Universal Ultra Twin Cherries Issue

[robsworld13]

Universal Ultra Model: 94041
MPU: 94014
Game: 95018
Sound: 95010

I just bought this from someone off of Craigslist. They stated that it hit the jackpot (Twin Cherries) and they did not have the reset key. I brought it home and plugged it in. The fluorescent lights all lite up and the bill validator did cycle. The reels however did not light up or spin. None of the 4 lights lite up on the MPU board. I took out the board and tried to re-insert it. Still no luck. I jiggled the board and the reels lite up and I could hear a relay clicking. The display showed all 8's across it. I took the MPU back out and I cleaned the pins with contact cleaner. I also cleaned the back board connections. After it dried I plugged the board back in. The display on the front came on with the code 13 and 51. I then did the RAM clear and taped the door switch down and put the lock in the closed position to bypass the optical switch. I now just have a blinking 19 on the display. The MPU is fully seated and the 4 lights scan back and forth. The problem is that the reels do not light up and the coins fall straight through to the tray. I checked the 4 fuses in the front and they are all good. I have tried to take the board out and put it back in a few times and have the same thing. I am hoping that this is something simple since I bought it for $250 believing that it only needed to be reset because it hit the jackpot. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Also I have a IGT S+ that I recently bought and the guy I got it off of was kind enough to direct me to this site.

Rob

[uniman]

Welcome to NLG Rob. 
You came to the right place. 

The Ultra is a nice slot machine when it's working. But they are finicky. You did all the right things by cleaning the pins and performing a RAM clear. "Error 19 is a RAM clear was performed"
The reels only light up when a win is hit.
Your machine sounds ready to go except the coin comparitor is either not working or the board doesn't see it.
Here is how I would proceed;
The comparitor may not be plugged in correctly. Check that connector just above the comparitor on the green board. Make sure it is snapped in on both sides. Then check the big ribbon cable that connects the door to the backplane, again make sure it is snapped in top and bottom.
Then, adjust your comparitor by turning the little adjustment on the comparitor board counter-clockwise. Make sure your sample coin is in good and then test it.
If it still does not work, then it is still the board connection!
I've had this happen many times! Best to check the obvious (above) first before struggling with the board.

I highly suggest you add the blocks and lock listed in this post; http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=1292.0
But we can get it going without the blocks, just takes a bit of patience!!
Let me know how it goes.

Very nice clean looking machine!

Jim

[robsworld13]

Thanks Jim!

I unplugged the connectors for the coin comparitor, checked them and plugged them back in. The relay clicked so I know it's at least getting power. It did the same thing with the connection on the green board and the ribbon cable.  I am going to use the contact cleaner on all those connections and see if that does anything. I made the counter clockwise adjustment on the comparitor and nothing there either. Should the insert coin light come on when I hit the right spot or do I need to adjust and test with a coin as I go?

I am curious at this point should any of the lights on the front or the bill slot be lit up? 

Rob

[robsworld13]

For the heck of it I tried to use bills to test it out. I got credits and when I hit the button got the error 41. I have checked all the connectors and still come up empty handed. 

[uniman]

It's the board connection to the backplane Rob, no doubt.
A real pain. This is what I do;
Turn the machine off. Put your left thumb on the board's left white pull tab and the right thumb on the right white pull tab. Then push left, then right, then left again, rocking the board slightly back and forth.  Press the left side last.
Turn the machine on and try it. If it does not work, repeat it again.

Universal made these machines as they were fading out of the U.S. market. Just looking at them I can see they rushed them into production. The backplane board is the problem. It has a pinch type pin insert and they widen out and don't spring back like they should. I hear the South Africa machines don't see this problem so they must have addressed it after leaving the U.S.

The insert coin light should blink after the door is closed and locked with error 50 changing to 51. The BV lights should light all the time even when the BV is disabled. Your bulbs maybe burnt out.
If your machine took a dollar bill then it is ready for play. Just have to correct the bad connections. The error 41, first reel error, is a board connection problem. Seen that one too!!!

If I can duplicate this problem I'll make a video and post on YouTube.

Jim

[uniman]

Rob, I notice in your first picture, the one sideways, that the white plastic board guide is setting next to reel #3. Best to put that back on the board. It helps guide it in place when inserting the board. Has no bearing on good or bad the connection is.

Once you get this machine working it will stay that way. (unless you move it up some stairs  )

[robsworld13]

I will continue to do as you suggested. I am not going to give up until I have this sucker up and running!!! Once I get it working I am not going to move it for anything!!! I will let you know the outcome. Thanks again for the help! 

