Fortune 1 hopper not paying

[chuck300x11]

Just got my f1 working thanks to Larry weber who fixed my board. Now the hopper won't pay on a win. When the machine is supposed to pay, the motor does not turn on then the machine gives a hopper time out error. I cannot see anything obvious such as broken or loose wires etc. but it was paying one day and then just stopped working the next. Any suggestions? 

[badbaud]

I'm the tech at Larry's that fixed your board. One of the things I religiously do before marking a board as done is to get a payout to make sure the hopper on our tester spins and counts out.

This means the main MPU board that you sent is sending the signal to your I/O board so the problem is not in your MPU board.

This narrows down the problem to :

1. A bad I/O board.
2. Bad wiring.
3. Bad hopper.
4. A weak circuit breaker.

To diagnosis Number 1 it is best to send the I/O board to Larry so it can be tested on the tester.
The board has two, in series triacs, that switch AC on and off to the hopper motor and those are controlled
by some electronics on the I/O board. The triacs or the related electronics could be bad.

To diagnosis Number 2 you could unplug the machine from the wall and remove the hopper and related DIP cable.
Use a Ohm meter to determine of there are open wires  from the DIP plug to the hopper motor.
Clip one lead of the meter to one of the connections on the motor coil. Run the other lead up one side and down the other
of the DIP plug and look for a very low Ohm reading. Repeat for the other motor winding connection.
The large wide ribbon cable running from the back board behind the MPU board to the I/O board is also important because it sends the control signals to and from the MPU board to the I/O board. A broken pin, in just the right spot, on either end of this cable could also cause the hopper to not get the signal it needs to turn on.

To diagnosis Number 3 you could, be very cautious as there is high voltage in play, leave the DIP plug in a safe position where is is not touching any metal or your body parts and apply AC voltage directly to the hopper motor and see if it spins. For this test in the shop I use something called a "Suicide Cable" which consists, in it's simplest form, a AC cord with two insulated alligator clips. The clips are connected to the motor and the AC cord is plugged into a outlet strip with a power switch on it. Make sure everything is safely connected before plugging the outlet strip into the wall and flipping the switch to the on position. NOTE TO MODERATOR: you may want to delete the above suggestion and tell the poster to send the hopper in to the shop for testing as the non-technical could get the crap knocked out of them if they don't have any technical aptitude.

To Diagnosis Number 4 turn the machine off. Find the metal bracket behind the hopper that has the two red  plastic posts sticking out of it. These posts connect to the two AC circuit breakers. Press each post in firmly and release. This resets the circuit breaker. Then plug the machine back in and see if the hopper runs correctly.
There could be a jam in the hopper that is causing it to draw excessive current and causing the circuit breaker to pop.

Let me know what you discover.

[RiseLikeRa]

Badbaud:

I plan to buy my first Fortune 1 on Monday.  Your thorough reply to this problem helps me feel that if I run into a challenge someone would be able to help me.  Very professional and very informative.  Thank you.  BTW who is Larry?  Seems like his is a number that I will need to know.  I am an old Bally EM slot man.  Repair on them calls for more of a mechanic than a tech.

Thanks again.

Ra

[chuck300x11]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try #4 first and go from there.

[chuck300x11]

Ra
Larry's info is at www.slotmachinerepair.com
He has a list of his repair services there.

[RiseLikeRa]

Thank you Chuck.  I bookmarked the link right away.

Thanks again

[chuck300x11]

Tried step #4 with no luck. Will try other options and post results

[chuck300x11]

Took hopper out of machine and rigged a plug with a switch. Plugged into the wall and hopper came to life and started spinning. Will try another suggestion and post results.