Some questions about my 902/California Special

[Simple Sam]

I started looking a little deeper into my 902/California Special ( see this thread http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=29122.0 ) and have a few questions.


I noticed on the wiper arm for the #1 reel that there is a disconnected wire.  Based on the fresh looking solder, it appears that it was recently installed on the two corresponding buttons across from it.  The game is a jackpot only with any 3 watermelons, any 3 bars, any 3 sevens as well as four of each symbol.  I tried all the winning 3 combinations, first with the #1 reel as one of the three and then with the #1 reel as not one of the three.  I also tried all of the four combinations except for the 7s as it requires a manual pay (back to that in a minute).  All of the winning combinations paid correctly with one coin bet. Is there a purpose for this wire that I'm missing?  Should I solder it back in place?  See picture.


The next question is regarding the jackpot reset switch.  I don't have the key and I'm not that concerned about it because the four 7 combination is 1 in 160,000 (4 reels, 20 stops, only one 7 per reel).  If by some extraordinary circumstance I hit that combination, can I just push on the switch to reset the game?  If the switch doesn't work, can I just use a wire to jump across the two terminals?  See picture.


Last question (for now) is what is the reset button for?  Is that for a timed out hopper? See picture.

[rdaniel]

As for the jackpot reset switch, you can purchase those on line or from one of the members of the forum who have parts. If possible I suggest that you restore the machine to as near original as possible by replacing the switch..

[wolftalk]

for the wire, need to see what color wire it's connected to on top of the contact plate.  The more pictures at various angles you can get the better.


then a picture of the wiper side so we can see what arcs of rivets get connected together.


for the reset switch, yup, you can just close the microswitch with your finger and don't need the key.   

if the lock takes a standard key (not a round ace key), and you have a key that fits, you can take the lock apart, put in your key to see which lock pins are too high/low, and yank out those pins (after removing the key).   If you leave one+ pins that are close, put the key in and grind down the pin tops flush with the lock barrel.  You've made the lock work with the key.

if those parts aren't familiar, see http://bingo.cdyn.com/techno/commonproblems/locks/back.html

if you pull all the pins, you can turn the lock barrel with anything.  A flat blade screwdriver, knife, etc.  You can also just replace the lock for a few dollars.  Measure the length of the lock so you can see if you need a short one or a long one.

the reset button should be the "anti-cheat pull in switch" on a models like the 883 or 902-1.  Pushing it powers the anti-cheat relay.  The anti-cheat keeps itself closed unless a tilt switch opens.  Pushing the button is basically a way to wake up the machine and have it keep doing whatever it was doing if you turn off the power.

[wolftalk]

I found a schematic for the california special.  I'll get it scanned in the next couple of days.


if the disconnected wire on reel 1 goes to a red/green or grey/black wire on the card edge, then it's used to power the hopper mixer relay.


the hopper mixer relay is on many jackpot-only machines.  When powered, it turns on the hopper motor to level out the coins in the scoop.

[Simple Sam]

As for the jackpot reset switch, you can purchase those on line or from one of the members of the forum who have parts. If possible I suggest that you restore the machine to as near original as possible by replacing the switch..

Yeah, I think I will get a new lock for that.

[Simple Sam]

for the wire, need to see what color wire it's connected to on top of the contact plate.  The more pictures at various angles you can get the better.


I've attached some pictures. It appears that the disconnected brown wire is attached to the red wire at the top (circled in photo).


then a picture of the wiper side so we can see what arcs of rivets get connected together.


I think the picture I've attached is what you are looking for.  I'm not clear.


the reset button should be the "anti-cheat pull in switch" on a models like the 883 or 902-1.  Pushing it powers the anti-cheat relay.  The anti-cheat keeps itself closed unless a tilt switch opens.  Pushing the button is basically a way to wake up the machine and have it keep doing whatever it was doing if you turn off the power.

So if the tilt light is lit, this will clear the tilt condition?  How does the tilt work?  I didn't see a plumb bob in the lower cabinet; is there some other mechanism?

