Help - Trouble with Universal Ultra Slant Top Wonder Bar

[jbshocks]

I just picked up a Universal slant top wonder bar $1 machine.  If I plug it in the machine lights up but no LEDs come on and nothing happens.  My first question is that the machine looks complete except for a bill changer.  It has what appears to be a home made block off plate for the bill changer and it leads me to believe that it worked at one time with out it.  Will it work with it missing?  Does it need to be tricked to think it is there?  After reading I am under the impression that the LEDs should light up with error coeds based on what is open, is that correct?  I just want to make sure that it if not necessary to trick door switches and such while trouble shooting.  I have read about back plane to mother board seating so I pulled the motherboard and discovered corrosion.  I have since pulled  the back plane and motherboard.  My plan is clean up all corrosion with brass brush and contact cleaner and give it a shot.  Is the cmos battery needed in order to do anything?  The machine is a 96 so I would guess the battery is bad.

Any other tips on where to start with this thing? 

[uniman]

I just picked up a Universal slant top wonder bar $1 machine.  If I plug it in the machine lights up but no LEDs come on and nothing happens.  My first question is that the machine looks complete except for a bill changer.  It has what appears to be a home made block off plate for the bill changer and it leads me to believe that it worked at one time with out it.  Will it work with it missing?  Does it need to be tricked to think it is there?  After reading I am under the impression that the LEDs should light up with error coeds based on what is open, is that correct?  I just want to make sure that it if not necessary to trick door switches and such while trouble shooting.  I have read about back plane to mother board seating so I pulled the motherboard and discovered corrosion.  I have since pulled  the back plane and motherboard.  My plan is clean up all corrosion with brass brush and contact cleaner and give it a shot.  Is the cmos battery needed in order to do anything?  The machine is a 96 so I would guess the battery is bad.

Any other tips on where to start with this thing? 

Your on the right track. The mpu connection to backplane is the weak link.
The battery on the Ultra Series needs to be on the board. It is a NiCad battery. If you can test it, do so. They are rechargable and can last a long time. Biggest problem is leakage from the battery damaging the board and that is the biggest reason to change it.
The four pac dip switch on the front right of the board should have all dips set to OFF. The first dip is OFF for no bill validator or ON for bill validator activated. All four should be off.
Do a RAM clear when starting the machine for the first time. Do so by pressing all three buttons in front on the board will powering up. Place your thumb just under the board while doing the clear so as to not flex the board.
The four little red led's on the mpu should blink back and forth when the board is powered up. And yes, the led's on the reel glass should light up and show error codes. Codes 50, 13, and 19 are expected, and maybe 11 for a second or two. Code 50 is door open, 13 is powerup, and 19 is ram clear. Code 11 is low voltage and can be seen momentarily at startup.
When you close the door (lid) the 50 should change to 51 and the insert coin light should flash.

[jbshocks]

any idea where I can download a manual or schematic for this machine?

[uniman]

any idea where I can download a manual or schematic for this machine?

Short answer is; There isn't any!
I did manage to get an "operators manual" several years ago. It was faxed from Japan with schematics. Can't read anything on the schematics!!!
What the manual had that was any good is the dip switch settings and I believe they are all posted on this site.
Other than that there's nothing

[jbshocks]

IT's Alive!  ok it has a pulse any way.  clean MB and back plane reseated and did a ram clear on boot up.  Leds mostly come on.  A couple of elements didn't light.  but I can read the codes.  I initially had 50 19, 13, 11 and 31.  I reseated the hopper and did another boot and ram clear.  Now I have 50 and 19.  I closed the door and the 50 did not change to a 51.  I don't see optical switches on the door, only button switch.  Is the hopper door the only switch I am concerned about or is it all switches?  Also if I put a coin in it just drops out.  Is that because the insert coin light did not come on?

FYI uniman my main board has a soaring eagle casino sticker on it just like the main board in your ram reset thread.

