X Factor won't turn on

[cmurph]

I'm back looking for more help. Bill has been awesome trying to help me figure out what is wrong, but we've tried 2 power supplies and neither of them have fixed the problem. He suggested I might come back here and see if anyone else has any ideas as to what else it might be.  The 2 red lights are still coming on the top CPU board (the two end ones and the three in the middle are unlit).  It has a 12 molex connector that goes to the transformer. Bill said we might be able to check the transformer next, but it's a lot of shipping back & forth so I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the same problem that might have some ideas on what could be wrong before we try that next step. Thanks! Cher

[rokgpsman]

Don't be hesitant to ask for help, that's one of the main reasons this website exists.

Just to make sure we didn't miss something on your problem, your machine was working fine and then one day you turned it on and it had this failure, right?. The red lights that show power supply status are shown below, they are on the I/O board. On your machine the 3 center lights are off but the lights on each end are lit. You can see by the labels on the board it is the +12, -12 and +5 voltages that are bad.

When you replaced the power supply board inside the lower power supply unit you probably saw that there is another board inside there. There are a couple of fuses on that other board, they rarely go bad but you can check them. Also, on the outside of the gray lower power supply unit there is a small recessed slide switch, kind of an orange or brown color, make sure it is in the 115 volt position. Don't change it while power is on.

The large transformer mounted in the bottom of the slot machine connects to the lower power supply unit and works with it to create some of the voltages. Check for broken wires on the transformer lugs and at the other end of the transformer cable where the connector plugs into the gray lower power supply. If you see something you aren't sure about just take a picture of it and we'll take a look.

After the power supply makes the voltages they are sent to the backplane card. This is the card in the back of the card cage that the CPU board and the I/O board plug into. So the voltages go from the power supply over a cable to the backplane board and from there over traces imprinted on the backplane board to the I/O board (and CPU board at same time).

This problem is usually solved by replacing the lower power supply, sorry this is being more difficult for you than it typically is. Did you double-check that you got all of the connector cables reconnected inside the power supply after replacing the power supply board that Bill sent to you? While removing the old board and installing the new one you may have unplugged other cables, be sure they got reconnected. And that all of the cables were reconnected to the side connectors. Did anything else in the machine get unplugged or changed or messed with that we should know about? Did anyone else besides you work on it, maybe someone did something trying to get it going that would affect the thinking about this problem.

I guess if I were there working on it my next step would probably be to use a volt meter (even on inexpensive one will work) and measure the voltages coming out of the lower power supply connector that provides the 3 missing voltages to the I/O board. This will prove that the power supply is or is not working correctly. The connector to measure these voltages is shown in the picture below with all the wires attached and the expected voltages written nearby. The voltages on this connector are low and safe to measure but electricity will need to be on so you will need to be comfortable doing this. Checking the voltages at the power supply connector will show if the power supply is working correctly and the problem is downstream, such as the wiring or I/O board or something else. To measure the voltage you can just slide the red lead of the volt meter into the connector until it touches the metal contact inside there. The black lead of the volt meter can be connected to any bare metal surface, it is a ground connection for measuring. If you aren't able to measure these voltages then we'll need to come up with another plan. EDIT- if you try to measure these voltages with the big gray box (lower power supply) outside of the machine it won't work since the giant power transformer must be connected to the lower power supply.

Others here may be able to suggest other ideas to try. And if you are nearby to one of the folks here there may be a way for someone to help in person or with lower shipping costs. What city are you located in?

[mustangjeep]

Here is a link to an Ebay auction.
This company builds new computer power supplies (much more dependable then the WMS ones) that you can plug right in and be up and running for the upper and lower power supply.
Here's the link-
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WMS-360-400-550-SUPPLEMENTAL-POWER-SUPPLY-200-WATT-/350802053047?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51ad6e87b7
Nothing wrong with the way the other fellas are recommending but this way is using more common parts and is pretty affordable.
There's also a post on new life on how to wire a power supply in yourself using a new $15 computer one.
Took me just over an hour to do one each of my machines, but if you prefer more plug and play the guys on ebay make it simple.

[cmurph]

Thanks so much for all of the replies. I've been getting home late and had to go to unexpectedly go into work this morning, so I haven't  had a chance to try all the things you have suggested, but I plan to go through everyone's suggestions tomorrow.

Thanks so much!
Cher

[cmurph]

I just tried using the volt checker, but I'm not sure if I'm using the right kind. This one shows it is for batteries and alternators, but someone told me I should be able to use it to check the connections as well. I hooked the black connection to a bare metal spot and poked the red part into a few different spots of the connector shown.  It didn't do anything for a couple and then one of them lit up the voltometer and it started smoking and it smelled so I instantly pulled it out.  I'm not sure what that means...either I'm using the wrong type of tool to check or it has a ton of power?  Nothing looks frayed and all the wires look good and are connected tight.

I'm located in Medford, WI (north central area) if anyone happens to live in the area.

Thanks!!
Cher

[rokgpsman]

I just tried using the volt checker, but I'm not sure if I'm using the right kind. This one shows it is for batteries and alternators, but someone told me I should be able to use it to check the connections as well. I hooked the black connection to a bare metal spot and poked the red part into a few different spots of the connector shown.  It didn't do anything for a couple and then one of them lit up the voltometer and it started smoking and it smelled so I instantly pulled it out.  I'm not sure what that means...either I'm using the wrong type of tool to check or it has a ton of power?  Nothing looks frayed and all the wires look good and are connected tight.

I'm located in Medford, WI (north central area) if anyone happens to live in the area.

