igt aristocrat 1983

[panhead]

I'm the new owner of a 3 reel igt aristocrat.  Ok, the guy said it just stopped taking nickels, didn't know anything else.  When I got it home, I plugged it in and all the flouresent lights came on.  I have no lights on the payout or coins won. When a coin is put in, it just goes on through to the tray.  Seeing the other thread on this machine I started reading and checking things out.  The reel motor does not run to home,  but when I removed the hopper and then installed it, about 45 sec later it started running and doesn't stop.  The speaker wires were cut. When I reconnected, I did get some sound and noise.  The sound is for later, not worried about it right now.  All the fuses are good, I have 24v on the backside of the fuse as with the other voltages.  I do need some lights which I am looking for now.  The festoons and the 24v bayonets. But I have no 24 volt to anything else.  What is the key switch on the right side that goes to the micro switch?  What should the service switch be set to, 1 or 2?  As I have never worked on a slot machine, where do I start?  I have pulled the cage and boards out and yes, the batteries are bad but have not leaked all over. Do I need those batteries replaced before the machine will work or can I get them out and replace them when I get the machine working?  OK, I'll start with this. Any help would be appreciated.  I have done more but not replaced anything yet.

Thanks,
Jay

[Op-Bell]

I would start by replacing the batteries. That may not be the problem, but unless the machine can clear its RAM, every time you turn it on it will do something unexpected. The key switch on the right is the attendant jackpot key. The service switch only matters when the door is open. Position 1 lets you play games, position 2 displays the reel positions. But you have bigger problems than that to sort out first. The reel motor should always cycle at power-up, and the hopper should not run. 24V everywhere is AC, it won't show up properly on a DC meter. The reel motor is 24V AC. Check that all the connectors are properly mated and the boards in the card frame are properly set in their sockets.

[panhead]

Ok, got the batteries out and replaced.  Put the box back in and flipped it on holding the memory reset.  The payout lights up.  The hopper does not run now, but still not getting the reel motor to home.  Checked the pins on the connection while the hopper was removed and found 24 volts on the connections on the left hand side when using the case as the neutal.  When I check for 24v between the connectors that go to the reel motor, I don't have the 24.  Gonna check the micro switches to make sure they are good.  I can push the red button on the coin mech and then hit payout and it gives the correct amount out.  Coin mech not pulling in.  I know this is gonna be a slow process and I really appreciate your help. Gonna work on it some more tonight. 

Thanks again!
Jay

[panhead]

The LED's went out again.  They were working, showing the correct reel positions on service 2, then when I shut the machine down and brought it back up, they were out.  When they were working, I could put a nickel in and it would show up on the cash counter but not in the coins played. I checked the pins on the reel motor connector in the back of the machine and have 26.74 VAC but the reels won't go home.  The micro switch tests good. Don't understand why the cash numbers went out or why they started to work to begin with.

[tadpole5]

Hello, I've worked on a few of these older Aristocrat machines and I know what you're going through. Would you beable to post a few pics on here and hopefully I can help. Pic I have posted is one machine I restored. This machine was completely dead and circuit boards were all corroded.

[panhead]

hey, thanks, I'll get some pics up as soon as I can.  It looks exactly like the one on the other discussion.

[panhead]

Played with the machine and the cash out leds came back on.  Still not taking coins or homing the reel motor.  I looked at the reel positions on service one and found that it is only reading some of them.  Could the optics be dirty?  Haven't taken the reels out yet.  I set the reels on the 7's and line 5 which is the largest jackpot.  Cash numbers went out and the hopper started running wild.  I shut it down, moved the reels to a non payout and turned it on.  Cash out numbers came back on.  Still no reel motor even though there is 26VAC at the motor terminals.

[Op-Bell]

Can you measure the resistance between the motor terminals? It could be it's burned out, or maybe has a thermal fuse that blew. Can you turn the motor shaft by hand? You'll have to hold the brake off. From the brake end you should be able to turn the armature, which will turn the cam shaft (very slowly, because of the gearing).

[panhead]

Motor turns free.  Brake moves easily.  Connected the meter to the motor terminals and got a continuity tone.  Meter was on auto range and I didn't look at the readout.  I'll change the range and look at it tonight when I get home. Can I have a voltage without the current to run the motor?  I was wrong on the reel position indications.  They are reading right. 02 through 23 on all reels. 