[jbshocks]

More alive,  I played with the door switches some more and still can't get 50 out.  I held the solenoid down that deflects to the coin return and it would count coins even with the code 50,  I am guessing that the code 51 pulls the solenoid to take a coin.  Once I had a credit I gave it a spin,  reel one wiggles and stops, 2 and 3 took off and would not stop.  If I help 1 start they all keep spinning.  I reset got another coin in and this time helped one get started and it finished its cycle.  One will only start with help.  I am guessing it in in need of cleaning and lubrication.  Any tips on servicing the reel?

[uniman]

Wow, you got a mess of trouble!
The mpu looks at two things to make the door is shut;
1. It sees the door closed by the white switch closing.
2. It sees the door locked when the grey door optic is blocked by sliding bracket. (HINT; you can put a piece of electrical tape in the middle of the optic to fake it out. When the little red led on the side of the optic is lit the optic is blocked)

Now, the fact that the meter led's are partly working and the reels won't spin would lead me to the mpu connection, again!
And the machine accepting & counting coins with a 50 still flashing is not right. Shouldn't happen, so it must have seen the door closed & locked and the display not updated.
The coin diverter is to deflect ACCEPTED coins to the hopper or if the hopper is full, it lets them go to the drawer below. Nothing to do with it taking coins.
The mpu board allows the CC-62D to begin accepting coins. The CC-62D coin comparitor has a deflection rake in it. If the CC-62D is not enabled by the mpu or if the coin played does not match the sample coin the CC-62D rejects the coin back to the tray.

With the power off I would reseat the board and press firmly on the left and then right white pull tab on the mpu. Wiggle the board tight and then one more even press. Then power up with a ram clear and hold your thumb under the board when doing so.
The reels need no lubrication or maintenance. Make sure each one spins freely and nothing is rubbing on them.
Also make sure the ribbon cables are properly snapped in at both the door(lid) and in the back. It can look ok and still be loose. Take a close look at the locking tabs to make sure.
Your getting there and it can be a real pain but I know it's the board connection, been through it several, several times!

Jim

[jbshocks]

do slant tops also have optic switches?  I see no signs of optics.  There are a few wires un hooked inside but I can't tell where they go.  I assumed from the missing bill machine.  I will try to post some pictures tonight.  There are also some ports on the back plane with no cables connected. 

[uniman]

It's been awhile since I had a slant top, but I know there is a door optic. You should have a sliding bar with a spring that locks the lid. On that sliding bar is a tab that blocks the optic when locked. The optic should look like a U shape.
Look at the picture of an upright door optic, yours should be horizontal.

Connections on the backplane not being used is normal. On the slant tops each connection on the backplane is labeled what it's for, on an upright they are just numbered, never figured why they did that. 

[jbshocks]

Uniman,  You have been a great help and keeping me on track.  I was looking for the optical sensor to be on the front not the lid.  Showing the picture of it got me right to it.  Changed to 51 like you said and insert coin.   I reseated the main board again and all LEDs happy.   Reel 1 spins on its own 1 out of 10 times.  I am thinking maybe the connector from the back plain to the reel is dirty and I am going to pull that and clean it up.  Once that is solved I just need to get the coin box and hopper working properly.  Hopper is pretty ugly looking, I think the machine got water damage.  Maybe a flooded basement or something.  In any case I will have to attempt rebuilding that.  There is a black piece that slides that says "slide to replace coin"  this I have taped open as it will stick the coin,  below it is a coin return divertor and it rejects all coins without a tooth pick in place.

[jbshocks]

First picture is the machine.  second are the 2 trouble some coin parts.

[jbshocks]

Some of the wires not hooked up.  Any idea what they are for?

[jbshocks]

another missing wire and the nasty hopper

[jbshocks]

Finally an over all inside shot and wiring for the lighting.  Any idea what the missing starter will light up.  Thanks so much for all the help.

