Converting Your Pinball Machine to LED: The Complete Lighting Guide

Converting a pinball machine to LED isn't “changing the bulbs.” A 1980s machine contains three different lighting systems — the playfield general illumination, the controlled insert lamps, and the backbox fluorescent tube — and each reacts differently to LED. The right order is almost always the same: start with the backbox, where the visual payoff is greatest for the least risk, then work down to the playfield. This guide explains, zone by zone, what works, what snags, and what it really costs.

Understanding a vintage pinball machine's lighting: three families, three logics

1. Playfield general illumination (GI)

GI (general illumination) is the background light: the bulbs that light the playfield continuously, wired in strings, generally at 6.3 V AC. Two formats dominate: the BA9s bayonet #44 and #47, and the #555 wedge base, which appeared in the 1980s on PCB-mounted sockets. It's the simplest family to convert: one bulb out, one LED in.

2. Inserts and controlled lamps

These are the lamps that light individually under the colored inserts: target hit, bonus active, multiplier. They're driven by the lamp board, usually organized as a matrix, typically at 6.3 V DC. It's this difference — AC vs. DC, always-on vs. controlled — that explains most of the trouble in an LED conversion. To learn which board does what, see our article on a pinball machine's electronics (MPU, driver, power supply and sound).

3. Backbox lighting

On many 1980s machines, the backglass isn't lit by bulbs but by a fluorescent tube, with its ballast and starter, powered directly from 115 V AC. A completely separate setup: nothing to do with the GI or the matrix.

Treating these three families the same way is the first mistake. An LED that's perfect in the GI can “ghost” in a controlled insert — and none of those choices touch the backbox, which runs on a different, and dangerous, electrical logic.

The backbox: the most visible, and the first to do

Why the fluorescent tube ages badly

After forty years, the symptoms are always the same: the starter that clatters and makes the backbox flicker for several seconds before it lights, the ballast that hums and heats up inside a wooden cabinet, a slow strike or none at all when cold, blackened tube ends that leave the edges of the backglass in shadow, and fragile glass that a single move is enough to break.

Our solution for Gottlieb System 80B

We designed an LED backbox tube replacement kit for Gottlieb System 80B, at €49. It replaces the tube, ballast and starter all at once with a flat LED strip and a compact 115 V AC transformer module.

• Install in about ten minutes, no soldering or drilling: cut the two 115 V AC fluorescent wires, strip them, clamp them into the supplied lever-action Wago connectors. The strip and module stick down with the adhesive already in place.
• Instant, even light across the full width of the backglass, with no warm-up and no dark zones.
• Cold operation, and an end to ballast hum.
• Invisible behind the backglass: the original look is preserved.

Compatible with the 1985-1989 Gottlieb System 80B machines fitted with the stock fluorescent tube: Chicago Cubs' Triple Play, Bounty Hunter, Tag-Team Pinball, Rock, Raven, Hollywood Heat, Rock Encore, Genesis, Gold Wings, Monte Carlo, Spring Break, Arena, Victory, Diamond Lady, TX-Sector, Robo-War, Excalibur, Bad Girls, Big House, Hot Shots and Bone Busters Inc.

The decisive advantage if you're installing a GottFA80_Plus or a Lisy80

On Diamond Lady, TX-Sector, Robo-War, Excalibur, Bad Girls, Big House, Hot Shots and Bone Busters, the original fluorescent tube physically gets in the way of fitting a GottFA80_Plus or Lisy80 board: you have to raise or reposition it. The LED strip, by contrast, is flat: you stick it wherever you like, and the problem disappears for good.

If you're at that point, our comparison of all-in-one boards for Gottlieb System 80, 80A and 80B will help you choose before you order.

The playfield: converting the GI to LED

Bases: BA9s bayonet #44/#47 and #555 wedge

Good news: in LED, the distinction between #44 and #47 disappears, and suppliers sell a single “44/47” BA9s bayonet reference. The #555 is the wedge base, push-in. Before you order, count your sockets: tedious, but it's the only way not to order twice.

Color temperature: the point everything hinges on

This is the most common mistake. A 1980s backglass and playfield were designed and printed for warm light, the light of incandescence. Converting the whole thing to cold white doesn't make the machine more modern: it washes out the reds, oranges and yellows of the artwork and gives a clinical look.

Comet Pinball, which documents the question precisely, puts its warm white around 3000 to 4000 K — closest to incandescence, and the best choice for the GI of a warm-colored machine — against 5000 to 6000 K for its cool white, which it itself describes as harsh and liable to “wash out” the warmth of the original artwork. For a 1980s Gottlieb or Bally, warm white remains the safest bet.

Frosted or clear, 1 SMD or 3 SMD

A clear LED concentrates the light and creates hot spots: a bright halo at the center of the insert, dark edges. A frosted LED (matte dome) diffuses and comes close to the look of a bulb — very generally the right choice on a vintage playfield.

