is safe. 9 times out of 10 it is the connector that goes bad since it is reliant on spring pressure to maintain continuity. The pin header occaisionally suffers from oxidization or cold joints as a result of poor continuity creating heat. I have on many occaisions cleaned up the pins and replaced the connector to achieve reliable results without the neccessity of pulling the board. You must bear in mind each time you pull the board the connectors go through one cycle of use and provide less grip for continuity. Connectors can only cycle this way so many times before they need to be changed again. That one reason why I go through all diagnostics before fixing a board. If two or more things are bad, you want to get them all at once. Also check the plug in connectors that quick disconnect the playfield from the head and other cabinet components. This is at the back of the playfield.

The G.I. circuit is usually run first under the playfield and is exposed copper stapled directly to the wood. There is potential for shorts on this circuit. If it is a blown fuse have a look over the G.I. wiring to ensure it is not in contact with something potentially grounding the circuit.

Also the light sockets themselves can go bad, usually this will only show as one or two lights out and not the entire circuit.

Hmmmm... well, went and got new fuses.  The one that was there did look pooched, but it was hard to tell.  It actually looked more corroded than anything.  

Anyway, replacing the fuse didn't help, so I'm going to see if I can find a short.  I'll keep you all up to date.  Thanks again for all the help so far.    The machine still plays.. but this is going to drive me nuts!!

Well, I got it!  Turns out it was just one of the wires on the power plug going to the board was loose.    Thanks again for all your help, guys.  After lifting the playfield off for the first time, this thing doesn't look all that hard to fix/maintain (knock on wood).  As long the boards stay true, I should be able to keep this sucker running for a while!  (knock on wood again).  Still the coolest thing ever, having a pin in my living room..  woo hoo!