FAQs
PINBAL LED'S
PINBALL LED’s FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This FAQ was set up to answer as many questions you may have.If you have any additional content that may be useful I will gladly upload it with your permission.
Did you know L.E.D. draw around 16 times less power than 1 incandescent bulb?
What is the lifetime of an L.E.D?
Around 50,000 to 1000,000 hours. Which means in an ideal world once the L.E.D. are installed they should out live the machine.
Do incandescent bulb produce lots of heat?
True as incandescent bulbs release energy as light but some energy is produced as heat. L.E.D. are more energy efficient and produce virtually no heat. When my machines have been turned on for some time the playfield glass feels warm or even hot to the touch. This heat can become excessive to the point that you plastics will eventually start to warp or in the worst case scenario start to melt or show black burn marks.
Do L.E.D. pay for themselves?
In general it’s debatable but there are lots of benefits like lower electricity running costs, more vibrant colours and brings the machine to life. No warped or burnt plastics. Less power drawn from the transformer which should help keep things running more smoothly. In general less power wear and tear across all the boards. Possibility of lower transformer hum due to less current being drawn and finally no need to keep changing the old type bulbs. Some you have to dismantle ramps and obstacles to get to them and can be a real nightmare.
How much do they cost?
It really depends if you install them on the playfield, GI (general Illuminations) and Back box. It can be fairly inexpensive to just install the playfield insert ones. It depends on the pinball machine as some machines have few while others have many more lights.
I see you also sell 3 types of white L.E.D.?
Yes for us it is very important to allow the customer to use their artistic skills and get the exact effect they are trying to achieve. For example warm whites would be used for older type games and games that you want to look close to old incandescent bulb lighting. Cool whites have a blue tinge to them and are suitable for games like tron or futuristic type games. While normal white will be between the two.
Which colour inserts allow more light to penetrate?
White colour inserts tend to let more light through followed by yellow. So picking the right colours are important to get the right effect.
Are all your Led insert kits colour coded or just all white leds?
All out led kits are colour coded. So in general if you have a orange insert on your machine you would receive an orange led for it. There are some exclusions. For example cool white looks better under purple inserts and warm white looks better under pink inserts. These kits have been tried and tested and we are pleased with the results. Feel free to change some of them or design your own.
How long do you take to send my order after I have paid?
We will normally send your order the same day. There maybe some exceptions to the rule. If you place an order after midday it may go out the following morning.
I hear that ghosting may be a problem?
Ghosting is when your L.E.D. should be off but especially in dark conditions you can see a faint glow. Machines before around March 1996 have a bug in the eprom code firmware. It does not effect every machine and it does not mean you will have ghosting if you replace L.E.D. in a machine before March 1996. It is individual and some don’t see it as a big problem. However there is a few ways to fix this problem. One of which is to replace your eprom firmware version with a patched version which eliminates this problem by patching the lamp matrix code.
What are the whites on the colour scale?
Warm White has a yellowish tinge and around 3500K
Pure White is around 4500K
Cool White has a blue tinge and is around 5500K
Some of my leds dont light when inserted how do I fix this?
Some leds are fitting into rusty or dirty 20 year old sockets especially #555. In the worse case scenario you will need to clean or replace the socket (rare). You can also try bending the #555 led wire outwards on both sides. This normally fixes the problem straight away.
I just bought a batch of leds and I think I made a mistake with the colour scheme what can I do?
No problem. Just return them with a list of the ones you would prefer and we will send them out to you free of charge. We want you to be 100% happy with your purchase!
I get some flickering on my Leds also especially after a certain amount of time in attract mode.
Go into your test menu and set to the following…..
Menu/Adjustments/Standard Adjustments/Allow Dim Illumination NO
Menu/Adjustments/Standard Adjustments/G.I. Power Saver OFF
How Do I install Pop Bumper Rings?
There is a video in our media section showing you how to.
Please make sure you hot glue or silcone seal the rings in place so they don’t jump about everytime they go off or they will not last.
Please also do not install them with the machine turned on! The surge to the circuit will render them dead.
All pop bumper rings are checked before dispatch. Broken ones from not following proper fixing will be void from warranty.
What Do Insert Kits Include?
 Insert kits provide just as it says just the inserts not the full kit, plus they include any lights normally above the playfield. Flashers, Backbox and General Illumination not included!
How do I build A Full KIT For My Machine
1:) Pick the insert kit for your machine, either Superbright or Premium 2.
2:) Add 40 x Frosted #44 warm or cool white (depending on machine effect) for your general illumination.
3:) Count up backbox led’s and replace with frosted warm white #44 (bayonet type) or Frosted Warmwhite #555 (Wedge type). Make sure you use warm white for the backbox as cool white tends to wash out the colours.
Feel free to add some colours to get a 3d effect.
4:) Flashers are easy. Put machine in flasher test and shut the coin door (to switch high voltage on) and count up your flashers. #89 are bayonet type and #906 are wedge type.
If you want the light to shine up use the towers.