New Life Games Tech Forums

Hi all,

First off thanks for all the help I've received in the past and the great info on the site.  I have several IGT games and numerous arcade games but this is my first Williams slot.  Its a 550 Who Dunnit slot.  my questions/problems are:

1.  Does anyone have a repair/owner manual for the 550?
2.  when turned on, the button lights don't work, the screen doesn't come to life and theres no sound.   The upper glass lights up, the card reader and coin comparator are all on.  There are 2 boards in the cage;  on one, there is a flashing 8.  The other board has one red light at top that blinks and then theres a bank of 5 lights, of which the middle 3 are on steady. 

Thank-you all in advance for any help you can offer.  Since this is my first WMS I don't know where to start.

Lenny :131-

Don't know where to start?  You did fine..start right here :)
Welcome to NLG. Since I do not own a 360/550 yet I cant help..but there are plenty of people here that do....


Kirk

Did you buy the machine knowing it was not working?

My first inclination would be Power Supply.  Inside what is called the PDU (power distribution unit, the big silver colored box on the right rear of the cabinet where the power switch is), there's a power supply inside that provides the 5v and the 12 volt to the machine.  This is the part that most often takes a dive. If you have a multi-meter test the +12 volt and the +5 volt leads to make sure you are getting good power out of it.  If not, ask one of our sponsors, I'm sure they can set you up with a spare at a decent price.

There are a couple of other indicators.

1.  Does the screen make a static noise when it first powers up, or no noise at all?  If it does not, you might have a fuse problem.  Check the fuses in the Power supply to make sure they test out ok.  If the screen does not do the typical static noise when you apply power, you have an issue with the monitor, even if the slot is dead, you should be able to hear the monitor power up.  You can also attach a laptop to the 15 pin VGA connector that is plugged into the MPU board (the one with the "8") to test it.

2.  A 550 that makes no "bong" noises upon power up, is not a good thing.  I would get a spare (known working) I/O board (the one with the 5 leds), they are inexpensive and you should be able to find one rather easily.  Then power up with it to see if you get any farther.

3.  What version of the CPU Board do you have (The one with the blinking "8")?   If where you connect the video cable (VGA type connector) is a daughterboard, you have an older 1.5 board.  If it is not, you have the newer 1.5 plus board.  If you have the older one, I suggest you invest in the 1.5 plus version.  It is a lot less troublesome and you'll be able to play all games.

I can't thank you enough for the fast response.  So here's my update:

1.  I changed the battery.  Since then when i turn it on I now get one loud "bong" noise.  The error 8 no longer shows on the first board.   The second board the 3 middle of 5 lights are on steady and the upper light is no longer blinking or on.

The buttons and door still aren't lit or working.  But the coin acceptor light is on and there's red lights inside the bill acceptor.

I do hear a constant clicking sound coming from somewhere behind or next to the monitor.  But I can't pinpoint it with the hum of the upper fluorescent bulb.

I haven't checked the power supply as you suggested but will on Tuesday and will post another update. 

I will also bring a laptop home and try hooking it up as you suggested.
 
As far as the monitor, I think it may be dead.  I don't hear any humming or noise and I don't see any orange glow from the back.  If this is the case any suggestions on replacing or repairing would be appreciated. 

How do I tell if I have the older 1.5 board or the newer 1.5plus board? 
 :131-
And finally to answer your first questions, I did buy the game knowing that it wasn't working but didn't realize to this extent. 

Thanks again for any and all help.
Lenny

With the power off, check what those lights indicate (there should be printing on the circuit board next to each light).  If they're voltage indicators, all five should be lighting up when the machine is on.  If only 3 of the 5 are lighting up, that indicates a problem with your power supply.

My latest update.

I opened up the power supply and found a blown fuse on the lower board.  Its a small fuse- T 10A 250V.  The others all looked ok.  I will pick it up in the morning along with an extra one for all the others. 

The 2 lights on the board which are out have the following written next to them on the board:
The first of 5 is: +5 VI DS2
The last of 5 is: +18V DS6

And I did see that my CPU Board is a 1.5 Plus.

Thanks again.

Very good.  Let us know how you make out after replacing that fuse.  Hopefully it won't blow again (if it does, it indicates a short somewhere that will need to be addressed), but I'm willing to bet that the blown fuse in the power supply would be the reason why all of the voltages, and the machine, aren't working properly.

So the latest bad news.   I replaced the blown fuse to have it blow once the machine was powered on.  The fuse that blows is on the lower board of the power supply.  It has F1 next to it on the board and is a 10a 250V.

I am at a loss here so your suggestions and guidance is welcome.