[wolftalk]

pics are good.  The detached wire is for the hopper mixer relay.


someone yell if I get this wrong, but I think the B switch on the left side of the reels operates by the timing link going to the clock.  While a B switch is closed and the wipers are pulled back at the start of a spin, the hopper mixer relay will power and run the hopper motor to mix the coins.


as soon as the B switch opens or the wipers jump forward to latch reel 1, the hopper mixer relay loses power and the hopper stops.


that means the hopper runs briefly on every handle pull.  Probably not necessary on a home use machine. 


the unattached wire is an odd way to disable the circuit unless someone connected the hopper mixer relay somewhere else.  See if there's still a red/green wire on the hopper mixer relay coil and also listen to see if the hopper turns on at any time when it's not paying out.


I'd probably reattach the wire to wiper contact plate and disable the hopper mixer function by removing the red/green wire from the hopper mixer relay coil ... or you could misadjust the switch on the hopper mixer relay with the  white and white/blue wires on the blades so it never closes.  Then the relay will power but the hopper won't turn on.

reset button turns off tilt .. yep!   The tilt light comes on when the anti-cheat relay is unpowered.  That only happens at power on or when a tilt switch opens.  I'm guessing the tilt switches are all "slam tilt" - switch blades with cylindrical weights on a blade.  Thump the machine hard enough and the weighted blade swings.  In this case, the switch opens and the anti-cheat relay loses power.

[rdaniel]

It was my understanding that the B switch was part of the payout reset circuit. It worked with the zero switch to reset the payout wipers after a payout.

[Simple Sam]

I don't hear the hopper running so I guess the hopper mixer isn't connected.


I don't know which coil is the hopper mixer relay.  I see several coils on the hopper. Its obviously not the coin counter. I'm guessing its not the coil on the left rear connected to all the switches. That leaves two coils underneath the frame. The one at the front with all of the switches doesn't have any green/red wires. The one deep under the frame which appears to connect to the plastic gears doesn't have any green/red wires.


I probably want the mixer working. The game is missing the coin diverter and, even if it was present, I don't have it on a stand with a hole for a collection bucket. I'm also looking at the overflow switch as it doesn't seem to be working. 

[wolftalk]

It was my understanding that the B switch was part of the payout reset circuit. It worked with the zero switch to reset the payout wipers after a payout.

Good Memory!  That's B-1 ... the bottom switch in the B stack.   B-2 resets the odds follower unit and is also the one feeding the hopper mixer relay.


the hopper mixer relay has red/green and orange wires on the coil terminals.  It should be on the hopper unit someplace.  The Bally 2400 manual says for a mechanical pay hopper, it's the one you see thru the rectangular cutout on the front of the hopper.  Should have a switch on it with the white and white/blue wires.  The white/blue goes to the hopper motor.


solder the wire back on the reel 1 contact plate and see what happens.   You are right about where it goes on the two rivets.


the schematic is now on http://bingo.cdyn.com/slots/ in the california_special directory.  It's the w-1046-california_special.png file

[Simple Sam]

It took me a while to get to this as I ordered a new Hakko fx 600 to replace my $7 soldering iron.  It turns out that the wire was disconnected because it was an easy fix. Once connected I could hear the hopper turning but then a single coin was spit out (not a win). I tried it a couple times and each time it would spit out one or two coins. I disconnected the wire and it no longer spits out random coins (or turns the hopper).


It occurred to me after the fact that it might just be the hopper is too full. The overflow switch isn't working and there is no chute to divert the overflow. I got some coins out of the hopper and noticed that it was very full.


On a related note, my new hakko iron failed after the very first soldering task. When I went to remove the wire, it wouldn't heat up. Fortunately, my $7 one still works.

