Question About New Pachinko Machine Voltage

[Edward.C.Turner]

pachiwall, thanks for the comment. According to the seller, his girlfriend's husband bought the machine new at a Japanese expo in Los Angeles. Then, the husband left it crated until he passed away. The seller's girlfriend was clearing out his garage. I have examined the machine with a magnifying glass, and I don't see any evidence of wear. Whatever its condition, it's the newest I've ever owned.

[Edward.C.Turner]

Here is an update on my progress. I borrowed a 24 volt, 5 amp transformer from another one of my pachinko machines and wired it into Let's Dance. I put balls in the tray, checked to make sure there were no lose plugs, and plugged it in. Nothing happened. I pushed the on/off switch on the back of the machine that musky located for me, but there was still nothing. Now I'm searching for fuses, but I have yet to find any. I need to get a flashlight. I plan to keep you posted.

[Drunkenclam]

That blows I don't know this frame so don't know if there are any LEDs or indicator lights to tell if there is power. But if no fuse can be found or not able to return. Check each board in turn. Starting with where the power lead goes in.

[pachiwall]

Sorry to hear about that, hopefully you can find something to fix it. Would be a shame for possibly the only new machine to reach our shores be damaged before being used! Good Luck! I hope you can fix it!

[Edward.C.Turner]

Thanks, Drunkenclam and pachiwall, for your comments. Today, I placed an order for a new transformer. Maybe there is an issue with my older one. I contacted the eBay seller (to hold him accountable), and he offered $50.00 told the repair bill should it come to that. I really don't want to return this machine! I hope that everyone has a nice evening.

[Card Shark]

Any updates?

[Edward.C.Turner]

Card Shark, thanks for asking. I ordered the transformer from PowerVolt on the Thursday before Labor Day. On Wednesday the 5th, I requested a status update. They said it had shipped, but didn't have a delivery date. I am estimating the package to arrive on or before Monday the 10th. I'm also starting to search for a packinko repair service. I can find them for the "vintage" machines, but not for the modern machines. I plan to have an update soon. Take care, and I hope that you have a nice weekend.

[pachiwall]

Not sure there is a pachinko repair service, but if you do find one let us know! Probably best bet is an experienced electronics person who can trace where power went in and examine the circuits involved. A bonus would be a repair man who has at least seen a pachinko...or has played one, preferably one who LOVES pachinko! I am concerned that having work done to it will kill your chance of any return! Sounds like you have all intentions of keeping it, so this won't be an issue. Earlier you stated that the seller wanted to give you $50 for repairs, that wouldn't pay for his time to listen to what a pachinko machine is! I know you don't want to return it, and I can respect that decision, but you should be compensated about 1/2 of your price, in my opinion, if it was advertised as new and did not work, out of the box! Good luck with finding a good repair man, and if he is good...be sure to let us know who he is. Best of luck to you whatever you do!

[Drunkenclam]

It's a tough one. I wouldn't know where you would start. Being that way minded, I'd have a look myself at anything obvious. Black, fried or missing components or circuit pathways. Starting at the power switch working forward. With a continuity tester and the power disconnected. considering nothing works. Shooter, lights, screen. But then I do fault finding on electric doors, it helps.

[Edward.C.Turner]

Good afternoon to my pachinko friends (thank you for your support), and also "Hello" to my eBay seller whom I'm copying on this update. The new $57.00 transformer arrived yesterday from PowerVolt. I installed it yesterday, plugged in the machine, heard the happy hum of the transformer doing its job, threw the switch, and nothing fired up. It's like I never plugged it in. I pushed all the front buttons, inspected wires, made sure there were still balls in the tray, even gave it a little nudge, but nothing. So, on to the next step! I will use my voltage meter to continue investigating (including an additional green wire that is coupled with the electric cord wires, but I believe that only to be a grounding wire), but now I must find a "modern" pachinko repair service. As I said in an earlier post, "vintage" repair is easy to find, but nothing so far for the newer machines. I will also consider a good pinball repair service in the Orlando, FL area. Updated news as I have it.

[daverob]

I'm not that familiar with the power input circuits on this machine (although I do have a Be-Bop machine in the same Sansei R&D 'Zerostyle' frame at the bottom of my pile of pachinko machines that I should get around to taking a look at, if I ever have the good fortune of finding some spare time!).

Usually there is a 'crowbar' device across the input on the power supply PCB in the pachinko, this is designed to go short circuit when there is a serious overvoltage condition (like connecting it direct to a wall socket without using a transformer). This device should blow the main fuse as soon as it detects a dangerous input voltage, hopefully before any further damage is done.