[kevboy]

jb, The black thing that you have taped over is the coin comparitor. You must have a coin in it to get the machine to accept coins. Slide it to the right and place a quarter in and let it slide back to the left. That should allow your machine to accept a coin and get rid of the toothpick. Search for coin comparitor on this site and I'm sure you will see a picture to help you. Pictures are good.  Oops just noticed you're using tokens put a token in the comparitor not a quarter.

[jbshocks]

Thanks Kevboy.  Coin installed and now accepts coins.  Now back to reel one.

[uniman]

The wires in image 1139 are bill validator wires. If you trace them back to the backplane you can unplug the black connector and put them aside. Not needed.
Two wire connector in image 1136 look like an optic harness, not sure.
The other blue wires, not sure either?

I used to know slant tops really well, now it's been awhile so bare with me.
The hinged door to the hopper had a white switch in the casino, most home users jumper it out. (connect the two wires) That's what the blue wire and connector looks like. Also, believe the bottom drawer had one too, also usually jumpered by home users.  On my slants that I used to have I would jumper them right at the blackplane board, cleaner that way.
Best thing for you to do is tell me what connector (port) the wires land on at the backplane, that way I can positively identify them.

Wow!!, that machine has seen some moisture!! The power supply looks the scariest!!    The hopper doesn't look too bad. The deck is really bad!
You are really bringing that machine back from the dead, or maybe the deep! 

You may have noticed each reel has a pin in the back so you can't put reel #1 in slot #2, etc. You can unscrew those pins with a pair of pliers if they aren't rusted on. Then you can swap reel #1 and #2 and see if the problem follows reel #1. That way you can tell if the reel is bad or the connection.

Jim

[jbshocks]

Before I read what your response about unscrewing the pin I switched the plugs from 1 and 2, crossed them over so I confirmed the reel is fine the trouble is in the back plane or main board.  I just pulled them again and about the clean them some more.  Any tips on cleaning the the main board socket on the back plane? i.e. the female sockets?  This thing is so close to working.

[uniman]

I would spray the heck out of the backplane with electronic contact cleaner and insert the board several times while it is wet. With the POWER OFF of course.
Another trick I've had some minor success with is to loosen the four screws holding the backplane and plate and then reposition it a little higher or lower, just enough so the board will fit but makes it a little tighter. 

[jbshocks]

I will get some more cleaner tomorrow and give that a shot.   I thought I killed the machine tonight putting a connector in the wrong port.  After cleaning again and putting it all back together the reel works 25% of the time.  I decided to take out the remainder of the bill machine and that simplifies things greatly.  Far less wires to keep track of.  I sure hope I can get that reel going.

[jbshocks]

Anyone ever use Deoxit? 

[jbshocks]

I am getting very frustrated with this thing.  Used a bunch of regular contact cleaner and instered the board in and out.  Then tried deoxit and still no better.  Without a pin out or schematic on the reel connectors I think I will need to follow the traces back and see if any are damaged.

[jbshocks]

I have followed all reel 3 traces back to the main connector and I was surprised that they came out into areas of the motherboard that didn't seem to be a concern.  There are about 3 solder joints on the back plane for making the cross over from one side to the other that look suspect.  I plan to reflow those.  I also reseated one chip that had a trace come to it from reel 3. 

[jbshocks]

It does not look like this thing will come back to life.  back plane and MPU are all spot less.  I have reseated the MPU 100 times.  Both boards are not spot less.  re soldered the 3 suspect solder joints.  Cleaned up hopper and tested it.  If reel one would consistently work all other issues are solved.  I can only assume that the MPU is bad and I can't  locate the trouble area.  Unless anyone has more ideas this little experiment seems over.  Anyone know where I can purchase a main board?  I have checked ebay and only see glass.

[jbshocks]

Well everyone it is alive.  Thanks to Uniman's help the machine works properly.  My old MPU just could not be saved.  Anyone know where you can get $1 tokens?  I have about 150 of them but would like more.  I am not seeing and kind of quantity on ebay.  I assume a quarter conversion on an elevator type hopper is not possible without significant parts.