[wolftalk]

on an old style hopper, the override solenoid and diverter should make the coins go back into the scoop when the hopper motor burps to mix the coins. 


if you have a new style/snow hopper (with the hopper motor directly behind the pinwheel), then yup, you can't do the hopper mixing function so you need to disable it.


fixed the font size issue on previous post.  You probably only care about the last sentence :-)

[Simple Sam]

on an old style hopper, the override solenoid and knife should make the coins go back into the scoop when the hopper motor burps to mix the coins. 


if you have a new style/snow hopper (with the hopper motor directly behind the pinwheel), then yup, you can't do the hopper mixing function so you need to disable it.


fixed the font size issue on previous post.  You probably only care about the last sentence :-)

The problem with being new to this is I don't really have a very good understanding of the basics, let alone the more refined details.  I'm attaching a photo of my hopper (new, old?).  Similarly,  the electrical schematics are beyond my ability to comprehend.

[wolftalk]

it would also help if I used the same terminology as the parts manuals (if you don't have those, see http://bingo.cdyn.com/slots/bally_manuals ... the 1100, 2500 and 2600 manuals are generally useful, and for you you the 1100 specifically.


you have the old style hopper with the motor off to the right.


red arrow in picture below points to the diverter ... okay, okay, the "coin kicker and pin assembly" ... 1100 manual page 88 index number(5) at the top of the page.


when the override solenoid (2) is not powered, the coin kicker should knock coins off the edge of the pinwheel "disc assembly" (22).  If the hopper motor turns on without the override solenoid powering to retract the kicker, the coins should follow the curve of the kicker and fall off the rim.


either your override solenoid is getting powered in hopper mixer mode or the coins can pass under the unretracted kicker.  Neither should happen.


due to the gearing, you can't turn the pinwheel, but you usually can grip the motor rotor shaft and spin it, possibly with pliers initially to free it up.  That'll slowly turn the pinwheel and you can see what the coins are doing.   Or reattach the wiring and watch the kicker/override solenoid when the hopper is doing it's mixing thing.


the motor rotor/armature is the copper colored piece poking out of the bearing at the bottom of the motor.  If you are lazy and don't mind potentially shocking yourself, you can jumper 120V directly onto the two motor stator wires - the white/blue and black wires - and let the motor do the work.  I use an extension cord with the plug end cut off and jumper wires.

[Simple Sam]

I tried manually turning the motor shaft.  The kicker will generally kick the coins into the hopper but one will occasionally get through.  It is then kicked out by another coin bumping it.  The kicker seems loose although I'm not sure just how loose it is supposed to be.  I took a very short video which is here: https://youtu.be/cyIJChdQ7Kw

[wolftalk]

on my hopper it's not possible to have the lower coin edge on the pinwheel and the upper coin edge touching the kicker when the kicker is unpowered.


bend the edge of the shiny plate up a little so a coin can't hang up (at the red arrow in the below pic) and then coins can't channel in behind it.


you can also bend the entire metal plate the solenoid and kicker is mounted to with an adjustable wrench to alter the height of the kicker a bit, but that shouldn't be necessary here.  Second pic probably makes more sense than words.


if you are a follower of the "whenever possible, use a power tool" philosophy, note the use of the drill to spin the motor rotor.

[Simple Sam]

The drill trick is great, much easier than using vice grips!


I looked at it more closely and it appears that the kicker is too high up.  It is a bit loose and the coins seem to get under it rather than getting slid off into the hopper.  When I hold the kicker down and run the drill, all of the coins get kicked into the hopper.  I think that I need to bend the kicker down, not up.

[wolftalk]

bend whichever way makes it work :-)  I was trying to say the right edge of the shiny guide plate on top of the diverter can be bent up a little so the coin can't touch it.


finally gave up with bad descriptions and switched to bad video.  Look in http://bingo.cdyn.com/slots/videos/

[Simple Sam]

Success!  The video was great, thank you.


After a little fiddling, the game is not spitting out random coins while I test it using the drill and is counting the correct amount of coins when I have a win.  I haven't gotten around to resoldering the wire but I now know what the issue is if there's any additional problems.  Thanks!