Bally Game Maker Won't Boot

[mkraus01]

 

I am a Newbie here and I have a Game Maker question I need help troubleshooting...  My Model Number is VMPLOS 156 and it was manufactured in 7/96 (if this helps).  I bought it about 1.5 years ago and it worked great for about a year.  About 6 months ago after being on all day it started to automatically reset.  The red reset light would flash on and then off, bill collector would cycle (reboot), screen would flash, and as it would almost boot up, it would repeat the cycle (reset flash on then off, bill collector reboot, etc). 

I'd turn it off and back on later and it would work fine for awhile, but he above process would occur after being on for awhile.  Then one day I turned it on and it would not boot and the all the lights were on (red reset light and all 4 green lights +5v, +12v, -12v, +24v).  After about 5 minutes, it would seem to 'warm up' and then the red reset light would start to flicker then the reboot process as mentioned above would start...... 

I played with all the connectors, tried re-seating the boards, etc.  Couldn't make any headway.

I measured the voltage at the battery and it is 3.66v.  I tried manually pushing the reset button, using the key reset, etc with no luck.  It seems like maybe something on one of the boards has gone bad?? 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I'd be happy to discuss with someone over the phone if it would be easier.

Thanks
-Mike Kraus

[StatFreak]

Welcome to NLG Mike 

It sounds like a component is failing when heated. One troubleshooting suggestion is to buy some freeze spray and spray one component at a time to determine which one is failing. Run the machine until failure, then pull the board, spray one component, replace and check status. I would start with the IC chips, but I'm not an expert on this.

Hopefully, someone with board level experience will chime in and point you to the most common components that fail in this way.


StatFreak
  Global Moderator

[mkraus01]

As I re-read my post, I see I forgot to state that now the machine seems to be stuck.  When I power it up, the bill collector cycles, all the lights are on, and the display does not come up (In the past the display wouldn't come up until the reset light went out).

So basically it doesn't boot up at all right now....

[ruttrunner1]

I would buy a clear chip and perform the safe ram clear. You may just have corrupt data. I had a game maker a few months ago that just kept rebooting and that fixed it.

[pinballmike49]

If you want drop me a line, I think I can help...Mike.

[Jeff]

Welcome to NLG. As Stat has already suggested check simi conductors (transistors/IC's) with a refrigerant spray. Also I would look on the chassis of the monitor board in the low voltage circuits to see if there is a cold solder joint. Be sure to look with a magnifying glass, as the slightest cracked joint could cause the symptoms that you have described. I hope this helps.

Regards, Jeff

[Ohio Chad]

new power supply....12v 5v power supplies are notorious to fail.  If you are having speratic issues, I would spend +/- $25.00 for a new power supply from happ controls.

[SilverFerret]

I'm having the exact problem that you described and was wondering if you isolated the problem and know what the fix is?
Thanks, Jim

[KirkLasVegas]

POWER SUPPLY   POWER SUPPLY   POWER SUPPLY!!!
I cant stress this enough!
Until you KNOW the power supply is solid, you cant troubleshoot this problem!
OK, first off check the 5 volt output. It * MUST * be 4.75 to 5.25 volts.If it's outside this range all bets are off and weird things can/will happen.
When you check the power supply, many dont check for ripple. THIS IS A MUST! Just because the green LEDS are on doesnt mean the power supply is healthy!
To check for "ripple" (if you dont own a 'o Scope)
Set multimeter to it's lowest AC range.
Measure across the voltage testpoint.
Let meter "settle". In a few seconds, it should show ZERO or very close to it.If you have a reading above ZERO here, STOP. Find out why.
Dont trust the meter? no problem. Take a small cap (1 MFD at 50 volts) and place it in series with a earpiece. connect this to the testpoint.
You will hear a "Click" when you do.If you hear ANY hum,rumble, buzzing at this point the power supply is in trouble.Fix this problem FIRST.

Most "Problems"are indeed power supply related....
Failures....
1>Power Supplies
2>Connectors
3>Electrolytic Caps
4>SemiConductors/Integrated Circuits
5>Mechanical Devices
6>Resistors
7>Assorted crap

Pretty much in this order...
Hope this helps!

Kirk (been a electronics tech for a few years)

[mkraus01]

So.... if you go back to the very first post you will see my issue.  It turns out I had 2 issues.   To sum it up in a nut shell, I replaced the power supply and my issue went back to the first problem (after warming up, the system would reboot continuously).  Then I replaced my main board and the problem was solved.  So my issue was 2 issues, main board went bad first causing the reboot sequence continuously, then the power supply failed and it would not reboot at all.  After replacing them both, my unit works great again!!!

Thanks to all for their advice and to Pinballmike who helped immensely with advice!

-Mike Kraus

[CaptainHappy]

Mike,

Good to hear that our members were able to get you going. Thanks for posting back and letting us know what the results were! That is what this site is all about. Look around and enjoy, there is plenty to learn and do!

CaptainHappy
  ADMIN