If you can locate the fuse and this 'crowbar' device and replace both of them, you might be lucky and the machine will come to life. If not then there might be more serious damage to the power supply circuitry.

If I was closer, I'd offer to take a look at the power supply circuit board for you, but it might not be that practical to send it overseas for evaluation and possible repair.

[Drunkenclam]

My old Japanese Tutor plugged her rice cooker into the wall socket here in the UK. It didn't like the 230v it got fed instead of the 100v it should have. Found inside one blown up ceramic disc type thingy (but not a capacitor) and one circuit board path completely missing. Like the metal had disappeared. Found the spec printed on the disc and replaced the circuit board pathway. Fitted the new disc (approx cost 35p) and worked beautifully. I ran it for 2 weeks twice a day through a drop down transformer, never had any problems with it. Although I was sick of rice for a bit It may not be the end for your machine. It's just finding that fault. Start with the board where the power goes in and look from there. But always do it in a safe manner. We don't want anyone hurting themselves. Worst case is find a machine in the same frame and source the frame parts.

[Edward.C.Turner]

Thanks to daverob and Drunkenclam for your helpful advice! Behind tons of wires and plastic, I have located the fuse on the power board. Getting everything unplugged without damage and removing the circuit board is a bit of a challenge, but I am making progress. First to the fuse, then on to Radio Shack, then on to (hopefully) the lights and animation. What a treat that would be! I plan to work on this project some over the weekend and the first of next week. Thanks again for the help, and my best to all for a great Saturday and Sunday.

[Edward.C.Turner]

Update: I replaced the fuse, and I now have a screen teaser and attract lights. Really nice! However, I do not have sound, and the ball shooter is not functional. I am using full hand contact on the knob. It's time for more investigation. On the back, I have one green light showing, and a counter showing "0". Any ideas? I hope to have progress to report in the near future.

[alphaminor]

I'm not totally familiar with your machine but usually the number display on the back is used to tell you what ,if anything ,is wrong with the machine ( the specific number will correspond with a specific issue ) generally speaking a zero should mean everything is ok
You might need to adjust the knob sensitivity to get it to shoot, or if you have not enough balls in the upper rear hopper that can effect the shooter as well

make sure you have a dongle connected

also, you might want to open the glass and pop a couple of balls into the center pocket by hand just to see if it will make some sound

Congratulations! It sounds like your finally getting somewhere

[Drunkenclam]

Time for a dongle me thinks. Alot of moderns and all new machines don't work without one. If you don't have one, there are instructions on daverob's website on how to make one. But you need to be good with a soldering iron.

We'll get there

[Edward.C.Turner]

Thanks, alphaminor and Drunkenclam. Yes, the hopper is full, and I opened the glass as alphaminor suggested. I thought of the same idea, and in dropping balls down the center pocket, I now have sound and more lights. Great! Now I am down to the shooter problem. I will look for the way to adjust the shooter knob sensitivity. Too bad there was not a schematic/instructions included. Video action soon; for now, I plan to try to locate the shooter knob controls. My best for a nice Sunday evening. Thanks again!

[alphaminor]

I was just looking at your pictures and noticed what might be (not 100% sure) the port for the Credit Reader system that requires a dongle, and it looks like it might be missing,
ManboPachinko3 dongle.jpg look in the area I have circled and see if it looks like a printer port,if so,It should have "bypass dongle cap"(not sure what the proper term is) attached to it,
if there is nothing attached,its very possible that's causing the problem your having with the shooter
hope this helps

[daverob]

I was just looking at your pictures and noticed what might be (not 100% sure) the port for the Credit Reader system that requires a dongle, and it looks like it might be missing,

On this machine the dongle plugs in to a socket that is just off the edge of the lower right hand side of the picture. It looks to me that there is a long ribbon cable already plugged into the card reader interface connector, leading off to just under the prize ball hopper at the top of the machine. If that's the case, and there's nothing plugged into the end of the cable, then that will be the reason the shooter handle isn't working.

More info and dongle details on my website.

[pachiwall]

Great! Glad to hear that it was something minor! Now onto the shooter! As others have mentioned, it is probably missing the bypass dongle! I have a standard one that I don't need now that I have one of DaveRob's dongles. Highly recommended! If you want it to test your shooter, just PM me with your address, This will save you money in case there is a different problem. Once again...congratulations on fixing your new machine!