No lights on reels, or florescents on door

[Patriot101]

Bear with me - I'm new. I picked up a Yamasa Super Reno Paschislo. I noticed that some lights didn't come on. Specifically, the 2 florescent lights on the door, any lights on the 4 reels, there are some leds across the top of the belly glass that don't seem to light up either. The coin mech led flashes OK, and the lights that come on as you put 3 coins in light up. The lights across the top and top side come on with a winning combo.
I noticed on the motherboard there is a red LED lit - its identified as 'LED8", which I assume means something related to LED #8 that is behind the belly glass - looks like theres about 10 in a row on the door.
I also noticed what I think is a light power circuit board attached to the door - upon further inspection, there are two grey rectangular pieces that have 3 prongs each soldered into the circuit board - the area around their solder joints is a dark brown - as if from heat. In addition, I noticed that they are tied thru the circuitry to what looks like a small transformer - it felt cold even though there is another smaller transformer on the same board that was warm during operation.
I don't know much about circuitry, but if I used my multimeter correctly, it doesn't seem as if theres much power coming out of the board. I assume the power in side (3 green wires plugged in thru the side of the circuit box) had power - got a reading of 90 and 90 across the leads coming in.
Anyway - just trying to figure why the reels and florescents don't light up. Any help appreciated. And Thanks,

[SlotsRfun]

Hi!
Please post some good detailed and large pictures so we can examine everything.

[Patriot101]

Here are some pictures of the circuit board in question. I did some internet research, and found that the two transistors in question are labeled k2253. In the JIS cross reference, it said specs were 250v, 20W, .5 ohm, 4 Amp N channel MOSFET. I went to Radio Shack and picked up a couple of transistors that were close to those ratings. The new problem I created was in unsoldering the old ones out and new ones in, I pretty much overheated the board and probably ruined it - tried it anyway and one of the badly installed transistors heated up/gave me a current shock if you touched it. I really thought my soldering abilities were better, but it seemed to worsen the further I went.
Even without that board plugged in, the machine still operates - just no florescent lights or 4th reel lights. I also noticed the 1st three reels don't have lights in them.
Whats the chance of finding another TMA015A Board to replace this? Or is there some other area I should be looking to better diagnose this?
And yes, I've checked fuses and ribbon cable connections and the 28 volt light bulbs in the 4th reel are all good (checked continuity of all bulbs). I believe the florescents are an 8 watt bulb, but have no way of checking them - just noticed that theres barely a noticeable trace of power to them. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. And Thanks!!!

[Patriot101]

Update - florescents;
I just noticed a Super Renu on Youtube - the 4th reel lights don't come on until you hit a bonus, so that'll explain why I couldn't get the 4th reel lights to come on right away.
So I guess its down to the florescents in the door and the butchered circuit board...

Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy!

[luckydog]

i would have bought and tried 2 new bulbs before i went any further

[mrdoobie.com]

I just posted a similar question about the front fluorescent bulbs ... not initially finding any other answers to this... and was just working on this tonight.

I guess they call these little starters (like the one you soldered) "light cards"... I'm thinking they just work like the little silver twist in ballasts one finds at the local hardware stores.

I have an old Raineer beer sign and a little silver twist in ballast is what gets that going ($.99 cents) at the hardware store.

I have the same problem on my machine (you can see by clicking on the link above called "Pachislo Technical Support Tickets") ...I've just been working through it. My guess is the bulbs are good... read my post and you'll see the crazy repair attempt I found... someone probably ran into the same problem and tried to fix it. I eventually found some posts asking about this problem we have and someone mentioned contacting "Stealth" entertainment and emailing them to see if they had replacement cards. Sounds like an expensive fix to just get these bulbs started and running safely.

On Monday I'm going to the hardware store and see if I can't find the stuff to convert it to get the front bulbs going without creating a fire hazard.

Nice looking machine!

[Patriot101]

Thanks for the input. IF the card is basically a start ballast to run florescent tubes, then basically all we'd need (in the US of A) is a tap into 110Volt source, and 2-3 lower wattage "white" florescent fixtures. You can always gut the fixture to re-use in a Pachislo - which is what I'm thinking of doing - ASSUMING the circuit card IS for florescent lighting.
That sure is a lot of circuitry just for a florescent tube!
I also contacted Stealth site for another card - if they have one at a reasonable $, I may pick it up. Otherwise, I'll be McGivering.
Just had a thought - white (or colored) LED's - like the type used on X-Mas trees. Some come with a controller to make the bulbs flash, rotate in pattern, etc. This may turn into an interesting project.

[mrdoobie.com]

I tested the two wires going into my card (black and white) by connecting the red and black wires on my multi-meter (one in the "AC" hole on the multi-meter and the other in the 150V hole on the multi-meter) and touching one to the black and one to the white wire. The meter zipped up about halfway...which makes me this this is just a hot AC wire that was routed off of the main power input via the power board. THIS looks like a good power supply for your McGuiver'ing since it appears lighting the fluorescent bulbs is what it was intended for. I traced the "output" wires from the card on my machine...and they all just go to the two front fluorescent bulbs...nothing else (on my machine).

