Identify an aristocrat machine and an error message

[panky]

Hi guys,

I was hoping someone could identify my Aristocrat machine. Ive owned it for about 5 years.. When i got it home it didnt work but by sheer luck i was able to get it to work..( once turned on i had a sequence to follow (1) open door (2) turn both keys on righthand side (3) press and hold all buttons inside the top of the door for 3 seconds..)  and she would come to life.. Recently she stopped again with a error code "coin in photo-optics" .. Can someone please help? any info would be great..

Thanks

[knagl]

Welcome to the site!

I've never seen one of those before myself, but for what it's worth, the coin-in optics are what inserted coins pass through once they've been validated by a coin comparator or a physical coin acceptor, and before they're directed to the hopper or the drop box.  They are usually a series of two or three light optics that detect the presence of a coin and its direction of travel (to prevent stringing).

In general terms, with the power off look on the inside of the door where coins are inserted and check for any loose or broken wires along the path that an inserted coin would travel.  It's also possible that a foreign object is stuck in the optics (a piece of paper or cardboard or something) causing one or more of them to be blocked and not ready to accept a coin.  If there is a large amount of dust in there, that could also be the cause of your trouble, and a quick spray with an compressed air can could help to clean them out.

It's also possible that one or more of the optics has failed.  In which case you will likely need to find a replacement for it in order to get your machine back up and running.  Check for the obvious stuff first, though (loose/broken wires and/or debris in the optics area).

Best of luck to you!

[panky]

Thanks Knagl.. For you time .. i have had alittle clean in my machine and a look but cant seem to see anything wrong or dirty/dusty..i'd be guessing that i might need to source a new optic because my niece was using it when the error message came up... Is there a way to check which optic might be not working? and is there many different types of optics? I've tried to research alittle but im not sure what model i should be looking for.. as i cant find a Aristocrat "Wild Flowers" machine.

[proten]

Email sent

[panky]

Thanks Proten for the email.. was very close to my machine and enjoyable reading.. there was alot of checks i will try when i get the machine to work again.. ive tried to eliminate which optics i can by using a multimeter and what little knowledge i have of electronics.. the only abnormal thing i can see with the coin optics is one of the smaller printed circuit boards seems to have about 22v dc to it where as all the rest have about 5v.. i'd be guessing that this is my problem but would greatly appreciate if someone could confirm this? also is there a way to test that optic with a multimeter?