New Life Games LLC
**Reel Slots** Gaming Machines => Universal Reel/Video Games => Topic started by: gposing on February 19, 2016, 10:48:46 PM
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Guy gave me his slot because it died. Going to try and bring it back to life. I have attached a couple of pictures of it. I don't have any info on it. When you power it up there is just a loud buzz. Machine never cycles. If you press bet1 you can see the meter move, same for the spin reels. Handle is released. All fuses are good, battery on board is good. Reset, test, service button do nothing. Front LCD meters will display if reels are disconnected. If they are connected nothing is displayed unless you press spin and then you get garbage.
Not sure where to start. Hope not in over my head.
Gary
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If you have a meter you can check the power supply voltages to make sure they are ok. The buzzing might be coming from a solenoid or other part that is not getting enough voltage.
Sometimes a loud buzz can come from a bad fluorescent bulb or its ballast or starter. Also a solenoid (coil) can buzz when it is activated. Slot machines often have a solenoid coil near the coin acceptor and if it is buzzing the sound can be loud since it is echoing off the main door which is metal and in the front part of the machine near the player. You can press on a solenoid or other suspicious part with something non-metallic to see if it quietens down or to feel if it is vibrating. Use something like a plastic wand or even a wooden kitchen spoon to stay safe.
Try to locate where the buzz is coming from and check the power supply voltages, let us know what you find.
I brightened your photo a little to see more details.
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I noticed a wiring harness that looks like it is not connected.
Is it supposed to be disconnected?
(see photo with note below)
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That connector is most likely coming from the SDS3 board. It is for casino monitoring, not needed.
The buzz should be coming from the speakers, usually indicates corrupted RAM. Have you tried a RAM clear? (Press black button on mpu board while starting up)
Now the real question is; Can a 4-reel mpu board be used on a three reel game? I'm not sure, but don't know why not. If the last guy who had it said it worked then I guess the answer is yes. But it looks like the third reel is connected to the forth reel connector, would think it should be connected to the third reel connector.
Note: All Universals came with four reel connectors with the forth connector usually tucked under the reel plate. And I suspect, but not sure that all mpu boards might be 4-reel compatable, maybe a trace is cut to make it 3-reel? Not sure, but that sure sounds like something Universal would do.
Let me know about the RAM clear.
If that doesn't work, check the power supply for a noise filter (internal black noise filter) and remove it. If it's there, it needs to go! If you need instructions let me know.
Jim
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Thanks for all of the ideas. Can't work on it today, but will start tomorrow. Where would I find that noise filter? I did read someone else's post that it needs to go away.
The extra cable. I thought the same thing it needs to be plugged in but I can not find anywhere for it to go.
The guy did say it was working before he gave it to me. so I guess someone modified it to run 3 reels. There are some jumper wires on the board that I can tell did not come from the company.
I will post my updates tomorrow as I work on it.
Gary
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Read this post, about halfway down there is a pic of noise filter. http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=177.0 (http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=177.0)
Universal did add jumper wires so not really an issue yet.
You can unplug that cable from the SDS3 board, not needed.
I would start with the RAM clear.
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Removed the sound filter, SDS board, pressed and held the button for 10 seconds on power up. There are two locations for the buzz sound. One is the speaker and I think the other is from the handle. The one from the speaker never goes away. But if I turn the machine on and off a few times in a row I can get the other one to go away, unless the reels are plugged in. When the reels are disconnected the win meter area comes up with all zeros. When any one of the reels are plugged in they are blank.
Just figured out I must have a yellow dot power supply. Across 6 and 12 I have 27Vac, seems high??
Gary
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I have to assume I have a bad power supply.
#1 should be 5 Vdc I have 4.09
#2 24Vdc I have 28.3
#4 12 Vdc I have 13.9
#5 24Vdc I have 28.4
#3 110 VAc I have 113
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I have a question. How much more damage could I be looking at with the power supply putting out the wrong voltage? Would I be wasting my money on getting it fixed just to find out there are more serious problems?
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I have a question. How much more damage could I be looking at with the power supply putting out the wrong voltage? Would I be wasting my money on getting it fixed just to find out there are more serious problems?
We'll see what UNIMAN says when he checks back in, he has tons of experience on these machines.
Just my opinion, but I doubt those voltages you posted in reply #7 are off by enough to cause damage. The +5vdc is low, that indicates a problem somewhere, but other than that your voltages are not seriously out of whack. Not saying they are ok, just that they are not high enough to cook something.
Just to be sure you know, when measuring AC voltages you need to use the AC high and low/return side, not a DC ground. Otherwise you can get readings that are not accurate unless the AC low side happened to be connected to DC ground. The 113 vac could be the same line voltage that is coming in from your wall outlet, did you check it to see what it measures? Depending on where you live in US the ac power can be anywhere from 110 vac to 120 vac, our electric devices (tv, computer, stereo, etc) are designed to work ok within a range of input ac voltage. I don't think that is your problem.