I was in need of a replacement set of LED rope lights for a gumball pinball machine I have (very cool!)...the lights wrapped around the gumballs inside and just really made the whole thing look cool...they died while transporting the machine though... so I went to HomeDepot and they have LED short rope lights White, blue, red or green..., no bonus functions (pulse, color change, fading, etc.) just a single color for less than $30. Seemed kinda expensive so I hopped online and found some really cheap sets through Hong Kong... and I purchased one that has 4 or 5 colors with all kinds of options. They sent the product and though it was kinda cheaply made... it works just fine and was less than $20 shipped! I just checked the person's store where I ordered them and they also have white!

A 6.6 foot LED round rope light, white with the controller box to make it do what you want. 6.6' (2 meters) is actually long enough for me to cover both the belly light area...run the rope up to one side of the spin wheels and wrap the rest up in the top area. To black out the rope in between the two places where I want light, I can just wrap some black electrical tape around the rope to control having light where I want it and not where I don't. It will in turn look like two bright lights... but actually just be one long LED rope light! The cost for just the white rope light is $3.99 + $6.69 shipping ($10.68 shipped to the U.S.) Here is a link to the auction BUY IT NOW page:

6.6 Feet Flexible White LED Rope Light f Ceiling Decks - eBay (item 160355331782 end time Nov-04-10 20:00:11 PDT)

I purchased from this person before and though the product isn't "show quality" the function of the lights are good and I haven't had a problem with the ones I'm using yet. I just ordered this set and will take photos of the modification before, during and after it's installed. We'll just see how this looks. Now I just need belly art for my machine.

[SlotsRfun]

Hello
Although your board is damaged I think it would be a simple matter of bridging the connections on the bottom of the board with wires to bypass the damaged printed circuitry.
I am referring to your board>: http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/atta...g_2435_1_1.jpg
I would suggest a good soldering iron to use: Amazon.com: Weller WPS18MP PRO Series High Performance 60-Watt Soldering Iron: Home Improvement
I have one of these and use it almost exclusively nowadays. I like it better than my $300 iron.
______________________________________________________

Update - florescents;
I just noticed a Super Renu on Youtube - the 4th reel lights don't come on until you hit a bonus, so that'll explain why I couldn't get the 4th reel lights to come on right away.

Most 4th Reels do not light until they are in play!

You can buy F10T8/CW fluorescents from these folks for $2 bucks each: http://www.replacementlightbulbs.com...uorescent.html

[SlotsRfun]

Oh, you may want to look into cold cathode fluorescents on Ebay for substitutions of regular fluorescents. Very cheap, extremely bright and easy to install.

[mrdoobie.com]

Cold cathode sounds like it would be less expensive buy a few dollars, if I knew where there was a "continual source" of 12v juice on the machine to tap into without hurting the electronics. Otherwise, factoring a transformer into the equation kicks the cost up. Having the original bulbs 110v power source available and easily accessible makes connecting the rope light just a touch cheaper and simpler... it looks... but I really don't know.

I sure like the cold cathodes... I never even heard about it until you mentioned it... it's probably the best bet for someone who knows how to connect them... and I found a mod kit with 2 for a computer shipped out for less than $9.00 on ebay. It would just take adding a wire extension to it to get one of the bulbs up to sit behind the top panel too... but I just don't know about a "constant on" 12v power source.

GREAT IDEA!

...too bad I already ordered the rope light... it seems like the cathode might be a better replacement!

[Patriot101]

This is really good info to have. So the cold cathodes are the same "lights" they use in illuminating the undercarriage of cars and/or computer cases. So they are 12volt DC, which is a very common inverter to find (AxMan Surplus). I think I'll stop at an auto store to see one up close and personal before I order 3 of them...

[Patriot101]

Update:
I took the suggestion of using cold cathodes- WOW! They fit the machine perfectly. It couldn't have worked out better. Nice crisp light - not too bright, not too dim.
Since they run off of 12VoltDC, I picked up an inexpensive converter (the kind that plugs into the wall at 110-115 volts AC and has a pair of wires coming out at 12 VoltsDC), connected to 110 volts where the power cord to the slot comes in, and ran the cold cathodes (and their own inverter) off the 12VoltDC.
I then tossed the "florescent light" circuit board in the trash - these tubes run cooler than florescents and are INEXPENSIVE ($10 for a pair of 12" cathodes with an inverter + shipping).
Thanks for all the useful info and insight I received throughout this site!

[Drunkenclam]

Where did you get them from?
Any feedback on suppliers is always handy

[Patriot101]

I picked them up on eBay from: all_city
l
Just type in " cold cathode" and pick your size and flavor.

Singles a bit brighter than doubles because of the current draw through the supplied inverter.