5500 machine help please!

[simsd]

Hi Guys,

This looks like a great group with tons of information. I apologize in advance if some of these questions have been asked and answered but I couldn't find them and I am only 1 week old in to this slot machine owner thingy.

I bought a Bally 5500 slot machine round top with wild roses $5 machine. The guy also threw in a double jackpot 7 $5 machine(this one is parts and missing a few items, comparitor, hopper, etc. ).
Anyways, the one I am working on is the wild roses one.

Q1- The guy told me the bill changer fried during a power surge and just cycles. I can open the door and push the pseudo coin for credits and and wheels spin, it makes noise and everything appears to work well with the exception of the bill validator cycling over and over. I tried cleaning it with canned air but no luck yet. I also tried swapping it out with the one from the parts machine and get the same thing. 

Q2- This is a $5 machine and I don't know where to get $5 tokens or coins of any kind. Ideas?? Or, I went the rounds trying to figure out how to set it up for dollars. I installed a dollar coin in the comparitor and it will deliver the coin into the hopper but not register credits. I dumped like $25 through but realize there is something else I need to change. I did change the dip switches on the board. I tried all the denominations available and it is the same. What all do I need to change? I assume I am missing something or, is that even possible?

Q3- If I can't figure out a way to add credits to play(it will be for home use and I don't really need it to accept money) is there a way to enable a form free play / tournament mode?

Looking forward to some answers on what must seem like basic questions.

Thanks for your time and input.

Doug

[Buzz]

I'll try !!

Q1  Do you have a cash can installed ??  Do you have a lock on the cash can door ??  It's OK if you don't have either one, I can tell you how to bypass the two micro switches.

Q2  I don't know which coin comparator you have, but if you change it to a CC 16 D small coin comparator,.25 cent coin head, .25 shelf wheel & pin wheel, and the coin optics shim you won't have to worry about 5 dollar tokens. ( Joey at New Life Games has $5.00 tokens for sale ) You will now have a 25 cent machine that the glass doesn't match.

Why don't we try to get working with the parts you now have. The coin optics are located right below the coin comparator, you should see a yellow LED light (lit) on the board. If you have a yellow light, we probably need to replace the shim inside the optics because your now using a smaller coin ( $1.00 ) I don't figure you have a lot of shim's in you junk drawer, so why don't we make one.  I sometimes use a old wiring loom I have removed from a machine, or a piece of small gasoline hose will work. Or I've never went this far but I think one could be made with some duct tape. Roll the tape from the end and make something that would look a lot like a cigarette. Remove the optic from the machine and you will see the path the coin takes. The idea of this shim is to force the coin to your right side,so it passes in front of the optics and be counted as a good coin.
Place the home made shim at a angle top left to like center bottom. Before you put the optic back together, make sure your smaller coin will pass through and not bind up.
Let us know if it works. Does this meet casino standards NO not at all. But you can always replace the shim for the right one later. ( Me. I wouldn't )

Q3 I'm not sure, I've never tried it.


PS  dip switches only change the number of credits you get for each bill inserted into the BV.

[simsd]

Buzz, you are the man! Thank you!

I am still having a couple issues.

I do have a cash can. Th lock had been removed from the door and I saw the microswitch above the door and under the can. I put a piece of cardboard under the leaf on the door switch to hold it closed but same thing happens.

I have a larger cc16. It had a spacer plastic thing to hold it open wider for the compare coin. I removed that.

On the optics, the yellow light was really the key here. The yellow light does not come on unless I remove the plug from the back of the board and plug it back in. It is really weird and I don't know why. If I power it down the only way it will stay on is to unplug it and plug it back in. It does turn on during the initialization of the machine but turns off. So, I tried it like this and it will work:
1: power on machine and wait initialization and reel test finish.
2: bypass door switch with a piece of tape
3: unplug the connector to the optic board and plug it back in. The yellow light then comes on and stays on.
4: close door and play

The problem I am experiencing now(excepting the bill validator) is having to unplug this connector from the optic board.
Well, there is one other problem that I need to figure out. When it goes to pay out it gets stuck in this payout loop and ends in a hopper error because the disc and what not in the hopper won't pay the dollar coins. If I can figure out the optic thing, then I will just either purchase what I need to convert the hopper or look into getting those $5 tokens (that option actually sounds better for me so its a non money game.)
Do you know, can I set it so it pays credits instead of paying as it's won?

Thanks for all your help Buzz. It's looking pretty good.

[Buzz]

simsd  PM me your email.  I have a chart that is to large to post.

Glad It almost works.  Of course the hopper will not pay out correctly, you have a $5.00 shelf and pin wheel in the hopper and using $1 coins. The shelf wheel your using will not lift the coin high enough to be counted at pay out.  PM me your address and I'll send you a dollar shelf wheel. ( they are junk to me as I don't use them. ) Maybe someone else can commet on whether the $5  pin wheel will work with Dollars.

No need to tape the main door cherry switch, it's a 3 position switch. Just pull out on the center and the machine will think the door is closed.

Haven't a clue why the coin optics are acting up. Just to give you something to do, try resetting the MPU. ( main board right below the reels ) I'll get my pee/pee slapped if I don't tell you to turn the power off before removing the MPU

Attached is a chart I found in a machine.  Press the test button on the front of the MPU ( left one ) 11 times and you will get into the set up menu.  I think the very first one is your problem, for the machine to pay credits it should be set to 0001. ( I think )  Just use the spin and Max bet buttons, mess with it a while and you will get the idea. When you have what you think are the right setting, just close the door, there isn't any save info. buttons to worry about.

Hope I'm correct on most of this info, I haven't worked on a 5500 in a couple of years and I have CRS bad. I can't remember what I ate yesterday,and then it came to me, I forgot to eat. 

Get the machine up and working, then we can address the BV.