Need help reviving Game King

[phurst]

Hello all!

I recently picked up a Game King (my first) that I'm trying to put back into service. It's had a bit of a rough life I believe. I know for sure its last coule of owners had no idea what it was, or what they were doing, if they even did anything to it. It was definitely passed around as a "commodity", like "Bubba gave it to me for fixin his truck, and Bubba got it from Tom for some tools and a box of steaks.", etc. The gentleman I picked it up from was storing it on a pallet, under a tarp, outside. He had never even turned it on. Needless to say, I got it for extremely cheap. It powers on fine, and after a couple of rounds of RAM and EEPROM errors and the reset key, and replacing the battery, I'm down to the last few errors. It's got an 044 board, and is running GK003372. I've got a key chip on the way, but I suspect I still have some hurdles to jump before I can even use that. The errors currently presenting themselves are:
Coin-in Jam
Touch screen communication failure

I've done a little looking around the site, but haven't found a whole lot regarding these errors.

The coin comparator was unplugged when I got the machine (as was literally everything in the top. Light, speakers, candle, printer, fan, etc.) Perhaps someone previous was troubleshooting the same error? As far as I can tell, the comparator doesn't do anything currently. The LED doesn't light up or blink, there are no sounds, and I don't believe the coin reject relay is puling in (if it's even supposed to).

As far as the touch screen, the only suggestion I found here was that the controller is a netplex device along with the printer and bill validator, and to disconnect both to see if that makes any difference. It doesn't. I'm not even sure where the touch screen controller is. It's a CRT machine, and I thought perhaps it would be behind the monitor somewhere, but I haven't worked out how to remove it yet. I have a PE+ poker machine with a CRT and that just pulls right out. The Game King doesn't seem to be the same. I pulled a little, but nothing moved, so I didn't want to keep yanking.

Any advice on either of these issues would be greatly appreciated. I suspect there will be more problems and questions as I go along, like the fact that none of the buttons lights, up. I find it hard to believe they ALL have burned out bulbs, so I'm expecting trouble there too, not to mention getting everything set up in a way that makes sense for the way I'd like to use the machine. Those are questions for after these though, so we'll cross those bridges as we come to them.

Thanks!

[phurst]

Made some progress today. After reading a few more posts on here, I reseated the IO board in the door, which seems to have resolved the Coin-in error. I also reseated the one in the cabinet, though I see there is room for another card. Should there be two in the cabinet?

I also got the monitor out, and reseated the connection to the touch screen controller, but that doesn't seem to have fixed anything. So, open to suggestions for the touch screen issue.

[Tilt]

If you have a second row of buttons on the button deck then you should have two I/O cards.  If you just have a single row then one.

As far as the Touchscreen Comm Failure error it sounds like you've done the basic stuff (disconnecting other netplex devices).  There's really only a few things left that could be the cause.  The touchscreen controller on the monitor, the motherboard, the MPU board, or the cabling between them.  I'd trace the wiring back from the touch screen controller to the motherboard and make sure it hasn't been damaged.  Check the MPU connectors for a bent pin, and beyond that you really need to swap something out to determine if it's good or bad.

[phurst]

Awesome, thanks for the answers and advice. I do indeed have two rows of buttons so I need another card. I see the connectors for the two cards are different sizes, so I need a different card than the one that's there. Is there a particular part number or some other way to identify the card I need? Is there a go-to place to get one, as well as a touch screen controller?

[Tilt]

I'd check with Jim at Midwest slots.