BB1 button bulbs

[ScottyK]

Can someone please confirm for me what voltage these button bulbs should be?  I was under the impression that they were supposed to be 6v.  I replaced all of my bulbs with some that I purchased from Spin, Inc. back in February, and recently, one by one, they have been burning out.  I've since replaced them with some extra 12v that I have left over from my GameKing resto, and those seem to be just as bright, if not brighter, than the 6v.


Just wondering...

[rickhunter]

I have 3 bb1's with leds in buttons.  They are all 6v and have been there for at least 4 years without needing to replace a single bulb.  So you might have gotten a bad batch?  If 12v are working for you, then use them.  It certainly doesn't hurt.

[Stayouttadabunker]

LEDs are different from incandescent lamps....they need a certain amount of voltage to get to a certain brightness of candlepower.
Some require less wattage to get to that point of brightness....some need more...there are many variables.
However, some lamps, if they burn out too soon, it's because they had too much voltage, burned too bright and burned out the filaments.

Most incandescent lamps have numbers imprinted on the glass that will allow you to look up its' ratings - LED numbers are usually imprinted on the body.
LEDs also have resistors built inside the body that have different specifications to control the voltage going to and thru the filament.
It's best to use what the gaming manufacture specifies in their manual.
Sending too much voltage and amperage to the lamps can burn out circuit traces on motherboards.

[ScottyK]

Sorry I should have specified that the bulbs in question are LEDs.


What I have been finding in most of the bulbs that have burned out is a brown, melted spot on one side.  I'm going to assume that this is where the resistor is located, and the spot is the result of too much heat being generated.


I thought that I saw somewhere that the bulbs to be used in a BB1 were supposed to be 6v, but I could be wrong.  I guess I'll have to try and find that again.

[Stayouttadabunker]

Yeah...if brown and melted, that's way too hot.

[sixcardmark]

Sounds like yet another faulty batch of led bulbs from china.

[rickhunter]

Sorry I should have specified that the bulbs in question are LEDs.


What I have been finding in most of the bulbs that have burned out is a brown, melted spot on one side.  I'm going to assume that this is where the resistor is located, and the spot is the result of too much heat being generated.


I thought that I saw somewhere that the bulbs to be used in a BB1 were supposed to be 6v, but I could be wrong.  I guess I'll have to try and find that again.

Just below your original post, I posted that all my BB1's are using 6v LEDS for at least 4 years with no burnouts.  You probably had a bad batch.  There's no harm in using 12v leds either, but the original specs call for 6v bulbs.  The original incandescent bulbs are #86 rated at 6.3 volts.

[ScottyK]

Sorry I should have specified that the bulbs in question are LEDs.


What I have been finding in most of the bulbs that have burned out is a brown, melted spot on one side.  I'm going to assume that this is where the resistor is located, and the spot is the result of too much heat being generated.


I thought that I saw somewhere that the bulbs to be used in a BB1 were supposed to be 6v, but I could be wrong.  I guess I'll have to try and find that again.

Just below your original post, I posted that all my BB1's are using 6v LEDS for at least 4 years with no burnouts.  You probably had a bad batch.  There's no harm in using 12v leds either, but the original specs call for 6v bulbs.  The original incandescent bulbs are #86 rated at 6.3 volts.

I apologize; I did not see your post.

Sounds like yet another faulty batch of led bulbs from china.

That sounds to me like this is something that has occured before?  I guess I should go looking for some higher quality LEDs.


As always, thank you all for your help and guidance.

[rickhunter]

I bought mine from suzo happ back in the day.  These are the ones I bought, though 4 years ago, not sure if they are the exact same manufacturer.

https://na.suzohapp.com/products/lighting/91-5WB-61W2

I also have some of these on one of my button panels.

https://na.suzohapp.com/products/lighting/161-205059

The only issue with suzohapp is what we call the "mystery shipping" you place the order and later they tell you how much they charged you for shipping.  There's also a minimum order I believe, though it's been a while since I ordered anything from them, so things might have changed for the better.

[ScottyK]

Well, after several more of my 6v LEDs burned out (it was getting to be an almost daily occurrence!), I decided to do a little searching on replacements that wouldn't be costing me too much, and also wouldn't have to worry about "mystery shipping" charges.  I found something that isn't too costly and might work out just fine.  I found these on Amazon:


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LVFIVT0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


These are SMD LEDs that are being sold as replacements for instrument panel lighting in automobiles.  They certainly seemed the correct size to me, and although they are rated as 12v, for $5.99 for 10 of them, I figured I'd give them a shot.


I put them in yesterday, and here are the results (see attached photos):


The one thing that I will say is that they are indeed bright, compared to the other LEDs.  I know that sometimes it's hard to get a true sense of brightness differences through photos on a computer, but the photo with the Rebet and Cashout buttons either end, which still have the 6v in place, give you a pretty good idea of the difference.  Now brightness may be an issue for some, so YMMV.  Also, on some of the bulbs I found that I needed to bend out the contacts so that they would touch the contacts inside each bulb holder, but I think that might need to be done with just about any type of bulb, to be honest.


Anyway, I just thought that I would present another alternative for anyone interested.

[rickhunter]

Looks good.

[The laneman]

I got a batch in recently from spin also with the same problem.They lasted a day and quit.I lost 3 out of 13 SO FAR.May be a bad batch like everyone is sayingIf I lose any more Im calling Spin for some replacements.