Bally EVO hybrid - Problems caused by Saferam Clear

[BobRob90210]

Let me start by apologizing for not knowing much about slot machines, so some of my explanations of the problems may not be the best. I bought a Bally  EVO Hybrid from a guy on Craigslist like 10 years ago. It worked fine up until a few weeks ago when I turned it on and got a corrupted saferam message. After some research, I concluded that the battery on the mainboard had died, and corrupted the ram. I bought a new battery (exact same voltage/model number/manufacturer as the original) and a ram clear chip off ebay. I followed all the instructions, but I didn't notice the pins on the chip were set too wide, so only the pins on the left side of the chip were actually plugged in, and unfortunately turned it on. If this burned out the chip, the mainboard, both, or neither I don't know. It sat for half an hour doing nothing before I shut it off and discovered my mistake. I reseated the chip, correctly this time, but after turning it on the results were the same. The monitor says no signal, it doesn't boot bios, and nothing happens indefinitely. Now, After removing the clear chip and plugging the mainboard back in, it still does nothing. No bios boot, no signal, no saferam error. It doesn't even spin the reels. However, if I take the mainboard out, and turn it on, the reels spin and the bios boot, before not surprisingly, giving me an error. One of the 12V lights on the front of the mainboard housing is off, so I'm wondering if a fuse is blown. I really don't know. I'll include as many pictures as possible, but I'm not sure what is relevant.

On a similar topic, I see the instructions keep talking about turning a reset key. I have no such key. Is that a universal thing that I can buy off ebay, or is it specifically keyed to my machine, and I'm hopelessly screwed without it? I appreciate everyone/anyone's help.   

[BobRob90210]

I sorted out the key situation myself, so now I have a reset key to turn. I also figured out that if I hold the 12v button on the front of the mainboard housing for long enough, the machine will try to boot up. It ends with the error message "MULTIMEDIA COMM LINK FAILURE". No idea what that means.

[BobRob90210]

If I take the battery out of the mainboard the -12v light on the front will come on when I Start the machine, but it won't pass the high RAM test. Is this significant?

[BobRob90210]

I tested the battery with a multimeter, and it says it's putting out 3.48v instead of 3.6v. Could that be part of the problem?

[BobRob90210]

Geeze. I could get just as much help if I stood in the middle of the road and shouted my question into the sky. 

[a69mopar]

Check the pins in the connectors at the back of the mpu. They can get bent, which can cause all sorts of errors.
Were you able to complete the saferam clear process?

Thanks,
Wayne

[BobRob90210]

None that I can see. The first time I pulled it out it was a bit of a struggle. Now it slides in and out with no effort. Maybe I'm not pushing it in hard enough? I haven't been able to do the ram clear. It boots up like normal now, but ends in a screen that says "Multimedia Comm Link Is Down". I ordered another RAM clear chip under the assumption that I must have killed the last one. If that doesn't work I don't know. The only thing I've noticed is that the machine reacts the same weather or not the board is plugged in. Though all the lights on the board are on when it's plugged in, so it must be connected.

Thanks

[BobRob90210]

a69mopar was on the right track. The pins weren't bent, just not in far enough. I pushed the board in, pushed it in some more, and then pushed it in so hard I was sure I was breaking it. Then it let me do the RAM clear, and I'm happy to say it's working again. Apparently you really have to push the board back in with some authority. A big thanks to a69mopar, and literally no one else.