Bally E1238 Repair / restoration

[aztoad]

I had bought this over a decade ago and it has been played for years by many family members during holiday gatherings. However, it is not used regularly. Last weekend, it was powered up for cleaning / bulb replacement before the Thanksgiving festivities and the slot machine no longer seems to register coins.

I have downloaded the manuals I can find, checked the fuses (5 in the back 1 in the hopper - all good), checked the power board (basics all check out), pulled connectors and cleaned, replaced a couple of bulbs, checked the on-board 3.6 battery (seems to actually show 5 VDC charging and 3.4 VDC after 24 hours down) but the front display registers gibberish flashing or just a solid 1 on the far right character. The coin switch appears to check out via multimeter but does not light the coin accepted light nor coin number on the upper display. The reset / test switches no longer seem to perform the functions they used to.

Anyone familiar with this model? Is this the correct forum/site for this? Any thoughts on next steps, specific service manuals, hidden fuse I may be missing?

Thanks in advance.

[ramegoom]

Classic RAM failure when you get the .....1 code.

Remove the battery. That might be the underlying cause. It's not really needed in the E series machines as it basically stores the audits.

The RAM chips will need to be replaced. They are on the sub-PCB that is soldered to the main board.

[aztoad]

Thanks for the reply. 

Have pulled the battery but having issues finding exact replacement - any recommendations?

The RAM board on this machine is plug in and I have removed and cleaned the pins.  There are 2 5101 chips.  Recommended replacements?

[Badbaud]

There is a sticky in the E series section on the forum that shows how to install a LiIon replacement battery.

[aztoad]

Appreciated. 

Unfortunately, the manuals I've found aren't as detailed as I'd prefer.  The actual specs/replacement purchase/recommendation links were what I was targeting.  Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong sections (searched the forum and checked the sticky re: the e2000 battery/diode replacement) but the links regarding purchasing the nicad options I've tried were broken and the LI ion options weren't live anymore either.  I'm concerned that the pictures for the e2000 weren't the same as the piggy back board my unit has regarding the diode too.  In addition, some links suggest a 3.7 VDC option but I guess I was hoping to find either a direct link or minimum specification ranges that the system needs (V/mAh) or at least that would be helpful. Given the variations in Lithium batteries these days in that the regular Li-ion can be recharged but the LI-SOCl2 may well explode if charged pose other risks!

Making it work versus understanding what happened and the original design specs is my dilemma but then again, like my body, age has a way of just making things not work as well as they used to!

Even more so with the 5101's.  Given the age, I'm not sure if what I'm seeing are original or incorrect replacements. I may have a few 5101s in the shop but was trying to get as close to what the specs were designed for (e.g., 450 versus 650 ns etc.).

Thanks. 

[ramegoom]

Use a 3.6 or 3.7 volt Lithium rechargeable battery. I use the 18650 Ebay batteries for all of my E series machines and they work perfectly. 14500 battery will work fine too. The circuit can't pass enough current into the battery to actually heat it up, so it'll last forever and stay cool. Remove the diode if it's there and use a 100 ohm resistor in the second location. Don't worry about the Lithium exploding, that won't happen.

http://www.ramegoom.com/john/E2000/E2000_CPU_base.jpg

Alternatively, you can use a non-rechargeable Lithium battery if you use the Schottky diode instead of the resistor. Here's an E1000 CPU with it installed:

http://www.ramegoom.com/john/E2000/E1000_CPU_base.jpg

Here's the manual:

http://www.ramegoom.com/john/E2000/Bally+E-Series+Manual%20fay.pdf

[aztoad]

Thank you very much - and the manual topped it all off too! I only had a few pages so now can actually learn quite a bit more.

Parts have all been ordered and can't wait to put it back together and find out what else awaits!

Again many thanks.

[aztoad]

Would you believe I made it past the error 1 - Yeah!

Battery replaced
5101 chips replaced
pin connectors cleaned
molex plugs and connectors cleaned

started it up and it zipped past 1,2,3,4,5 but then started a very fast rotation displaying 6 then 7 then 8 with solenoid sounds in between.

According to the manual, this suggests memory test failure (6), no clocked interrupts (7), and no zero crossing interrupts (.

Anyone have experience with these?  Please let me know next steps as the error displays but there is no discussion about the error itself.

Thanks again for the help to this point.  Hoping to have it operational by the time all the kids show up on Thanksgiving so I'm figuring on some late nights.

[aztoad]

Thanks for all who helped and the forum for getting folks together!

This morning I went down and powered it up and no errors.  Was expecting to see the 6, 7, 8 again but the LED stopped flashing weird and no errors. 

Kids are down there now playing and laughing. Fingers crossed that this will hold until the rest of the party hits on Thursday!

YEAH!

[aztoad]

Thanks again for all the help.

Had to reply as yesterday turned out wonderful on so many levels but aside from some people swimming in an unheated pool, the kids really enjoyed the games.  After dinner, the nephews and grandkids played pinball and slots until they were told folks were leaving and they were down to the last quarter (think they started between the machines with about $50). 

The older kids told the youngest grandson good luck and to use the last quarter on the slot machine.  He pulled the handle and started for the stairs.  The rest of us watched with the amazement while three 7's lined up.  He hit the highest jackpot!  What a way to end their Thanksgiving.