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I've got a Bally 5500 round top that had a bad power supply.  Power supply has been replaced and I also got the clear chips and went through that procedure, several times.  Each time while attempting to clear the ram the win/credit LED's show all 9's--nothing else.  This blinks off & on periodically during the clear effort.  I get a chugging noise out of the hopper, but the procedure seems to go that far and no farther.  When I replace the clear chips with the original ram chips, the same "83 F" code comes abck in win/credit.  Label inside machine shows an "83" code as being "Safe Ram Error" (no mention of the "F").   

I believe I'm doing the RAM Clear right-chips in-jumper moved to both terminals, push and hold Pseudo Coin & Test on start up. 

The hopper board has two buttons, and when I push these--the hopper turns slowly forward and will spit coins, but in reverse it stalls. 

Response to my e-mail are fine: Rmasters3@fuse.net. 

Thanks!

Any help?

Hi,
All 9's usually means that the board isn't seated in all of the way or one of your chips are not installed correctly or a bent leg on one of them. The 83F after a clear needs to be followed by a clear with just the jumper and not the clear chips.
Hope this helps.

Darrell

Thanks for the reply.  I checked to be sure the board was seating and I believe it is.  Whether the jumper is used or not, I still get 9's across the window.  Could the clear chips be mislabeled?  I've checked to be sure they are in the right sockets, and looked them over with a good magnifier for bent or broken lges, but don't see that.

I did previously find a leg out of place and maybe not making contact on the U51 chip, but that also looks to be corrected.  Any other thoughts?

It would appear that you do not have the correct clear chips.  I replace all the mains in every S5500 with a set that does not require clear chips so all you need to do in the future is jumper at JW10 to do a clear.  Hate even messing with those clear chips. 

I agree with rslots. If you do have to purchase new chips, I would buy a set of '95 Mains (ME920000) instead of a new set of clear chips. Then all you will need to do to clear the machine is set the jumper.

The 5500's eat batteries for lunch, so you'll typically have to deal with clearing it every year or two (as compared with IGT and Wms machines in which batteries last 10-15 years), unless you solder in a battery holder that sits outside the board so that you can change the battery with the power on. But that's another project... :96-

Where do you recommend I go for a set of the "95 mains?  The ones that only require the jumper to clear.

FWIW: the chips in mine are dated "95.

Danke

:103-  That's odd. Are you sure that they are actually dated 1995 and are not the ME950000 series?

I just posted seven minutes ago here (http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=7354.msg68208#msg68208).

You are dealing with a rookie here--how do I determine which chip is which?  They are labeled, but I don't know the difference.

Here is a picture of the board. The front of the board is to the right in the picture. The four chips on the bottom (which would be on your left as you removed the board from the machine) are the mains, and the two on the top (which would be on the right) are the personality chips. The personality chips contain the reel and paytable data and are the actual "game" that you are playing. The Mains contain the program that runs the slot machine.

You can see that the notches in each of my chips, indicated by the yellow arrows, are pointing towards the left, which is towards the back of the board. There is also an outline of the notch printed on the board under each chip.

If you look at my mains, they are labeled ME920000-C-0 through C-3, indicated in green, (actually, the second set are labeled SE instead of ME, but they come as a set.) They are inserted in sockets U15, U12, U4, and U3 respectively. You can see the socket numbers on the board itself, indicated in red. If you have original chips installed, they will have the socket numbers on the labels as well, but you might not have an original set.

If you look at my two personality chips in U20 and U18, the 4-digit number on the top right of the label is the specific game that I have, indicated in blue. Mine chips are SMI 5962, which is Blazing Sevens 3-coin Buy-a-pay with a 92.83% payback. To get that information, you have to have the PAR* sheet for your specific SMI number or a sheet with a list of SMI's and their payouts. (*Paytable And Reel)

If you just tell our vendors that you want a set of '95 Mains that don't require the clear chip, they will get you the right set. The only thing that you will have to remember is to put them in the right sockets with the tabs pointing in the correct direction and without bending any pins.