Thanks!!
Cher

When you say "it" started smoking and smelled are you talking about the voltage checker smoked or the slot machine smoked? If you mean the voltage checker started smoking my guess is you connected it to a higher voltage than it is capable of handling. I'd think it would have a fuse or protection circuit in case someone plugged it into something electrical that it couldn't handle but it may not.

The device you are using is a basic voltage checker for automobiles, it is made to test 12vdc systems. They are used to check car batteries and the alternator charging system to see if the voltage is correct. They are designed to measure voltage in a limited range up to about 15vdc and can not be used to measure ac voltage or any voltage higher than about 15vdc, so they are not as handy as a real volt meter. If you connected it to one of the connectors that has 115AC voltage then that is why things started smoking. You will need to be careful making voltage checks with this device, it is not for checking anything except 15vdc and lower. So not a good idea to just be poking it into any connector, please be careful.

You could connect the voltage checker black and red lead to a car battery black & red posts to see if it still works ok. I would do that before using is again on the slot machine, just to get a confidence check that the volt checker doesn't have a problem.

Do not connect this device to the bottom row of connectors on your machine lower power supply, they have 115vac on them. Do not connect it to the last connector at the back of the top row (that is the giant power transformer connector), it also has 115vac on it.

The only place you can measure on the lower power supply with this device is the dc voltage connector, which is the one shown below with all the wires connected to it in the picture. You could check the +12vdc wire and maybe the +5vdc wire. Your device isn't made to check the -12vdc wire and may not be helpful to measure the 18vdc wire. And this device won't give you the voltage reading, it just has lites, so is limited in its measuring ability. I suppose it is better than nothing and might give a little help to determining if the lower power supply is working. But if you know someone that has a real volt meter and is experienced in using it ask them to come over and measure the dc connector voltages. This would tell us more about what is working and what is not working.

Something to check would be to turn power off and unplug the machine power cord. Remove the coin hopper to get it out of the way. While it is out carefully look at its connector and all over to see anything that doesn't look right. Next look inside the machine with a light, check for mashed wires or coins (or game tokens) that may have bounced around and lodged someplace shorting things out. On the back of the lower area is the backplane with lots of cables and wires, make sure nothing is wrong there and there are no coins stuck back there. A good visual inspection often turns up clues to the problem. Also look on the inside of the right hand wall in the lower cabinet where the pull handle mechanism is. Check for pinched wires or coins lodged across wire terminals. Sometimes coins can bounce around, or can go someplace they shouldn't be if the machine was ever moved onto its side or tilted way over for any reason.

I suggested if I were there I would measure the voltages coming out of the lower power supply to help figure out where the problem is. This is because you don't have other parts available so we can't just easily try swapping parts to see what is wrong. In your situation the choices are limited on what to try, many home owner of slot machines face the same problem when their machine has a problem. The power status lights being out on the I/O board is nearly always caused by a bad lower power supply. So in this case there is either something that was missed when the power supply board was replaced, or another unidentified thing causing the problem. And since none of us are there with you it is more difficult to figure it out long distance. I still lean toward the lower power supply unit (the big gray box) not working but nothing is ever absolute in this kind of thing.

If you want to learn how to fix your machine you can, this website has many people like me that started out knowing next to nothing about their machines, its circuit boards, etc. Anyone can learn to use a voltmeter but you do need to be careful with it. Do not touch your fingers to the bare meter probes when they are connected to something being measured. Try to know ahead of time approx what the voltage you are measuring will be, such as high voltage AC or DC so you can select the proper setting on the volt meter. Use a higher range at first then switch the meter range down as needed to get a more accurate reading. If the meter flashes or over-ranges or the needle pegs (older meters) then you have it set to the wrong setting. Never check resistance/ohms (ohmmeter feature) when power is turned on in the circuit you are measuring.

If I remember right the power supply board inside the lower power supply assembly has been replaced and that didn't fix things. Did you go back inside and double-check that all the connectors and cables you had to disconnect got reconnected correctly, none of them were left off or connected wrong like one contact over from where it should be? Sometimes when things are taken apart we make an error when putting them back together.   

I'm over in southeast Missouri, wish we lived closer so I could be more helpful. I would be happy to check any part you want to send me. Or maybe there is someone on this NLG site that is pretty close to your location and can do more.

[Don]

You can get a CHEAP Volt / Ohm meter at most hardware stores/ Walmart even free with coupon at Harbor Freight tools... Do yourself a favor and use a Voltmeter so you can see what the voltages are , Don't use a little LED tester...


These CHEAP Meters can be found for $3 to $15 , even better you can get a nice one for $30 to $75  it is essential you have a good meter to troubleshoot with.


Your looking for a cheap "MultiMeter" so you can read voltages (VOLTS) and Resistances (OHMS) maybe even (AMPS or MILLIAMPS).


Hope you figure it out


Don

[rokgpsman]

...
I'm located in Medford, WI (north central area) if anyone happens to live in the area.

Thanks!!
Cher

Another idea, there used to be several guys here on NLG website that were in the Chicago area which isn't too far from you. Some of them were Williams hobbyists but I don't know how active they are anymore. Maybe they will check in to this forum and be able to help. Although recently sold, Williams Gaming has been headquartered in Chicago area for a long time, makers of pinball and slot machines for decades. So there were a lot of former employees and family members in the hobby in that area. You could check the NLG Members List (menu choice on main menu near top of screen) and see if anyone is nearby, ask if they do repair help on your type machine. Just a thought...

[cmurph]

Thanks all. I am going to borrow a tester and try checking it that way. I usually only have time to mess with it on the weekends so it might take me awhile to get it figured out .