Bally EM overhaul - where to start?

[Abe Frohman]

Greetings, I'm 100% new to Bally EM's and I'm working on a pair of machines that might as well have been pulled from the bottom of a lake.  When I plug them in a few light bulbs light up, and the diverter arms start buzzing against a coil, but that's about it - no other signs of life.

Most of the troubleshooting tips (especially the 'OldReno' ones) are great, but they assume a known symptom.  I haven't found anything that covers how to approach a machine that has one foot in the dumpster.  It's tough to figure out where to begin with a machine that has no boot sequence, error codes, lights or sounds or beeps-blips-bloops.  I just want to get confident enough that the machines are even worth buying the $50 Mead Publishing book, but if they are scrap metal I don't want to waste the money.

Can someone steer me in the direction I need just to get an 'insert coin' light to activate?

[Jeff99]

I would suggest you might break the machine into several pieces.  Take the reel mech out and see if you can get it to rotate.  If it does get the book and either lube it or if it's rusty take it apart.  The book is very helpful there. 

The coin mech - when you touch the motor with 110 does it move.  Again lube it and do the maintenance.  Lastly if the handle is kind hard, take it apart and lube it - the book is a big help.

Once you get the parts moving you can start trouble shooting stuff.  Lastly there is more that $50 dollars of salvageable parts in it!

Hope that helps
jeff

[Abe Frohman]

Thanks for the reply.  All of the moving parts seem to - well, move.  I can flip-flop stuff back and forth by hand, but there is no clicking or feedback or error indicators to tell me anything is wrong.  It's like dancing with a mannequin.

I guess I'm too used to working on things with circuit boards.  I have to remember that these things are truly mechanical, which makes it hard to know where to start.  I suppose that in its restful state the arm is not supposed to pull until something releases it, which would follow a coin being dropped in.  But the insert coin light is not on, and the trigger under the coin mech doesn't credit-up the machine or even click a solenoid or something.

"Johnny Five - no disassemble!!!"

[Amachanic]

One of the first things I do when I pickup  Bally EM thats been sitting for a while is to check the relays and blade switch contacts with my ohm meter to make sure they are operating or should I say making good contact. Never file the contacts, I like to clean them with rubbing alcohol and a folded piece of paper. The alcohol drys fast. If you find a contact not making a good connection you need to gentally bend the contact, but be careful you can do more damage then good if you go too far, or use too much force. Once your done going through the contacts on the reels assembly and hopper put it back together and see if it now works.

[Jeff99]

I can't reiterate more what Amechanic said about the switches.  They are self cleaning and may look black but are fine.  These switches don't contact head on but wipe across each point which keeps them clean.  to adjust them I make a tool out of 3/16 brass rod - make an L shaped handle that fits in my hand well and use a dremel to put a 1/4 inch or so grove on the long side that can then grasp the switch leaf and let me gently bend it.

Sounds like you have a bad connection of some sort.  see if you can see power before the coin up switch and work back.  The book is a great help there.

[cowboygames]

Isn'y Abe Frohman the sausage king of Chicago? Just wonderin'...

[Abe Frohman]

Thanks for the tips, I suppose it's very literally a case of tracing the flow of electrons.

And yes, I was in the sausage business but it was a bit of Hollywood license to call me the 'King' - I was a modest purveyor of meats to state it generously.  My place is long since closed, though.  My new passion is breaking Bally EM slots!

Nice to see my 'legend' lives on through John's movie, we miss him.

[Op-Bell]

It's tough to figure out where to begin with a machine that has no boot sequence, error codes, lights or sounds or beeps-blips-bloops.

That is the strangest statement I ever heard in my life!    Though I guess it just depends what you're used to. Compared with the depressing sight of an electronic machine that just sits there inertly emitting a brown smell, EM machines are a piece of cake to fix, because you can follow the wiring and trouble shoot by eye instead of by intuition.

There's a whole string of circuits that have to be closed before you can coin the machine and the handle releases. There's a contact on the handle, several on the main frame, the hopper has to be correctly plugged, etc etc. But if you had the book, you can read the whole thing and follow the wire colors through the various contacts, which you can test with a meter or by poking them with a screwdriver. Try doing that with a circuit board machine.

[poof]

I know this is an old post, but i find myself in the same boat.  How did you make out?  any suggestions to another newb to ems?

[Abe Frohman]

I stored the machines and haven't touched them since!  I still really want to overhaul these babies though, so if anyone has any suggestions, words of wisdom or pep talks for me please bring it!!!

[shortrackskater]

One thing I did was just start playing with mine: manually flipping the micro switch and just pulling the handle to see what happens. In some cases, just playing will clean up some contacts and get more areas of the machine working. I'm getting help now from OldReno and Amechanic on anther thread, but I've had to stop for awhile due to getting a cold (!) and being a bit frustrated. But it does take patience and some time and things will start to make sense.
The best thing I've had, so far is getting the Mead's book: Owner's Pictorial Guide to Care and Understanding of the Bally EM Slot Machine. It covers everything from theory of operation to rebuilding each part of the slot machine. OldReno has also made a lot of good informational posts on EM's as well. Just go to the forum and look for his name.
Hope this helps!
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