New Life Games LLC
**Reel Slots** Gaming Machines => IGT M Slot Reel Games => Topic started by: NOLA_Ken on November 29, 2019, 12:17:17 PM
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Hello, I'm new to the forum and to slot machines and hoping I can get some help
My father in law bought this machine a couple days ago at a pawn shop and was told that there was some kind of problem with one of the circuit boards. I don't know if that's accurate, but either way it doesn't work and since I'm the guy everyone in the family comes to when something breaks, it's at my house now and I'm hoping I can get it fixed up for him.
So I think this is an "M" series? The tag on the case says it's a model 1636A made in Nov 1986. It looks complete inside, it powers up but makes a lot of relay clacking noises for about a minute, and a loud 60 cycle hum from the speaker. I noticed the payout mechanism was trying to turn but seemed sluggish so I pulled it out and when I powered the machine on the hum was gone. I took the gearbox apart and cleaned the old grease out but it's still doing the same thing. Also when you put a coin in the machine it sticks and has to be manually released.
So what I'm hoping for here is just help with where to begin the troubleshooting, what kind of common issues should I look for, and then I guess what kind of less common ones. I can fix just about anything, but I've never been inside a slot machine before and I just don't know what to look for
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It's an IGT M slot alright. You can download a manual from this post:
http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=13720.msg73860#msg73860 (http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=13720.msg73860#msg73860)
The clacking noises are probably the reel kickers engaging to spin the reels. Do the reels spin after is powers up? Also check the dot matrix display on the front door for any error messages.
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The reels don't spin when I power it on, and there's nothing on the display. When I took the payout mech out I got a "tilt call attendant" message and while it was out if I turned the key on the side I would get various things on the leds, but with the thing in there's nothing
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I assume you're referring to the coin hopper? It's odd that the machine acts somewhat alive with it out but not with it in. With it out turn on the machine, when it says Tilt call attendant, turn the jackpot reset key on the machine toward the rear one time, it should scroll the reason for the tilt on the display.
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Yeah coin hopper.. So when I took it out just now and turned the key I got "CMOS" on the display, also with it out the relays didn't click when I powered it on
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Ok. Sounds like the MPU CMOS battery is probably dead. It's located in a card cage above the reels. Usually there's a screw holding the cover closed. Remove the screw, them remove the MPU board. You'll see a battery soldered on to it. Check it with a Digital Multimeter and see what it reads.
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OK, the battery is showing 0.12 volts so I'll replace that, but more importantly I found that the rectifier diode on the back right corner of the board is cooked. I'm about to look for a source for a new one and I'll get that replaced as well. Luckily it doesn't look like the traces are completely destroyed so soldering in a new one shouldn't be a problem. I didn't see any other noticeably damaged components on the board but I'll go ahead and try to trace the circuit back and see if anything else is bad.
So I guess that's about as far as I can go or now until I get the new parts installed and see if it works or not
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Yep, the battery is definitely dead. I'm not sure what circuit that bridge rectifier is part of right off hand. There's another member/vendor here that is parting out a M slot, so if repair of that board doesn't look good he may still have one? Parts for these older machines can be difficult to find.
http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=26458.0 (http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=26458.0)
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Thank you, I'll look into a new board if I can't get this one to work. I found a source for the rectifier and once I talk to the father in law I'll get it ordered. I found some scorch marks under some resistors on the other side of the board too, R 3-8 and R30. They're still in tolerance but I'm going to replace them as well and stand them a little higher off the board just to get slightly better cooling even though it probably doesn't make much difference.
From there I guess I'll wait and see what other problems it has
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OK good luck!
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We went ahead and bought those boards, I'm still going to repair the originals just to have a spare set. Got a new battery coming as well so hopefully by Friday evening I'll either have it working or figure out if there are other problems
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While you're waiting on the boards you might as well pull the reel assembly out and look at the reel kicker cam followers. The original ones were made of a cork like material that deteriorates and causes reel malfunctions. There's some pics and information about them on the old site here:
http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=2374.msg19595#msg19595 (http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=2374.msg19595#msg19595)
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I had a look at them and they seem ok, I also found out the cooling fan for the boards was dead which could be why the rectifier burnt up. I've got a new one on the way too
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Great, hopefully you'll have it up and running soon then.
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Got the new fan today and it's put back together, still not working though, I get "no spin 1" on the display, so looks like I'm going to be reading the manual tonight
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Does reel 1 spin?
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It does now, and I also discovered there was a little plastic piece in the coin slot that was I assume meant to change it to a dime machine which I have removed. The only issue I still have is that when you put coins in they all seem to drop out of the bottom instead of going into the hopper. I see there is a plastic "gate" with a relay controlling it that is supposed to divert them but I don't think it's working properly. I'm wondering if the weight switch on the hopper isn't working and telling the machine it's empty
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Actually it works the other way. When the hopper is full the diverter solenoid energizes and the coins get diverted into the stand. Check the wiring on the hopper microswitch as well as the microswitch itself. You could always unplug the diverter as well.
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The switch checked out fine, I just bypassed the diverter and it seems to be working fine now. The owner is happy and we can sort out any little quirks later. It's been an interesting project and now I'd kind of like to work on more of them
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Congrats! Glad you were able to get it working :applause:
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So now we get "no spin" on reel one, after we got it to my in laws house. I checked the reset wheel and it looks fine, the ribbon cable was already replaced with wire before the machine came to me. I can manually disengage the stop, but as soon as I power the machine it locks. I'm wondering if we knocked something loose while we were moving it? Is there anything else I should be looking at that I'm just not seeing/
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Swap the reel kicker around with another position and see if the problem stays with reel #1 or if it moves with the reel kicker.