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Thread: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

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    Tokie Owens Chef_McM's Avatar
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    Default Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Hello friends!

    I've got a recently set up Castlevania Erotic Violence pachinko machine that is not firing balls. I'm not terribly knowledgable on modern pachinko machines, but I am not seeing anything obviously wrong. I imported the machine from a reputable seller on YAJ, and the machine was in listed in good working order, so I guess it's most likely I set something up incorrectly or possibly something got out of whack in transit.

    The status code LED on the back shows a '0', which I think means things are normal. I am using a Ver3 card reader emulator from Pinball Dave, and I verified that it works on other machines. If I open the door and manually drop a ball in the goal, it does spin the slots and pay out as expected. The path from the front ball hopper to the ball shooter is clear from obstruction. I don't know too many other things to check, so I figured it was time to ask the experts here. I would be very much obliged for any assistance. Pics are below (sorry, I can't seem to make them not landscape when I upload them to the forum). Thanks!

    Rott1.jpg
    PXL_20210704_052012930.jpg PXL_20210704_051852372.jpg
    Rott2.jpg PXL_20210704_052353075.jpg

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    Tokie Owens Chef_McM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Couple other details I forgot to mention. This is a CR model if it's not clear. I tried a suggestion in another thread of touching metal on the back of machine to ground myself while turning the shooter knob, but no changes. Also the CR emulator dongle might not be working with the machine completely as expected in that, when I press the ball loan button after adding credits, rather deducting a credit and dispensing balls as I believe it's supposed to, the little LED light by the buttons flashes. After referencing the CR dongle manual, I guess that light normally flashes in that case if the machine is out of balls? Not sure if that's relevant to the issue I am having.

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    Stuey - The RADministrator MrGneiss's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Quote Originally Posted by Chef_McM View Post
    Pics are below (sorry, I can't seem to make them not landscape when I upload them to the forum). Thanks!
    Don't worry about sideways pics, the forum has a mind of its own when it comes to picture orientation!!

    I'll rotate them..

    Do you have another dongle you can try??

    "Blowing smoke rings at the moon."

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    Tokie Owens Chef_McM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Quote Originally Posted by MrGneiss View Post
    Do you have another dongle you can try??
    Hello, and thanks for the response! I have 4 dongles here, and I've tried them all out with identical results. They are all the same model (rev 3 unit from Pinball Dave), so if there is something about that particular model not working with this frame, that could be an issue.

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    Pachi Puro Peteybob's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Do you hear/feel the thumping of the ball shooter when you turn the knob? Some machines will stop shooting balls if the upper ball tank in back is nearly empty. There should be a switch in the ball track weighted down by balls in the tank. But if this were empty then I believe you should also have a code # (3?) on the back where you now have the 0.

    You could also open the machine from the framing to inspect wires for damage down near the shooter.
    Last edited by Peteybob; 07-04-2021 at 08:08 AM.

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    Pachi Puro Moparformances's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    as i remember the dongle blinks when the machine is out of balls.. or when there is a ball jam, making the machine think it is out of balls..

    my advice would be dump the balls (all of them) give the back a good once over and make sure you don't have a dust bunny / packing peanut stuck somewhere..
    Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, .......... /........ If your not going to stand behind our troops
    ...committed people can change the world. ............. /.................Please, Please stand in front of them
    .....Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has............./
    .........................................Margaret Mead

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    I was thrown out of Top Gear Drunkenclam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    As far as I'aware. the 25 pin port is industry standard, so the dongle should work on any machine. The only exception to this was the v1 dongle on Sanyo machines that needed a slight voltage adaption.

    Its worth checking the 1A fuse that supplies the dongle. Or if you have a volt meter check the 5v output on the dongle header plug.
    If the dongles work fine in other machines then, assume its the machine its self ( Note! the dongle has an option where if there is no smart card detected, the shooter doesn't work)

    But judging by the error codes. Error 1 is no dongle connected. What happens when the machine is turned on with no dongle present?
    Ian #UKPachinko

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    Tokie Owens Chef_McM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Quote Originally Posted by Peteybob View Post
    Do you hear/feel the thumping of the ball shooter when you turn the knob? Some machines will stop shooting balls if the upper ball tank in back is nearly empty. There should be a switch in the ball track weighted down by balls in the tank. But if this were empty then I believe you should also have a code # (3?) on the back where you now have the 0.

