WMS Model 40x Dotmation BOTH Power Supply Fix

[knagl]

Moderator's note: this is a re-post from the old NLG forum, created by member cfh.  Big thanks to Clay for creating this tutorial and related images.

Old title:
One new Computer Power Supply solves TWO dotmation P.S. problems

I did a post on how to replace the lower power supply with a new computer power supply. And how to replace the upper dotmation power supply with a new video game style switching power supply.

But why not just replace *both* the original upper and lower power supplies with a single computer power supply?

This is actually pretty easy. If you read my post on how to implement a computer power supply for a dead original lower power supply, you are 7/8th the way to using this same computer power supply for the upper dotmation boards too.


Parts Needed.

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(1) Amp/Tyco 4 pin connector housing #1-480-426-0 (mouser# 571-14804260)
(2) Amp/Tyco male connector pins #60620-1 (mouser# 571-606201)
(1) Extra long 8 pin Molex male header pins# 10-01-2270 (or 09-62-6104 or 09-52-3102).
(2) two inch long 18 gauge wire
(1) inch of 3/4" diameter heat shrink tubing

STEP ONE.
Implement a new 250 watt or higher ATX computer power supply as a replacement for the original lower Wms power supply. In this example I'm using an ATX P.S. with 12 volts at 13 amps and 5 volts at 22 amps. That's probably about the bare minimum. (Ideally 12 volts should be at 15 amps.)

See this post for instructions on how to implement a computer power supply as a replacement for the stock Wms lower power supply: http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=28828.0

STEP TWO.
Find the 120 volt power connector for the upper dotmation power supply. On the side of the lower power supply, there are two rows of connectors. The bottom row has five connectors, all with 6 pins. These are 120 volt connectors for powering the two florescent fixtures, the hopper, and the upper dotmation power supply. Find the connector labeled "P2", which is power for the upper dotmation power supply. Remove this connector and power up the slot. A "Dot Fail" message should appear on the red LED displays.







STEP THREE.
With the slot power turned off, cut off the 6 pin connector "P2" with three wires (black, white, green) going to the lower power supply. (This connector is the wiring going to the upper DMD {dot matrix display} power supply.)  Using a Molex crimping tool, crimp new Amp male connector pins onto the black and green wires. (Ignore the white wire, it will not be used.) After the pins are crimped, insert them into
the new Amp connector housing as shown in the pictures below. BE CAREFUL. The original green wire must mate with the computer power supply's yellow (12 volt) wire. And the original slot wiring black wire must mate with the computer power supply's black wire. Don't screw this up or you can ruin the DMD controller and DMD display. Plug this new connector into one of the disk drive connectors on the newly installed computer power supply.





STEP FOUR.
Remove the top glass so access to the Dot Matrix "can" may be allowed. Remove the top two screws and fold the DMD panel down and out of the way. Notice the original Dotmation power supply at the right - there are two .156" molex connectors (one 5 pin, one 13 pin) at the bottom of the power supply. Unplug these two connectors from the original Dotmation power supply.

Using the extra long male 8 pin Molex header pins, modify it with two pieces of wire. One wire will connect the two outside +12 volt pins together. Another wire will connect the inside ground pins are together (see picture below).  Cut off three male pins on one side of this connector too. (Again see picture below.)  Using a DMM set to continuity, make sure the +12 and Gnd pins are not shorted, because that would be easy to do if your soldering skills aren't up to par when attaching the wire to the male/male adaptor.

When done, it's a good idea to encase the jumper wires with some 3/4" heat shrink tubing (or electrical tape). This would prevent the male/male connector from shorting out against the Dot Matrix metal "can".

Plug this male/male adaptor into the power connectors for the DMD. (Again see two pictures below.) Note that the green power wire mates to the red DMD connector wire, and the black power wire mates to the black DMD connector wire.







Another method to hook up the computer power supply to the original Dotmation power harness. This uses a .156" Molex header pin as the "mate" to the original Dotmation harness (instead of the male/male .156" adaptor). This permanently alters the original "feed" harness, and is shown in the picture below. I use this technique when making a new power feed harness. The main disadvantage to this is when feeding the assembly into the metal dotmation "can", it has to be done "backwards" (because the mating 8 pin connector is often too wide to fit through the dotmation can wire hole).








ALL DONE.
Power up the slot with the new computer power supply, and all should work fine. Below is a Big Bang Piggy Bankin runing with a 250 watt power supply for both the upper and lower power supplies.  The blue circle in the picture below shows the large ATX style connector that is implemented for the lower power supply.

[knagl]

(Additional images, for archive purposes.)

[knagl]

(Additional images, for archive purposes.)