P.S. Many members use a bent screwdriver to remove the chips, but I highly recommend the EX-2 tool.
It is specifically designed to remove 24-40pin* DIP chips like the ones we use in slots. It fits over the chip and pulls it straight up.
*They make a smaller one, which you don't want.

<ADD> Here is a link Digikey EX-2 (http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/303260-tool-extractor-ic-dip-24-40pin-ex-2.html)

(http://i43.tinypic.com/2en3fqp.jpg)


Do NOT use this tool!! It is a PLCC extractor and will do more harm than good when extracting DIP chips.
If you don't have the EX-2 tool above, you're better off using a bent screwdriver than this thing!

(http://i44.tinypic.com/2wgdwue.jpg)

That's the truth -  that evil  PLCC extractor cost me a few bucks in broken boards before I knew what I was doing.     --   Come to think of it I still don't know what I'm doing -  I just threw the PLCC tool out.

:208- :208- :208-  They are good for PLCC chips, ya' know!  :200-

PLCC's are those square chips with teeny pins on all four sides. They fit into square sockets that look like little spas (hot tubs). :30- :5-
Seriously, if you look at those square PLCC sockets, they have small notches at the corners designed just for PLCC extractor tools.
It's all about using the right tool for the right job. :14-  At least, that's what she told me the last time she grabbed that battery operated device...  :25- :7-  :97- :97- :97-

lol

:96-
I resized it to more realistic proportions.  :209-   :200- :200- :200- :208- :208- :208-

Here's what I have.  Looks like what you've got.  First photo is with clear chips installed, second photo shows original chips, numbered in ink to remind me where to re-insert. 

Second picture--original chips, numbered in ink as to socket 12 & 15 (which I hope I didn't screw up).

I don't think you need clear chips.  Try without and just jumper JW10 (front of the board by the processor) and hold down the pseudo coin and test buttons and turn on the machine and watch for the CHC followed CLC on the winner paid display. 

:205- :212-

Make sure that you press the buttons firmly before turning on the machine, and that you continue holding them until you verify that you see the CHC in the display. Only then should you let go. The display should then change to CLC after a couple of seconds.

SF :31-

By the way, the SMI7905 for your five-line Double Jackpot Triple Blazing Sevens pays back only 85.95% with max bet.
The bet paying chip for your game is the SMI7908 at 93.94%.

A couple things happened--I did the RAM clear with the original chips in place of the RAM clears I had.  That seemed to work.  While re-inserting the MPU board tray, from somewhere, a nickel dropped down to the machine base.  Lord knows if this was in a place that caused the 99999 code, but after that the machine on start-up, with the jumper back to one post, the machine went through what I describe as a start-up sequence.  

The Win/Pay window now displays two decimal points in the upper section and one 0 each in the Coin In and Credit windows.  Bet, Spin and other buttons are not lit, red Change will light.

But I cannot get it to accept a coin nor does the bill acceptor take currency.  

FWIW, I also replaced the two 470mfd electrolytic caps on the MPU board--$1.29 each at Radio Shack.

Seems like it started OK.  You may now have some other nonrelated issues.  Make sure the coin mech switch on the MPU board is up so it will take coins.  Your bet, spin and other buttons will not light up until you get credits on the machine. 

Is the coin mech toggle switch turned on? It's on the front of the MPU tray next to all the other buttons you've been pressing.  :5-

P.S. Two dots is normal and signifies that the door has just been closed.


<ADD> Oops. :127-  Sorry rslots, I didn't see that a new page had been started. :30- I just clicked reply at the bottom of the first page.  Bad Stat :190-

:31-

I think we have a winner.  Flipping the coin mechanism toggle switch made it work.  Haven't tried a bill yet, but I was told there's an upgraded acceptor for bills.  Will play it a bit more in the next few days and report.

Any sort of maintenance I should perform? 

Thanks very much for the help.   