Thanks, Lenny

WOAH!   wait a second here...10 Amps X 120 Volts= 1,200 watts of power, this is a MAJOR short/problem.
My advise? STOP powering it up, feeding it fuses, get a schematic and find whats drawing so much current.
You need to check this out using a ohm-meter. I highly suspect a SHORTED transformer,diodes or filter caps.
there are other trouble-shooting tricks, but do the ohm-meter tests first before you fry something bad...


Kirk

Take the hopper out and get a flashlight and start looking for coins loose inside the cabinet that may be causing the problem.  There's a large transformer behind the DBV cage, look for coins around that area.

Be sure to UNPLUG the machine first!   :50- :50- :50-

You might try un-plugging everything that connects to the power supply except for the 110v power plug. Then with a new fuse see if that blows. Be sure to have all the machines connectors to that power supply unplugged. :98-
If the fuse still blows then the short is in the power supply. They are known to crap out but usually fail open, not shorted.

Thursday update.

I did check all around the inside for coins and found several floating around the power supply area.

 So I unplugged everything from the power supply, replaced the blown fuse and powered it on and had no problems.  I plugged each item in one at a time and again no problems.  The fuse hasn't blown yet.  I have all 5 lights lit on the board now. 

I still don't have any lights or use of the door buttons. 

The monitor doesn't do anything, but i was told when i bought this that it had gone out last year.  so it would have to be replaced or repaired.  Any suggestions?

So I hooked up a computer monitor to see what comes up and theres just a black screen with "Invalid Currency type.  Possible bad Ram Clear Device Used" displayed.

Thanks again to all of you.

At least the processor/CPU is running. NOW try to clear it with a clear chip and see what the "monitor" shows....

Kirk

The buttons don't light up until the game is ready to play, that's normal.

When the batteries died on the MPU board, it lost all configuration information, so now you havea mismatch between the information on the CMOS in the MPU board and the EEPROM information that is on the backplane.  You will need to clear the game and it should fire up.  My guess is that the touchscreen is working fine on your monitor, just the monitor itself is messed up.  After the clear, you should be able to play the game with the PC monitor attached to the VGA plus and all else attached as is.  You'll obviously have to touch the non-working monitor if you want to use the touchscreen functionality, you just have to "imagine" the image is there and not in the pc monitor.

You can buy LCD replacements from  Happ for around $585 plus mystery shipping fees.  These are great as they come as a kit with a new bezel and all harnesses needed for the conversion.  No guesswork.  Also I think the Ceronix units install similarly to the old CRT monitor (on the tray), the other commonly available Wells Gardner units mount on the door.

http://www.happcontrols.com/monitors/49263600.htm (http://www.happcontrols.com/monitors/49263600.htm)

I can't stress this enough, HAPP IS NOT YOUR FRIEND!!!!!
Try this link for monitors   http://www.betson.com/images/cms/financing/a7f345507c8a2684a73754522efbf183_G2E-Parts%20Specials-01042010_Extended.pdf 

For and example, they sell a COMPLETE LCD replacement kit for IGT uprights for $499. and NO mystery shipping charge....
Betson actually LIKES doing business with the "Little Guy", HAPP couldnt care less.....
I saw them at the G2E show, friendly...HAPP wanted a million dollar order, or just dont bother them....


Kirk

Thanks for the heads up.  I've been looking for happ alternatives.  I'll give them a shot for a few things in the future.  :3- :3- :3-

You are VERY welcome :) they have sales all the time, some really nice stuff and seem competitive or just kill HAPP's prices.
Thier G2E specials have been extended to 01/31/10.
Good source for LED's too. White LED's in T1-1/2 or 3-1/4 for .65 and .99 cents. BLOWS away HAPP at $1.35 to $4.00 EACH...


Kirk

Thanks for the referral Kirk. I bookmarked it for future reference. K+ to you. :3-

Let me start by once again saying THANKS to all of you.

I haven't been able to post any updates since I was waiting for a reset chip to arrive.

I just received my reset chip today and now have a working WMS 550 "Who Dunnit" machine.   My new monitor will be arriving Tuesday.

The two problems I now face are:

I keep getting an error for the bill validator.  It runs a cycle when the machine is turned on and it has green lights but after a few minutes it tilts.  Sometimes the tilt comes up as the box but then always changes to the bill validator.

The second problem is, how do I adjust the volume? 


Lenny :3-

Just to close this post out.

My machine is now fully working thanks to all of you and your help.

Lenny

what was your problem with the BV and how did you fix it?  I have a WMS and any time you feed bills into the BV it causes a tilt.  Hopefully your fix will help me too.
thanks
Bob