Bally E Series (I Think) slot troubleshooting

[BR549 Auto Sales]

I have a Bally machine, looks like an E series, but I can't find anything on the machine to verify. When I turn it on the machine lights up and can hear the fan running but you dont hear the reels lock into place or anything else and I am getting a "0" in the win meter. I press the reset button and the test button on the hopper board and nothing changes. The mpu looks really clean with no signs of corrosion and all connectors are secure and look good as well, any ideas?

Thanks,

David

[Amachanic]

You have a Bally E-Series with the 50 V reel readers. I would start by checking all your MPU, I/O, and power supply connections. Check your the ribbon cable between the I/O and MPU for bent or broken pins. Check your power supply voltage outputs and if that didn't help I would pull and reseat the EPROMs on the MPU. One thing I've learned about these Ballys is that they don't like to work if they are too cold. They seem to like temps over 65 degrees.

Gary

[tkrozleski]

Looks like it may be a E1000 with a RAM board on the MPU? If so, you will need to reseat that RAM board.

[BR549 Auto Sales]

It does have the extra board

[Amachanic]

It does have the extra board

check the ram board connectors for battery acid corrosion or damaged pins

[BR549 Auto Sales]

Can you please tell me how to check the voltages on the power supply? I was told how to and did so before but can't find my notes on it.

Thanks,

David

[BR549 Auto Sales]

I found my notes on the power supply testing. All 3 points on the power supply had the correct voltage when checked with a multimeter. Also checked the back of the mpu and the power supply and all solder joints look fine too. Ram board connectors look nice and clean as well as the rest of the boards. The battery on the mpu is reading @ 1.2 volts, can that cause the problem that I am having? Could I possibly have a bad hopper control board?

[BR549 Auto Sales]

I did find a tag inside the machine that reads 831-4, could that be the model? It looks similar to other E series machine that I have worked on before except for the reels are more narrow and it has the small board with the battery attached that slides down on 2 sets pf pin connectors on the mpu board. Does the "0" in the win meter mean anything in particular?

[tkrozleski]

I'm not familiar with the E831 model but it does look like a narrow series and with the RAM board it is the E1000 series for sure.
I would change that battery. Not sure if that will resolve your problem though?

Are all your fuse good including the fuse on the hopper?

Do you have power at the test points on the MPU and I/O board?

Have you tried reseating all the IC's?


Do you have a spare I/O, MPU, Power Supply, RAM,  and Hopper board you can swap one at a time to isolate the problem?

[BR549 Auto Sales]

How can I check my fuses with a multimeter? I have another E series machine that I can use the I/O board and power hopper control board from but that game has issues too. All 3 test points on the power supply are reading correct. All solder joints look fine as do all connectors, pins and ribbon cables. I'm hoping it has something to do with the battery since the person I got it from said it worked fine until it was not played for several months. The machine is super clean inside and out with no signs of poor repairs or anything unusual.

[Amachanic]

The large diodes on the hopper boards like the crack, but when they do they blow the hopper fuse. Most of the Bally hoppers have a red light that turns on once the fuse blows. It's located right next to the hoppers fuse. I alway check fuses out of there holders using a multi-meter. Check one other thing too, what's the condition of the power cord? These Bally models cords come out the bottom and they are usually in very bad condition. The diode location number on the board are CR11 & CR12. I can't tell you how many of these I've changed.

[BR549 Auto Sales]

The hopper fuse is fine, when I remove it, the red light comes on. Will the diodes on the hopper cause the problems I am having even though the fuse seems fine? How do I check the fuses and the fuse holders with my multimeter?

Thanks,

David

[tkrozleski]

Set your meter to check continuity, diode check or ohms. When touching the two leads together on an analog meter, the needle will move to the right. So when you touch the leads to a good fuse the needle will move. Bad fuse = no movement.

On a digital meter set to ohms or diode check setting, when the leads are held together it will change the display and will show 0.000 which is showing what a good fuse reading is.

The best thing to do on these "E" series is to remove the hopper and then unplug the harness from the fuse panel and remove 2 screws with a long shaft philips screwdriver that hold the fuse assembly to the back of machine with the 5-6 fuse holders in it . Then you can inspect the holders for broken caps and overheated holders.

I have found that these fuses can look good but are bad at the metal ends of the fuse where you can't see inside. The best thing is just to replace all of them. The heat and age detiorates the fuses and causes intermittent issues.

Another physical check you can perform on fuses and fuse holders, is if the machine works for a while then faults, is turn the power off and feel each fuse cap to see if any are hot. This can sometimes indicate a fuse or holder which has a bad connection and needs replaced.

[BR549 Auto Sales]

All fuses checked out with my multimeter. How do I check my test point on the I/O board? As far as the fuse holders go, I don't see anything unusual on those, can you be more specific as to what i am looking for on those? Like the broken caps and the overheated holders?

Thanls,

David

[tkrozleski]

The test points on the I/O and MPU boards is on the upper left corner of each board and has test points with loops, just like the power supply test points. They are marked + and -.

The MPU & I/O should be at 5 volts

The caps sometimes do not latch tightly and the fuse will be loose in the holder.

If the caps are not hot and the cap is not loose to where you have a loss of power they are OK.

[BR549 Auto Sales]

Is there another member that has a machine like mine that I can send my MPU and I/O boards to for testing? This one has the extra board that connects directly to the MPU.

Thanks,

David