On intensity, the more diodes, the brighter. The temptation of very bright is a trap on a 1980s machine: the plastics and the artwork weren't designed for it. A 1 SMD frosted is often enough for an insert; 2 or 3 SMD make more sense for a GI you want to bring up to the level of a modern machine.

Where to buy: suppliers checked in July 2026

Let's be clear: Pinballs Store does not sell playfield LED bulbs. We make replacement boards, we repair boards, and we sell this backbox LED kit. For your bulbs, here are the specialists we checked on July 27, 2026:

• Comet Pinball (USA) — 2SMD in 44/47 bayonet and 555 wedge, frosted or clear, $0.69; non-ghosting and anti-strobing ranges.
• Titan Pinball (USA) — Frosted Dome from $0.38, 1SMD from $0.72, non-ghosting 1SMD-NG from $0.89, 13 V flashers from $1.29.
• PinballBulbs (USA) — clear, frosted, non-ghosting and flex in 44/47 and 555; frosted 555 at $0.85. Maintains a list of machines prone to ghosting.
• Pinball Center (Germany) — bulbs and LEDs (#44 BA9s, #555 T10). Prices not recorded.
• PU-parts (Germany) — LEDs for pinball machines, clear or frosted domes, wedge or bayonet. Prices not recorded.
• Ministry of Pinball (Netherlands) — insert LED sets, anti-flicker LED boards for classic Ballys. Prices not recorded.

Prices exclude shipping, customs and import VAT: factor these in if you order from Europe.

The very real pitfalls of going LED

Ghosting

Ghosting is the phenomenon where lamps glow faintly when they should be off. It's not an LED defect: some control circuits don't drop exactly to zero volts when the lamp turns off; a residual voltage remains, a leakage current in the matrix. An incandescent bulb needs far more before it starts to glow: it masked the problem. The LED, which lights at a very low threshold, reveals it.

Let's be honest: ghosting depends on the machine and the type of LED. Some machines show none, others across a whole column. The known fixes are so-called “non-ghosting” LEDs — the first thing to try, and all the suppliers checked above offer them — adding resistors to bleed off the leakage current, anti-ghosting boards, and sometimes a ROM update. We won't recommend a reference we haven't tested on your machine: start with non-ghosting, test, escalate if needed.

When the lamp board dislikes the low load

A separate problem, which particularly affects 1977-1985 Bally and Stern solid-state machines. An LED draws a fraction of a bulb's current; the control electronics, sized for bulbs, end up with too low a load and flicker the lamps spuriously. It's not the LED at fault, it's the board.

Two answers. Either bulbs designed for these machines: Comet offers an anti-strobing range dedicated to early solid state, from $1.69 to $1.89. Or a replacement board with anti-flicker built in from the ground up: our BallyLA_60 lamp board (€149), which replaces the AS-2518-14, AS-2518-23 and Stern LDB-100, and our BallyFA MPU board (€299). Our Bally / Stern MPU board guide details the compatibilities.

Flashers

Flashers — the big #89 (bayonet) and #906 (wedge) bulbs — don't work like ordinary lamps: their circuit resembles a coil's, with brief high-voltage pulses. Never put a GI LED in a flasher socket: you need dedicated flasher LEDs, rated for 12-13 V. A side benefit: an LED flasher no longer melts the neighboring plastic if it sticks on.

Method: what order to work in

1. The backbox first. Maximum effect, minimum risk. On a System 80B, ten minutes with the €49 backbox LED kit.
2. The GI next. No matrix, no possible ghosting: only aesthetic questions. This is where you lock in your color temperature.
3. The inserts last. The risk zone: do it once the rest is stable, so you can pin a problem on the right cause.
4. Test as you go. One zone, power on, watch the attract mode — that's where ghosting shows best.
5. Keep your original bulbs in a labeled box: the conversion is reversible, provided you kept the parts.

Take advantage of it: the playfield is open, it's the right moment for a complete clean of the playfield and rubbers. A clean, well-lit machine resells better, as our simple repairs that raise a pinball machine's value detail.

Safety: read this before touching the backbox

Unplug the pinball machine from mains before any work. Not “switch it off”: pull the wall plug.

The backbox of a 1980s pinball machine contains 115 V AC: the tube, its ballast and its starter are powered directly at that voltage. It's dangerous, even for someone used to tinkering with 6.3 V under the playfield — and a ballast can retain energy after power-off.

Never work live: no “just seeing if it lights” with the cabinet open and the machine plugged in. If mains wiring isn't familiar to you, get help. There's no shame in delegating that part.

What it costs, and what it delivers

Prices marked “checked” are ours or recorded at the suppliers on July 27, 2026; the others are estimates, excluding shipping and import taxes.

