2001 Olympia - Trick Monster - Won't Wake Up

[eehirsch]

Hi all,

I just got a free machine (I have one other), and this stinker is giving me hell.

The core problem is that it does not seem to power on property. A few neon lights turn on but the various counters are all off, as are all the other lights.

I have tested all the sensors by looking at the corresponding LEDs on the board and they all seem to be working - coin sensors, reels, etc

The coin mechanism is missing the outer guide/cover -- could that be the issue? I don't see any sensors or switches that could trigger anything, so not sure how that could be an issue.

There is also a green flashing led on the left side board.

I have tried to reset and it does nothing. There is also a mysterious red button on the back of the door that also seems to do nothing. For reset I power off, turn key, power on, and still everything is the same - just a few neon lights on the front, nothing else.

Last note - the lock is damaged so it has no spring to it, meaning the reset latch is floppy and sits in a position where it's between the sensor (triggering the sensor, I assume (there's no led for it that I can find)), but I have tried all actions with and without the reset latch closed.

Help please, o pachislo lords!

Photos here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eo5d4w7tTif9Ccyu8
I also do hear a slight hiss in the speakers, so they are definitely receiving some signal.

[MrGneiss]

Does anything happen when you put tokens in??

Maybe a reset key switch wire has come loose??

Sorry, I have no clue!!

[Drunkenclam]

When you say the lock is damaged. I assume you mean the door lock. If you look at the lock cam and sensor. What would happen if you turned the lock 90 degrees in each direction? Would it trigger the sensor or no change. Its normally an optocoupler type.

Is it possible Its stuck in reset?

[takethecastle57]

Please Post Nice, Clear photos of your machine and close ups of the trouble area's .

Photos help us help you.


and biscuits

[eehirsch]

Does anything happen when you put tokens in??

Maybe a reset key switch wire has come loose??

Sorry, I have no clue!!

I see two LEDs light up on the board as I pass a coin through the mechanism. The external reset key/latch and sensor appear sound and I have cleaned all contacts in the machine with DeOxit. I plan to open the power supply to see if the programming switch is damaged.

[eehirsch]

Please Post Nice, Clear photos of your machine and close ups of the trouble area's .

Photos help us help you.


and biscuits

I posted a link to high-res photos. Is there a particular area you'd like to see not covered well in the photos? You should be able to zoom quite a bit.

[eehirsch]

When you say the lock is damaged. I assume you mean the door lock. If you look at the lock cam and sensor. What would happen if you turned the lock 90 degrees in each direction? Would it trigger the sensor or no change. Its normally an optocoupler type.

Is it possible Its stuck in reset?

Yes, the door lock is damaged so there is no spring in the lock itself, so the inner latch that triggers the reset sensor is in the closed position by default. Looking at my other machine from another brand, that latch too defaults to the closed position and turning the key causes the latch to move and the sensor to open. (Closed = latch is between sensors, triggering them) - but as I mentioned, I have tried everything with the latch closed and open.

The thing just does not seem to want to boot up. It does none of the usual checks in the beginning, including the "click" of the coin mechanism engaging. The main neon lights turn on, the boards seem to get power, the sensor LEDs on the board indicate properly when ingest the various sensors (reels, coin, buttons), but the thing does not do it's various startup checks and the displays are all blank.

I'm hoping it's not a fried board, but if it was I'd be surprised that the LEDs on the board still register properly.

[takethecastle57]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/28370644006...Bk9SR6SH0quXYw

[eehirsch]

A few other details:

The blinking green LED on the left side board is labeled D4 on the board.

I've already used a DeOxit on every single ribbon cable connector in the entire machine.

On the left side board there does appear to be some kind of battery/capacitor and I wonder if it might be dead. It looks identical to this...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2DCNZCS...elliothelps-20
It's soldered in so that will be a bit of a project to replace and I'd like to avoid it if possible. Has anyone else had to replace these? This machine is from 2001, and I know it's been sitting in a basement for a number of years.

[eehirsch]

This guide looks incredible, thank you!

[eehirsch]

A few additional data points:

The green blinking LED on the left board has D4 printed next to it.

