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I have a Big Bang Piggy Bankin. It seems like all the matrix lights blink/strobe when I turn it on and then it fails. I get a dotmation failed message but the display is working during the boot up. Has anyone experienced this before. I don't know if it is a power supply problem or what.
Drkair :99-

Been there done that!
You fire it up, all the lamps are flickering. If you wait for about 15 minutes the flicker goes away and the DOT FAIL message goes away when you open/close the door?

Problem...
LOWER power supply.Time to replace the filter caps in it.
Not a real "Big Deal" but certainly a pain in the ass to get into it.
First off....
1> Take a PICTURE of all cables plugged in!
2> Pull ALL plugs loose
3> Remove the entire Power Supply assembly
4> Split the case (this is a bitch)
5> Locate ALL "Electrolytic"caps and replace them with matching or slightly greater values. You can go UP in value about 80% of the original value. In other words...a 100Mfd cap can be replaced with a 160..even a 200Mfd. A 1000Mfd can be replaced with a 1500Mfd, even a 2000Mfd. Filters are not that critical.
Voltages....
If the cap was a 10 volt..a 25 or even 50 volt is OK, but it will be larger in size.
You got the idea :)  just NEVER EVER go lower in voltage or capacity....

WATCH THE POLARITY!!! caps installed backwards WILL explode! (it stinks and trashes the board)
Reassemble in reverse order,install back in the machine.
TEST voltages, make sure they are what they should be after you put it back in service!




Kirk

You can also buy a replacement PS, either original, or the PC type (see other posts for information about the substitution). The originals don't cost that much.

Just a suggestion offering another perspective. :71-

How much and where do I find one?
Drkair

One of our vendors might just pop on this thread, or you can post a WTB in the classified section. If you are interested in the computer PS conversion, do some reading in this (Wms reel) board. There are plenty of power supply threads, as this is a common issue.

Think there is a complete unit on flea-bay right now but not sure if it said it was game tested against D.O.A 

Thanks I'm looking at it.
Drkair

Does anyone have a schematic for the power supplies? I could really use it.

Drkair

This is the upper power supply, maybe they have the lower one also. Al I really know is the price is right on this one.   :103- I THINK

I have purchased that EXACT supply for the top box (good to have one handy) it wont fix this flicker problem he is having.....

Kirk

Kirk I think I said maybe they have the lower one, I don't have the lower ones part number or I would have done a search.   :131-

Just go to thier search box and put in the OEM part number

The lower supply is a custom for WMS. The topbox supply was a "Off the shelf" openframe manufactured by a 3rd party and used by WMS.
The lower supply is pretty simple really.The hard part is to troubleshoot it in operation as all the cables are very short.
The best way to "Repair" the lower supply is to simply "Shotgun" the damn thing. Open it up, write down all the values of the "Electrolytic" caps and make a list of them.
Once you have said list of parts, fire up the TV..put it on "Two and a Half Men" and begin replacing caps (R & R'ing caps is boring).
What happens in the lower supply (Since it is a linear supply) Hum/Ripple and noise get into the regulators and the supply goes nuts. The 5/6 volt buss will flicker/strobe.While the front panel lamps dance, the CPU board is NOT happy and it really screws with the communication to the top box causing a DOT FAIL message as the topbox and CPU cant talk without errors.
If the machine is left on for a while and the supply "warms up" sometimes it can be rebooted and will run fine until turned off for a while.
Some choose to do the ATX power supply modification, I choose NOT to and keep them original. Unless the lower supply is a "Fire Job" they are easy to fix.
I still have 5 or 6 of these 40S5's in my collection,actually a pretty rugged/dependable machine


Kirk

Kirk do you include the (5) big 1500mfd caps on the very bottom circuit board or just the caps on the lower power supply itself? As you can see this is my first time with this unit. Without a schematic I'm not sure what is what. But I will replace all the caps if that is necessary.
Drkair

Yes, ESPECIALLY the 1500Mfd units :)
Now you got the idea...It's pretty simple..no schematic needed :)


Kirk

I did the atx power supply mod and it still flickers. I am now going to replace those 15000 mfd caps on the 20 v board and hope it fixes the problem. Any other suggestions?
Drkair

I had the same trouble earlier this week after a power outage, Buttons, paylines and top fluorescent all flickering and a dot fail message.  My experience has been dot fail equals top power supply problem not bottom so I replaced the top and had the same tilt so I tried another with the same result. I left the machine on and started to work on another machine. About an hour or so later I looked and the DOT Fail had changed to Ronn dot 1 error and the lights were all on steady like normal.  Changed out the XU10 in the dot board and all is well.

My advice based on my experience last week would be check all connections in the top box, pull all your chips up top and reseat them, check all the connections and reseat the chips again then to turn the machine on and leave it run for a while to see if the lights "warm up" and your dot fail changes to something else.

I bought a lower dotmation power supply while I was visiting Vegas. It supposedly came out of an X-factor. The only problem is it has a 16 pin molex on the top right and mine has a 12 pin. Has anyone experienced this before. Is there a way to make it work on my Piggy bankin big bang game?
Drkair

I came across that problem while inspecting my 2 Dot's...... You should still be able to open up the good power supply unit and take out the actual power supply itself and replace it in the bad unit.  In case you're unfamiliar with them; the metas lower supply unit has 2 screws on the sides... remove them.  Take the lid off. The top board is the actual power supply.... remove the 4 screws, and the 2 molex connectors and it will come right out. Do the same with the non-working unit and swap the power supplies.... Put it back together and give it a try. .... While you have the power supply out; make sure neither of the 2 fuses on the board below the PS are blown.    Bill

My problem is I already did the ATX mod and it didn't fix the problem. I really need to use the whole power supply that I bought to fix the problem. At least I hope it will. I'm assuming it is the large board that is causing the problem. Does anyone have a pin out on the connectors?
Drkair

Found the problem. As someone wrote on one of the threads, it was C5 on the light matrix board. 47mfd electrolytic cap. Everything works great. This is the best slot site in the world.
Thank you.
Drkair

Had the Piggy fail again after about 6 months. Replaced C5 and no help. Bought another distribution box and still no good. I don't know where to go from here.

Is your Dotmation screen working (ie. does it show the "Williams" logo and/or any indication of the software loading when you turn it on), or is it completely black?  Do you have a working Dotmation machine that you can swap parts between to isolate the problem?

Yes the dotmation screen works until it goes thru the initialization and then I get the Dot Fail. No I don't have another machine but I wish I did.
Don

Sounds like your DOT chips may be bad. DOT XU3 and DOT XU4.   Don't confuse the DOT XU3 with the XU3 on the MPU board.

Could it be the XU10 also?
I wish I had a wiring diagram on this unit.
Don

It could be. I really don't know.

I am going to Vegas next week, maybe I can pick up some parts there. Where is a good place to look?
Don