Zone	Solution	Indicative cost	Difficulty	Effect
Backbox (Gottlieb System 80B)	LED backbox tube replacement kit	€49 (checked)	Easy — about 10 min, no soldering	Very strong: the most visible zone
Playfield GI (30 to 50 sockets)	44/47 bayonet and 555 wedge LEDs, frosted, warm white	Estimate: $0.38 to $0.90 each	Easy but long	Strong: more readable playfield, less heat
Inserts and controlled lamps	So-called non-ghosting LEDs	Estimate: $0.89 to $1.89 (Titan 1SMD-NG, Comet Flux — checked)	Medium — ghosting risk	Varies by machine
Flashers	Dedicated 12-13 V flasher LEDs (#89, #906)	Estimate: from $1.29 each (Titan — checked)	Easy	Medium; removes the melted-plastic risk
Flickering lamp board (Bally / Stern 1977-1985)	Modern lamp board with built-in anti-flicker (BallyLA_60)	€149 (checked)	Medium — board replacement	Treats the cause, not the symptom
MPU of a Bally / Stern to modernize	BallyFA MPU board, built-in LED anti-flicker	€299 (checked)	Medium — Plug & Play	General reliability and stable lighting

To place these amounts in a wider refurbishment budget, see our line-by-line pinball repair price guide.

The originality debate: LED or incandescent?

The question divides, and both camps are right. Some collectors prefer the original bulb: the light of a filament has a warmth, a gradual rise and a fade-out on shutdown that no LED reproduces. On a machine kept in a preservation mindset, period lighting is part of the object just like its plastics. On the other side: power draw slashed, heat all but eliminated — a real issue for plastics and connectors that have been baking for forty years — and a lifespan beyond comparison.

The point that should calm the debate: going LED is reversible. If you keep your original bulbs, you go back in an evening. The one less-reversible case is the backbox — but a forty-year-old tube, a ballast and a starter aren't parts you preserve for their historical value. To each their own; our recommendation stands: backbox to LED without hesitation, GI in warm white, inserts depending on how your machine behaves. On the impact on value, see what is my pinball machine worth: rating and valuation.

FAQ

Should I convert my whole pinball machine to LED at once?

No, it's actually inadvisable. Go zone by zone — backbox, then GI, then inserts — testing after each step. If a problem shows up, you'll know where it came from. Replacing forty bulbs before powering back on condemns you to searching blind.

Which color temperature should I choose for a 1980s pinball machine?

Warm white, around 3000-4000 K per Comet Pinball's classification. These machines were designed for warm light; a cool white at 5000-6000 K washes out the reds, oranges and yellows and gives a clinical look. An intermediate shade (4000-5000 K) can suit machines with mixed colors.

What is ghosting and how do I avoid it?

It's when a lamp glows faintly while it should be off, because of a residual voltage in the matrix that the LED reveals and the bulb masked. The phenomenon depends on the machine and the type of LED. The first fix is to use non-ghosting LEDs; there are also resistor-based solutions and anti-ghosting boards. None guarantees a universal result: you have to test.

Is the backbox LED kit compatible with my machine?

It's designed for 1985-1989 Gottlieb System 80B machines fitted with the stock fluorescent tube, from Chicago Cubs' Triple Play to Bone Busters Inc. On eight of them — Diamond Lady, TX-Sector, Robo-War, Excalibur, Bad Girls, Big House, Hot Shots and Bone Busters — it also solves the clearance conflict between the tube and a GottFA80_Plus or Lisy80 board.

Can I replace the backbox fluorescent tube myself safely?

Yes, provided you unplug the machine from mains before any work and never work live. The backbox contains 115 V AC: a dangerous voltage. The install is done with no soldering or drilling, using lever-action Wago connectors. If mains wiring isn't familiar to you, call on someone who does it routinely.

Do you sell LED bulbs for the playfield?

No. Pinballs Store makes replacement boards, repairs pinball electronic boards, and sells this backbox LED kit for Gottlieb System 80B. For playfield bulbs, turn to the specialists cited in this guide.

Sources & further reading

• Flippers.be — Types of lightbulbs used in pinball machines: GI and controlled-lamp circuits, types #44 / #47 / #555 / #89 / #906, ghosting and strobing. Accessed July 27, 2026.
• Comet Pinball — Which White is right for my pinball machine?: color temperatures. Accessed July 27, 2026.
• Comet Pinball — 2SMD Bulbs: 44/47 and 555, $0.69. Accessed July 27, 2026.
• Comet Pinball — Flux Anti-strobing: $1.69 to $1.89. Accessed July 27, 2026.
• Titan Pinball — LEDs: from $0.38; 1SMD-NG from $0.89. Accessed July 27, 2026.
• PinballBulbs — Pinball Machine Ghosting List. Accessed July 27, 2026.
• Pinball Center (DE). Accessed July 27, 2026.
• PU-parts (DE) — LEDs for pinball machines. Accessed July 27, 2026.
• Ministry of Pinball (NL). Accessed July 27, 2026.