OK, pulled out the board and cleaned the connector pins
kicker works better, but I think I will have to clean the plugs as well

but I am on the right track,
thanks :)

Good news!  It makes sense if the machine has been in storage for a long time to have some slight corrosion on the pins. If it does turns out to be the problem you will most likely have to replace them. It was about 2 weeks before the problem returned on my machine so then I bit the bullet and replaced them. Haven't had an issue since.