Stern SPIKE™ System Repair

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1 Stern SPIKE™ System Repair

1.1 Introduction

The SPIKE™ System is the current board system used by Stern Pinball. The first full production game to use the SPIKE Board Set was Wrestlemania in 2015. The SPIKE architecture is a large departure from prior board set architectures. Per Stern, "The SPIKE Pinball system is rugged, distributed, and embedded platform custom-designed for the rigors of the pinball machine environment".

The SPIKE system is comprised of "nodes" that are powered from a 48VDC power bus. Each SPIKE "node" will regulate this 48VDC down to the proper voltage required to operate the "devices" under control of that node (lamps, coils, etc). Nodes are connected with standard CAT 5e (or better) 8 conductor Ethernet wiring although the interface protocol is not Ethernet, and connecting a SPIKE node to computer Ethernet will damage the board (per Stern).

1.2 Games

1.2.1 SPIKE 1

• The Pin Transformers Home Edition
• The Pin The Avengers Home Edition
• Wrestlemania
• KISS
• Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons™
• The Walking Dead
• Game of Thrones
• Ghostbusters
• Pabst Can Crusher
• Spider-Man Home Edition

1.2.2 SPIKE 2

• Batman 66
• Aerosmith
• Star Wars (Stern)
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Iron Maiden

1.3 Technical Info

1.3.1 The SPIKE Board Set

Stern has issued a technical video discussing the Spike system boards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvefdrNaAPg

Spike 1 board installed in a Ghostbusters.

Ghostbusters Spike 1 board

1.3.2 Recommended Documentation

As always, it is highly recommended to possess a game manual. Every game manual is full of detailed information regarding game specific switch, lamp, and coil assignments. Equally, details for maneuvering through test, audit, and bookkeeping screen menus, schematics for all boards used, and game specific mechanical assemblies are included.

1.3.4 Cabinet Node Board Information

LED indicators:

• Red: 48 volts is present at the board
• Yellow: Board is communicating with cpu board
• Green: 6 volts is present at the board

Ghostbusters # 520-6967-00 (replaced by 520-6967-72) Cabinet Node Board connectors:

• CN1: Universal Card input (if present on your particular board)
• CN2: Low tickets warning in ticket dispenser
• CN3: To Meter #1 (usually coin counter, use a 12 volt meter)
• CN4: To Meter #2 (usually tickets out, use a 12 volt meter)
• CN5: From Coin Door coin switches and coin entry LED lights
• CN6: Left cabinet switch inputs (tilt, start, etc)
• CN7: Right cabinet switch inputs
• CN8: From electronic coin mechanism (export machines)
• CN9: From Dollar Bill Acceptor
• CN10: From coin door volume and diagnostic switches
• CN11: Ticket dispenser
• CN12: Volume and diagnostic switches output to cpu board connector CN25
• CN13: RJ45 Node Data Bus
• CN14: 48 volts DC power input
• CN16: To shaker motor

1.4 Problems and Solutions

1.4.1 Power Problems

The main power supply is 48 volts and has a cooling fan. Some versions have the fan on the front of the power supply while others may have the fan mounted on the top.

Ghostbusters Pro 48 volt power supply

Ghostbusters wiring interconnection label.

Ghostbusters interconnection wiring label

1.4.7 Display problems

Starting with Pirates of the Caribbean (a S.A.M. board set game), Stern replaced the normal Plasma Dot Matrix Display on European models with an LED variant because of the RoHS law. They first used PinLED DMDs, and later, switched to a red DMD specifically made for them (520-5052-05). The debate which looks better will be going on for your remaining lifetime and continue right into your next few lives.

1.4.7.1 LED DMD bad vertical line

Stern bad LED DMD

If a game is always showing a semi-bright vertical line on the DMD, usually one of the LED segments is bad. Fortunately the bad segment can be found easily. As shown in the picture to the left, one pixel in the line is always dark. This 8x8 segment is the bad guy and needs to be replaced. The good thing is that this problem usually occurs with NIB games just after a few hours or days of game play so the DMD is still under warranty. If not, ask Stern for the availability of the LED segments. When replacing a block, be advised that the vias are small and are difficult to remove without the proper equipment.

1.4.8 Sound problems

The Spike 1 cpu board connector CN1 is the 2 channel backbox speaker output (two 4 ohm @ 20 watt 4 inch square speakers). Connector CN4 is the lower cabinet woofer speaker output (one 8 ohm @ 40 watt 8 inch round speaker).

CN1 pinout:

• 1: Black-White backbox right speaker -.
• 2: Red-White backbox right speaker +.
• 3: Key
• 4: Black backbox left speaker -.
• 5: Red backbox left speaker +.

CN4 pinout:

• 1: Yellow-Black lower cabinet woofer speaker output -.
• 2: Yellow-White lower cabinet woofer speaker output +.

CN18 (TRS headphone 3.5mm jack) pinout:

• TIP: headphone left, 8 ohm, 200mw maximum output
• RING: headphone right, 8 ohm, 200mw maximum output
• SLEEVE: Audio ground

CN27 Preamp (line) output to feed sound to an external monaural amplifier or subwoofer amplifier:

• 1: Line out +, 600 ohms
• 2: Line out ground
• 3: Line out -, 600 ohms

1.4.9 Flipper problems

See Common Flipper Troubleshooting for general flipper information.

Flipper assembly on Ghostbusters

1.4.12 Shaker Motor Problems

1.4.12.1 Third Party Shaker Motors

All current SPIKE™ games allow for a shaker motor, but it should be a SPIKE shaker motor, not a SAM-system shaker motor (SAM is the previous system). After the initial launch of SPIKE™ games, it was discovered that motors from third-party manufacturers (in particular Pinball Life) had a capacitor that caused problems, and will blow out the node board. Service Bulletin 184 advises against using third-party shaker motors entirely. Installation will void the game's warranty.

The symptom of this problem is that the Start button, plumb bob, and coin door GI lamps won't work; that is, the game becomes unplayable.

Some owners have reported that removing the capacitor from the third-party motor will fix the problem. Stern's public position is that owners should spend the extra money and buy an OEM motor. Many vendors do not clearly differentiate between an OEM part and a third-party part.