You may have a bad power supply, or it could be that something in your machine is affecting and loading down the 5vdc. You can try disconnecting things from the power supply connectors like cables and the mpu board and other circuit boards to see if the 5vdc returns to a normal value, which would mean something was drawing excessive amps from the 5vdc power line and that something has a defect. If the power supply voltages do not measure correctly with stuff disconnected from the power supply then I'd suspect the power supply. Another way is to remove the fuses, that will disconnect things from the power supply and you can then measure the power supply voltages at the fuseholder. If you do this be sure to get the right fuse back in the right place.
The buzzing from the pull handle area might be the handle release solenoid.
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I would not worry about the high voltages. If you read that link in my previous post for the noise filter the actual dc voltages are high. It's the 5vdc that reads 4.09vdc that is a real concern. It needs to be a clean, steady 5vdc.
You say you have a Yellow Dot. The wiring going from the door to the machine is in a black shrink wrap. Is there a single gray wire and white wire outside of the shrink wrap?
Also, check your 110vac cord leaving the machine. Make sure it is not crushed or damaged under the machine. I've seen this a lot.
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I did find a bad spot in the power cable under where it comes into the machine and fixed that earlier.
The wiring from the door to the machine is in a black shrink wrap and there is a single gray and white wire outside of the wrap. it looks like it goes to the transformer for the lights in the belly glass.
Still getting 4.09Vdc with nothing plugged into the power supply.
Gary
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Ok, the single gray & white wire was a modification by Universal so that all machines could use the Yellow Dot Power Supply. No problem there. Yes it goes to the light ballasts.
That 4.09 vdc just isn't right. Maybe your voltage regulator is bad, not really sure. Did you test that with the side connectors on the power supply disconnected? Try that if not.
Other than the low 5vdc, it seems like something is drawing down your voltages but not blowing fuses. I've seen crushed cords do this, coins/tokens under the mpu board, screws that fell behind behind where the mpu plugs in, etc.
If it were me, I would unscrew the mpu rack (not sure what it's really called) and look behind it for foreign objects. Also look under the mpu board in it's case.
You can also try unplugging the side connectors on your power supply, they go to the handle, and see what happens.
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I had everything unplugged from the unit except for the wire providing power to it when I tested the voltage. I took it out, opened it and did not find any coins or screws in there.
I have searched all of the parts vendors i know and no one has one of these.
I will open it up again tomorrow and look closer at the wires to see if anything looks burned, loose, or bad.
Gary
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Ok back to work on this machine. I got a new power supply for it and it functions again. :applause: :applause:
One new problem. The hopper. There is a lever that is always in the out position knocking the quarters off before they hit the knife. So I rigged it to stay in all the time and it over pays coins so I assume that device has something to do with keeping the hopper from over paying. How can I test to see if the solenoid that pulls it in is bad or the circuit board that controls it?
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That sounds like a "coin kicker" solenoid. They are often wired up to the same power that goes to the hopper motor, or to a signal that turns the hopper motor on and off. This way it gets power and moves out of the way while the hopper motor is running. Then when the hopper is shut off (by removing the hopper power) to stop paying out coins, the coin kicker also loses power and a spring moves it into position to kick any coins back into the hopper bowl so they don't get paid out. This may not be exactly how yours works but I think it will be similar.
First I'd make sure that the 2 wires going to the coin kicker solenoid coil are connected. And that the plunger rod in the center of the coil can move freely back and forth.
If they are ok then I'd check the solenoid coil itself. If you have a meter you can shut off power to the machine and then check the coin kicker solenoid coil terminals for continuity. For the best measurement you can disconnect one of the wires going to the coil, that way you won't be measuring through another circuit at the same time. The solenoid coil should measure a low resistance reading, just a few ohms, since it is just a long length of copper wire wrapped many times around the coil's form. If you get a high resistance or the coil appears burnt then it is likely to be bad.
To make sure we know what you have maybe you can post a photo of this lever that is knocking off the quarters.
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I see in your pics that DIP 6 on the SDS daughter board is OFF. That is where it is supposed to be. If it were ON the solenoid would not get the signal to come on.
If you have changed it since that pic you need to perform a RAM clear after setting it back.
You can test the solenoid by applying 110vac to it. But first make sure it slides freely by hand. I've seen these stick from being in storage. A little WD40 on the plunger usually solves a sticky solenoid.
The motor and solenoid get two different signals. I'm assuming the motor runs just a bit longer than the solenoid is activated so coins past the kicker are fully dispensed. Not sure, but makes sense. If you look at the hopper connector coming from the mpu, the pink wire is 5vdc, the yellow wire is the ground provided by the mpu to complete the circuit for the solenoid relay. You can put your tester on these two to look for 5vdc when hopper is activated. (Pressing the green test button 4 times will activate a hopper test) If you see 5vdc then you know the mpu is calling for the solenoid, and if you had applied 110vac to the solenoid and it worked, the hopper relay board would be the problem.
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Applied 110V to solenoid and it fires fine, but when I check voltage across the yellow and pink 1.99 vdc. never gets to 5.V
Here is the order of wires to make sure I'm on the right ones. discoloring of some wires.
Green Orange Brown
Yellow Black Pink
White? gray blue
Gary
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Never mind. Bent pin on the SDS board. works now!!
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Never mind. Bent pin on the SDS board. works now!!
Good find! Glad to hear it's working.