Fortune 1 Doing All Kinds of Crazy Things

[RiseLikeRa]

Hello Group and Happy News Year.

My Jokers Wild fortune 1 has started to do strange things.  The games makes wierd sounds at random and the screen background blue color now changes to white after the game has been on for a few minutes.  I had read somewhere that this could be a sign of a bad battery (Back Left side of Motherboard)  That battery is a PX-21 4.5v.  I removed that battery and checked voltage.  I got .73 to .63volts. 

I ordered a replacement battery.  Is there anything else that I should check?  Should the new battery do the trick?  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thank you

Ra

[Amachanic]

The battery's not going to make any differance. It's mostly used to hold accounting memory. I play mine without a battery without a problem. I believe you should check the three adjusting pots next to the small transformer on the main board, all the way in the back..Those three adj pots control your back round screen colors. The other thing it could be the two eproms in CGO-A and CGI-A. Those are your graphics. You could have a bad socket or solder joint. You could pull and try re-seating those two proms.. I use a wooden pensil or wooden dowel to tap on components of the main board and watch for the screen to change or flicker. Good way to locate a bad connection. Never use your fingers due to static and getting shocked. Use something non conductive. This may not be the correct way, but is the way I check that works for me..

Gary

[RiseLikeRa]

Gary:

Thank you so much for your response.  I am as eager as they come to tackle the issue however you just spoke greek to me.  I am a Bally EM man in a Fortune 1 world.  When you say CHECK the adjusting pots, if I can locate them, what should I do to CHECK them?  How do I know if they are operation properly?  Should I wiggle, push, or pull on them?  Do I need some kind of meter to check them?

Then you REALLY got greek when you started takling "EPROM!"   Is that what you go to in your last year of high school?  lol.  CGO-A  and CGI-A?  Where are they?  What do they look like?  Pictues of the suspected problem parts and baby steps instructions would be appreciated. 

I LOVE playing this game.  I am willing to dive in with the help of this group.

Ra

[Amachanic]

Ra..

      I like you mostly work on the earlier Bally slots, E's and EM's, but I've been learning how these Fortune I machines work over the past couple weeks.. I've attached a couple pics of the main board from my machine. I would tap on those three pots or try turning them a little. That's where I like using a pencil with an rubber eraser to keep from getting shocked.. The two eproms I mentioned are pictured too. Do the same with them, tap on them lightly to see if your screen changes..

Gary

[RiseLikeRa]

Gary you are a rock star!!!  I still dont know what a POT is.  Are they the blue round things?  The EPROMS are the black flat things that plug in up front. 

Here is what I did...  After not knowing what the hell a pot was I took a wooden ruler and tapped on the right EPROM.  I immediately saw a change for the better on the screen.  I then turned the machine off and tried to wiggle the EPROM.  After a couple of shakes with a pull the whole thing came out in my hand.  Almost all of the little metal legs were bent to hell!  I put on my glasses and got a needle nose pliers and straightened all of the little legs.  I then slid the EPROM back in,  once i figured out which one I took it out from, and all worked!

I played the game for about an hour and has a great stable screen.  The sound even worked once or twice.  I guess that I will have an extra battery or two.  Success!

Thank you so much!
Ra

[Amachanic]

Ra,
        Glad I could help.. The blue round adjustment knobs are called pots and they turn.. As for your sound, I would check the connections on the sound board, the same way you did on the main board. Mine doesn't have a sound board, but I think they mount under the monitor shelve about the hopper, but I could be mistaken..

[CVslots]

Just for the record....the "POTS" are actually potentiometers..hence the shortened named "pots".

[RiseLikeRa]

Gary

You are correct again about the sound board location.  I used to like the sound but now I can take it or leave it.  Yippie I am playing poker right now!  Thanks for the full scoop on "pots"

Ra

[Amachanic]

Just for the record....the "POTS" are actually potentiometers..hence the shortened named "pots".

Thanks CV.. I know the correct name, but for someone learning I just try to keep it simple..

Gary

[josmos23]

I have the same Fortune 1 Draw Poker machine which was one of the original machines from the Rio Casino in Las Vegas (still has the inventory bar code sticker on the front and the cards on the display say Rio). I am having a similar problem with the video. When I power up the machine after it has been off for a while, everything works fine for about 3 minutes then the screen goes nuts and I get several large vertical white lines on the screen - then about a minute later the screen shows multiple small screens with no vertical lines. (See attached images) I have tried some of the "fixes"display issues posted on this site with no success. It seems the problems start when the machine warms up.

Does anyone know where I can buy a new/used/ refurbed main board for this machine?

JCS

[RiseLikeRa]

Josmos:

I believe that I saw somewhere on this forum that Larry at the below website is a wiz at fixing these boards.  Perhpas it is as easy as shipping yours to him for a complete once over.  If I am incorrect, or if there are others capable of doing the repair, anyone out there in NLG land may chime in at anytime.   

Ra


http://www.slotmachinerepair.com

[Amachanic]

Ra,  Your correct.. K-Lar in Vegas is the place to get these machines boards repaired.. I would call first and talk to Larry Weber to find out what you need to do, and for prices. You might receive a tracking number or customer number for your repair.. Real nice person to talk to. Tell him you heard about them from New Life Games..

Gary

[josmos23]

Thanks for the quick responses to my intial post.
I did email Larry and it bounced back. Was not sure if he was still in business. I will call him tomorrow.
I also saw a post from Central Valley Slots saying they have boards for the Fortune 1. I don't know what is cost to repair vs buying another one. Any ideas?

JCS

[Amachanic]

I think they changed there email address.. I had the same problem last week before I called. I you do decide to buy a board, I'd be interested in your old one if they don't take them in as a core for repair.

Gary

[RiseLikeRa]

Gary and all:

Good thing my problem was NOT the battery...  I got the replacement battery in the main yesterday from ebay.  Although listed as a direct replacement for the PX-21 4.5v battery that was removed the new battery was about a nickels thickness too short!  It will contact either the positive or negative post in my battery cradle but not both.  Should I just slip some conductive material in between to fill up the gap (Like a nickle perhaps)?   Not sure what to do.  Original battery was bad just not the source of THIS particular problem.  Since I bought 2, former boy scout you know, be prepared, I would hate to not install the new battery.

Ra