There appears to be some type of battery/capacitor on the left board and I'm wondering if it might be burnt out. Has anyone had to replace one of these before? It needs to be soldered in. Here's a link to something that looks identical:
https://amzn.to/3UxCqxm

I've already taken the entire machine apart and used DeOxit on all on all ribbon cables.

The LED on the main board for the hopper is consistently lit when the hopper is plugged in. I'm not sure if that is expected behavior or if it's some type of error. I'm assuming it's expected behavior and it's just indicating that there is a hopper successfully plugged in, but I might be wrong. I also took apart the entire hopper and made sure there was nothing jammed, and also insured that there were some coins in it.

[eehirsch]

So I had a conversation with someone that runs a parts business for these types of machines. They said that the casinos need to know if they have a fully functioning machine so if the coin mechanism door was ajar or missing, the machine would not start up.

This machine is supposed to have a small semi-transparent gray plastic door that hinges open and closed on the coin mechanism, and my machine is missing that door. That door guides the coin through the proper path and past the coin sensors.

My question is, for anyone that has an Olympia type machine, there doesn't appear to be anything on the door that tells the machine if it's open or closed. I've tried manually sliding a coin past the sensors to no avail, and I've also held down the little white - what looks to be some type of coin kicker and that does nothing as well. Before I go hunt down one of these with the door intact, I'd love to at least simulate its presence to see if that makes a difference, but for the life of me I can't figure out how the machine knows if the door is open or closed.

[rockston]

I have had several machines in the same frame and vintage like the Las Vegas, there is no "door open" switch or alarm on them. More recent machines do have that.

[eehirsch]

I have had several machines in the same frame and vintage like the Las Vegas, there is no "door open" switch or alarm on them. More recent machines do have that.

Thank you - that's what I figured. Back to square one.

[Drunkenclam]

there might be a theory that says. If your not getting a confirmation led on the main board, where you are for everything else ie. stop buttons, spin lever, reel zero position, mode after jackpot switches. that might say that maybe the reset sensor on the door lock is faulty. of course. you would need to test the sensor output with a multimeter. Its an infrared led thats over 20 years old. so it might have failed.

[eehirsch]

there might be a theory that says. If your not getting a confirmation led on the main board, where you are for everything else ie. stop buttons, spin lever, reel zero position, mode after jackpot switches. that might say that maybe the reset sensor on the door lock is faulty. of course. you would need to test the sensor output with a multimeter. Its an infrared led thats over 20 years old. so it might have failed.

That's really interesting, I had no idea they were IR sensors I always thought they were magnetic. I'm going to have a look using an IR camera to see if I could see anything and then I'll give it a shot with a multimeter. Fingers crossed, and thanks!

[eehirsch]

there might be a theory that says. If your not getting a confirmation led on the main board, where you are for everything else ie. stop buttons, spin lever, reel zero position, mode after jackpot switches. that might say that maybe the reset sensor on the door lock is faulty. of course. you would need to test the sensor output with a multimeter. Its an infrared led thats over 20 years old. so it might have failed.

I just confirmed with my IR camera that the sensor's light is functional. I don't believe there is a corresponding LED on any of the boards, can anyone confirm?

[eehirsch]

Also, can anyone confirm the proper reset process for a Trick Monster 2 (2001) with the following power supply. I also added photos of the coin mech and the flashing green led labeled D4.

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[eehirsch]

There is a flashing green LED labeled D4 on the left board, but another owner confirmed it flashes on his machine also.

My other theory was a potential dead supercapacitor on the left board.

Well, I replaced the supercapacitor and turned it on, and it seemed to make a difference. The counters remained off, but the upper display above the reels powered on, and the reel lights turned on - two things that have never occurred before - and then mysteriously within about 30 seconds, those two items turned off and did not turn back on again no matter what I did. The mysterious green blinking LED was still blinking even when those two items were on. Eventually, I took a piece of wire and shorted the supercapacitor - in essence making the board think I removed it and then reinstalled it - and lo and behold the real lights and the upper display came on again briefly for 30 seconds and then turned off. It took just about all of my self restraint do not punch the circuit board. Now I'm at a total loss.

Many, many thanks!

20240210_160334.jpg

[takethecastle57]

Here's a YouTube video "How To Troubleshoot Down To Component Level Without A Schematic"

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QFAWb1F_EpE