[panhead]

Checked the motor with my meter.  No resistance.  Just the continuity beep.  Started checking voltage again and with the cash meter lit, I only have 9.87 Vac at the pins that go to the motor.  The cash meter went out again and at that point, I have 26.8 volts at those pins but no cash meter.  I hooked the motor leads directly to the pins in the case and the motor did not run.  I would assume that if the motor was shorted, it would blow the fuse.  Am I right?   So,,,, I'm wondering about a power supply problem.  Any thoughts??   

[Op-Bell]

I would expect the motor DC resistance to be very low, just a couple of ohms, and hard to measure. Its high inductance gives it a much higher apparent resistance to AC.

If you take voltage measurements at the connector with the reel assembly unplugged, the 9.87V would be due to leakage through the triac when it is off - your meter will be such high resistance that a few stray microamps would be enough to show that voltage. Jumping up to 26V shows the triac turning on and apparently working, though that doesn't prove it's working properly and able to deliver enough current. To make any meaningful measurements you should have the motor connected and measure across the motor terminals. Tack a couple of wires on the terminals and bring them out of the box to measure. You should read a solid 0 across the motor instead of 9.87V when the triac is turned off. If the voltage jumps to 26V across the motor as the game starts but the motor doesn't turn, there's something very weird going on. If it stays at 0 (or close to it) at the time the meter goes out, either the motor is shorted, or more likely there is a high resistance connection between the motor triac and the motor.

The motor triac is up on the power supply board. See diagrams below. Check for poor connections or burned tracks, and be prepared to change triac TR1. You can test the motor by bypassing the triac and connecting 24VAC straight across it, but make sure the fuse is a real one first, not a bent nail, and be prepared for an exciting flash if it's shorted. (Note to moderators: sorry these pics are a bit oversize. I wanted them to be readable.)

It is quite normal that the meter goes out. If the game software tells the reel motor to turn and it doesn't come off its home switch, the game goes into tilt. In tilt, the meters are blanked and the "tilt" lamp comes on - that's one of the 24V festoon lamps on the front of the meter board under the counters, that you probably don't have installed.

[panhead]

Wow, thanks, this should help.  there is a festoon lamp installed in the tilt socket and it checks good with the meter but it's not on.  I'll try this tonight and check that board.

Thanks again.

[paul]

does any one have a manual for these machines

[panhead]

if you find one, please let me know.  I have heard that there is a hard copy but not an online one

[Op-Bell]

I scanned the manual and uploaded "Esprit Manual.pdf" to the file area. Not bad, only 1.6 meg for 46+ pages.

This is the texty part of the manual. There are many pages of drawings that I will get round to scanning and uploading as additional files later.

[Op-Bell]

I scanned the wiring diagrams and uploaded "Esprit Wiring.pdf" to the files area (1.3 meg).

There is a general wiring drawing, followed by separate pages for each variety of the machine listing in detail what CPU pin/transistor/output port goes to what device.

The remaining drawings are "exploded views" and lists of part numbers for mechanical assembly. Contact me if you need any of these, as I don't think they're much use to most people.

[paul]

Is there a trouble shooting section like how to clear ram and error codes     Thanks for all the great info already

[Op-Bell]

Is there a trouble shooting section like how to clear ram and error codes     Thanks for all the great info already

I believe it clears RAM automatically, if it's corrupted. It's not in the manual but I traced it through the software. There is a trouble shooting section at the end of the manual, but it's quite basic. Ask me for any specific questions and I'll see if I can find the answers in the code.

[paul]

Thanks for your help

[panhead]

Thank you opp-bell!!!!! I'd use the smileys but I can't get them to work.  Haven't had time to work on the machine the last few days.  12hr shifts put a kink in life.  I really appriciate your help, and everyone elses too.  I  will get this running.  Just not as quick as I thought I would.  A little at time.


thanks again

[CORKY777777]

Hey Panhead,

Was just wondering if you got any further with your Esprit.   I have one that seems to be in the same condition, but I'm not sure where to go with it.

Corky

[panhead]

G'evening. 

Yea, still watching the forum but I had to put the machine away for a few months cause I became too busy with work. Never did get it to work. Gonna start on it again this week.  You have any luck??

[CORKY777777]

Seems like I may have the same issue as you, but I cannot get the display section to light up.   The tilt lamp won't come on, or any lamps on the digital display board.    I have another string going,  and I'm getting help there.  Not sure where to go on this right now either.   I think I may have a bad display board.