Light up sign for a vendorlator

[racerx45]

I just received a new dispenser that has a light up sign and is made by Vendorlator. Unfortunately it looks like it is missing some parts. I have not done any work on light up signs before and am hoping some one here is an expert and can help me get this one working again. I will try and post some pictures in the next few days. In the mean time if anyone has anything specific that I should start looking at please let me know and I will post more details with the pictures. Thanks,
Steve

[BrianB]

Just waiting to see the pic's Steve!  '>

[johnieG]

Signs, no problem, electrons-r-us , rewiring the sign should be a snap, & yes, please post some pictures.. '>

[racerx45]

Ok here are some pic's










The top two pictures are of the plug that comes out of the bottom of the dispenser. The other photos show the end of the dispenser where the sign mounts.

[Kevin C]

Hey

There should be a simple ballest somewhere, maybe a starter & then new bulbs should have you rolling.

Kevin

[Creighton]

Steve,
Looks like you are missing the connection to a power source correct? If you want to keep the orginal wiring, first thing will be to use a multimeter to find what wire goes where from the 9 pin connector.
Creighton

[racerx45]

I don’t see any place the ballast would fit. Is it possible that the ballast and starter could have been mount under the counter and connected thru the 9-pin connecter? Where would I be able to pick up the needed parts for this? The bulbs are about 5” long. Thanks,
Steve

[Creighton]

Pull the four screws holding the lamp assembly and lets take a peek at the backside.
Creighton

[johnieG]

it is possible that the ballast is mounted remotely, under the counter area, which would account for the large no. of wires comming up to the sockets, have you sneaked a peek under the reflector yet? ( could be hiding underneath maybe) here's a diagram of a typical "pre-heat" lamp circut ( a sign that uses a starter to light the lamps)....you may have two individual circuts here though (one for each lamp)...so, going with the "remote" ballast(s) theory, you should have about eight wires (two per/socket) running under the reflector down to the ballast(s)..see the diagram below.

[johnieG]

This is only an Example of  what I'm kinda getting at,

YOURS will be wired differently! ( I'm only guessing at the pinout of the connectors)  

[johnieG]

And....the lower deck/chassis

[racerx45]

Ok here are a few more photos. No ballast but I did confirm that there are two wires to each post and the ninth wire is a ground.

[racerx45]

I couldn’t wait to see what it was going to look like when done so I put the sign on my light table to get an idea of how it will look. The finished sign will look better (no crack in it), the bottom part will have more light on it and should stand out more.

[racerx45]

Ok I have figured out the pin-out and thanks to JohnieG’s diagrams think I know how to hook it up. I still don’t know where to get all of the needed part for it. I need two starters, two ballasts, two 5” lamps and a 9-pin Jones plug. Any help on where to get all or part of these would be great. Thanks,
Steve

[johnieG]

You should be able to get just about everything at the Home Depot, or Menards, etc. the ballasts run about $5/ea. the bulbs are about $6/ea. as for the male/female connectors, it is actually called a molex style & it may be obsolete, but any Radio Shack will have some in the round-pin molex style that will suite your needs, just make sure they are rated for 120 volts AC. your circuts with use around 1/2 an Amp, so 16 AWG (gauge) wire will do. here is a simplified wiring diagram, you will be using two of these circuts..pay attention to how the pins of the sockets are wired to the starter(s) or it won't light!...here you go.

[sodaworks]

Another great picture diagram from our friend johnieG