Rob

[uniman]

Rob is having a tough time with his stubburn board connection. Find that this problem is the biggest pain in the a#*! And is very common with the Ultra.
So I took a better look at it. When you hold the backplane up to a light you can see the pin inserts/receiver, or whatever you call it, are wide apart with a lot of open air! Pic #1
When you remove the gray cover (I don't recommend this unless you plan on trashing the backplane) you can see the pinch connectors are tight together?? Pic #2
So why are they spread apart when the grey cover piece is on? The answer is the grey cover has a little spreader built in it. The receiver pins/clips have a spur on one side that slides into this spreader and opens the connectors, too far!!!!

[uniman]

Now what MIGHT be a fix would be to remove the metal keepers on the grey cover and with a wide thin blade raise the grey cover about 1/8" and the add some sort of plastic shim under it to prevent it from sliding back down. The connectors hold this grey cover pretty firm so it wouldn't fall off.

Rob, Please do not try this!!! Let me experiment with it as I have several spare backplanes. (to destroy!)

In my pics below I took a screwdriver (not recommended) and pryed up the grey cover (as you can see) to see if the keepers would slide away from the spreader and close a bit.
Looks like they did. Now I have to do it with a good blackplane (a little more professionally) and try it in a machine.

[robsworld13]

I removed the backplane again today. I went down each hole in the connector with a needle. About 75% of them you could feel gripping the needle. The other 25% the needle fell all the way in. On these holes I went in at a 45 degree angle and gently pried the one side of the pin inward towards the center of the hole. Then tested it again with the needle until I could feel the pins were griping the needle. It took me about an hour to do this. Afterward I cleaned every contact on every connector on the backplane. I reassembled everything, did a RAM clear and inserted a $10 bill. Still having the same darn issue. Error 41! I have spent countless hours in the process so far, not to mention countless hours of nagging from the wife!!!

I am considering making a third board and converting over to ribbon cables.

Rob

[uniman]

Wow Rob you really have tried on this one!
So now you have it taking bills but no spin. How about coins?
With your hand make sure each reel can spin without rubbing anything.
And you can take the connector for reel #1 and switch it with reel #2 on the backplane board. This will tell you if it is the reel or the main board and/or connection.

And try it with the door open (if you haven't yet) You can pull out on the white cherry switch as this is the same as pushing it in.

I was talking to my wife about your machine. She reminded me that the Ultra Twin Cherry was the first slot machine she ever played. She remembered it well. And I remember it was at the end of a row. It was at Soaring Eagle and was a quarter machine. On a future trip to Soaring Eagle she found that machine occupied. So she searched the casino for another Twin Cherry in quarter denom and found none. So if your machine is a quarter machine chances are it is the same machine!

And read my previous post. Those pin grippers, or whatever you call them, in the backplane board have a little spur that slides in a spreader and that is what opens them up.

[robsworld13]

It still wont take coins. I went through all the connections to the comparitor again today and cleaned them as well. The reels all spin fine when I turn them by hand. I changed the order of the connections on the backplane and tried all three reels in the 1st position. Still came up with the 41 error. I have been doing everything with the door open. I had taped the white door switch down because I wasn't aware that you could just pull it out. So I learned something else too. I am in the process now of going through and testing every wire on every connection. I don't get any sound either. Does that sound typical for the issues that I am having?

My machine is in fact a quarter machine. So I guess it's a small world! I did read your previous post and that is what gave me the idea about the needle. It seemed like all the holes were snug when I finished, but I guess that it only takes one bad connection to mess things up.

[uniman]

The sound comes out the harness that plugs into the front of the board. It then goes to the sound amp board located in the meter box to the left of reel #1. If all connections are solid chances are your main board has the sound problem. That's bad news! I have several functional main boards with no sound! Been told there is an IC chip that causes the loss of sound but I do not know what the fix is.

I'm going to send you a PM.

Jim

[robsworld13]

I have a few more things that I am going to try and hopefully at least I can narrow down the problem for future reference. So far I have over 20 hours of trouble shooting time invested and I am just about at my wits end. I'm going to guess that finding a manual for these things is about as easy as finding the parts?

[uniman]

I have a few more things that I am going to try and hopefully at least I can narrow down the problem for future reference. So far I have over 20 hours of trouble shooting time invested and I am just about at my wits end. I'm going to guess that finding a manual for these things is about as easy as finding the parts?

No, it is worse!!
When I lived in Michigan I had a Vegas friend order an Ultra manual from Universal just before they went out of business. (Universal would not deal with me)  What I got was a parts list, dip switch settings, and non-readable schematics. The whole manual was faxed from Japan. Not much help at all!!
I've talked to at least one other person who had the same experience.

Jim