 :105- Glad to hear that you've got it up and running. :3- :3-  Now you can post pictures of your machine in the best hits at home thread when you hit a large payout. Or just post some here anyway. :88-



 :200- :25- :30- :200- :25- :30- :200- :25- :30-  :208- :208- :208- :208- :208- :208- :208- :208-
 :125- :203-

 :208- :208- :208- :208- :208-  I'm sorry, I'm still laughing!   Maintenance? Yeah, change the battery and do a clear!  :30- :30- :30-

NO Don't!!   Play your machine and ENJOY IT.  :wa :136- :202-

Stat :31-


P.S. K+ for the getting the machine up and running, and another in 12 hours for the laugh.

Okay, seriously, you might want to go through your setup menu (option group 11) and set the hopper and jackpot lockup limits to the amounts that you'd like.
They default to 800, and you can just leave them if that number sits well with you. You must have no credits on the machine to make changes to the option settings.

<ADD> A copy of the Bally 5500 manual is sitting in the Submit a New file section. It's near the bottom of the list.

I meant maintenance like lubrication, preventive cleaning, replacing parts that are known to quit. 

I work on similar aged test automotive equipment and certain parts are problematic.  I replace them before they fail and save greater expense. 

I did replace the battery and two electrolytic caps on the MPU board.  I've got a bridge rectifier for the power supply.  Didn't know if replacing light bulbs was advisable to reduce the demand on the power supply (like in pinballs).

Thanks again for the help.

Many of us do put LEDs into the buttons, more to make them look nice and to reduce heat to prevent future button yellowing than to save amperage. Slot machines are workhorses designed to operate 24/7/365 in a harsh casino environment. They will basically last a lifetime under home use.

One issue that the 5500s are notorious for is eating batteries. I have to change the batteries in my Ballys at least every 12-18 months, as opposed to never in my other machines. My S-pluses have 10-15 year old batteries that are still going strong. I have never changed the battery in my Wms, either.

The first time that you have to replace your battery, check out the multiple threads dealing with this topic before you do so. Basically, you will want to install a battery holder and mount it on the front of the MPU tray outside the board so that you can change the battery with the board installed and the power on. That obviates the need for a clear and having to reset all of your option 11 settings every time it dies on you. There are a couple of different solutions that you can read about and select from when the time comes.

I disagree with your comment "Do NOT use this tool!!". This is a good inexpensive tool. I use the PLCC extractor everyday to remove dip EPROM. Yes, on occasion I have had a eprom seem like it was nailed in and once the eprom broke free from the socket that some of the legs bent. If you can't live with a few bent pins every once in a while then you need to purchase the EX-2.

It may not be the best tool available but it works just fine.

I respectfully disagree. The PLCC extractor tool is for PLCC chips -- the ones that have pins on all four sides and that fit into a brown or black "bathtub" like socket box. It is designed to fit into the small holes on the diagonal corners of the socket to remove the PLCC chip. It was never intended to be used on DIP chips.

(http://i27.tinypic.com/elbiq1.jpg)


If you are skilled at removing DIP chips, then you can use whatever tool is at your disposal, including the time honored bent screwdriver, or one of these PLCC extractor tools, but that doesn't make it the right tool for the job. When a newbie tries to use that tool and actually thinks that it's the right tool to use because it came with a chip burner (like the MCU Mall GQ-4X), they are more likely to damage the chip than to extract it without incident, IMHO.

Never disagreed with you on what it is designed for or that the EX-2 tool is the one of the better tools to use.

I know you are good at running numbers and respect that, but I don't know where you get your data to state that newbies are more likely to damage the chip than to extract it without incident. I know of about 75 people every year that use the PLCC extractor to remove proms. They are newbies and they don't have a problem.

I was a "newbie" once...lol  :208-
I would like to say that I can clearly recall trying to straighten legs I've bent from using that bloody thing. 
However, to contradict myself (so what else is new...lol ) I had gotten more skilled over time
with using the cheapie PLCC puller and still have it on my bench and use it in a pinch.
I prefer the big silver one though for pulling eproms/devices.
I also have the bent screwdriver but constantly worry about
grounding out (esp. with live batteries onboard) an exposed pair of jumper pins or whatnot nearby.
With the EX-2 ( on eproms) = no worries.

You and a couple dozen other members that I've helped out over the last four years. Of course, that doesn't match up to 75 a year, so I'll defer to Ken. :131- :131-