    You could also open the machine from the framing to inspect wires for damage down near the shooter.
    Hello! Ah, excellent question! There is no thumping, other noise, or any noticeable reaction when I turn the shooter knob; nothing happens at all.

    I wondered about the ball hopper in back not being full enough, so I did try filling it completely, but that didn't change anything.

    I did do a visual inspection of all the wire harnesses inside the door, especially near the shooter, and nothing looked obviously wrong. I could dig deeper with a multimeter and actually check some voltages and the continuity of circuits, but with so many wires, I'm not exactly sure what I'd be looking for.

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    Tokie Owens Chef_McM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Quote Originally Posted by Drunkenclam View Post
    As far as I'aware. the 25 pin port is industry standard, so the dongle should work on any machine. The only exception to this was the v1 dongle on Sanyo machines that needed a slight voltage adaption.

    Its worth checking the 1A fuse that supplies the dongle. Or if you have a volt meter check the 5v output on the dongle header plug.
    If the dongles work fine in other machines then, assume its the machine its self ( Note! the dongle has an option where if there is no smart card detected, the shooter doesn't work)

    But judging by the error codes. Error 1 is no dongle connected. What happens when the machine is turned on with no dongle present?
    Thanks for info and tips. I'll try to find that 1A fuse and see if that looks okay. I tried several of the possible modes on the dongle, but I might as well go through all of them just to see if any work. I went ahead and ordered a few cheap $5 dongles from YAJ just to try them out too and further rule out that the dongle would be the issue.

    You're spot on about the error code of "1" when I disconnect the dongle. As soon as I plug it back in, the code reverts to "0"

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    Tokie Owens Chef_McM's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Quote Originally Posted by Moparformances View Post
    as i remember the dongle blinks when the machine is out of balls.. or when there is a ball jam, making the machine think it is out of balls..

    my advice would be dump the balls (all of them) give the back a good once over and make sure you don't have a dust bunny / packing peanut stuck somewhere..
    Thanks, I will empty all the balls and give another check to see if there is any obstruction or other reason that might cause the machine to think it's out of balls when I try to use the ball loan button. I'll also verify that the error status code does give the expected value when I empty and then refill the hopper.

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    Chicken Fried Steak takethecastle57's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Howdy

    You have a fantastic Looking Modern Pachinko . Unfortunately it has the Ball Launcher "Shooter" problem.


    Now comes what some of us call "Fun" Troubleshooting You have to get a good magnifying glass , either Illuminated or get one of those head band Camping lights from Big 5 or other sporting goods store and check Each and Every Cable connection and check for Bent connector pins and if you do find one use a small jewelers screwdriver to gently put it straight .


    Have you checked all the boards on back of you machine for a blown fuse ? the fuses on most Modern machines have a led indicator light above them . If the led is off the fuse is blown and will need replacement .

    If you could post photos of those electronic boards with the led's with the tiny fuses below here we can help you.
    When things don't go right the 1st time , Step back ,Take a break and come back renewed. RGS

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    Pachi Puro lotsoballs's Avatar
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    Default Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Might want to make sure the issue isn’t related to a tripped ground fault circuit interrupter in your house. Sometimes when I turn on 6+ machines at once it will trip the GFI and NONE of the shooters on any pachinko plugged into outlets on that circuit will fire balls; but they function fine otherwise. Issue drove me nuts one day until I figured out which electrical socket had the “reset” button to reset the electrical ground.

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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Quote Originally Posted by lotsoballs View Post
    Might want to make sure the issue isn’t related to a tripped ground fault circuit interrupter in your house. Sometimes when I turn on 6+ machines at once it will trip the GFI and NONE of the shooters on any pachinko plugged into outlets on that circuit will fire balls; but they function fine otherwise. Issue drove me nuts one day until I figured out which electrical socket had the “reset” button to reset the electrical ground.
    now that is just damn weird!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, .......... /........ If your not going to stand behind our troops
    ...committed people can change the world. ............. /.................Please, Please stand in front of them
    .....Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has............./
    .........................................Margaret Mead

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    Default Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Quote Originally Posted by Moparformances View Post
    now that is just damn weird!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Yeah, really weird and took me over an hour of to figure out what was going on. My pachinko room is next to the kitchen which has not one but two GFI outlets; apparently that room is on the same circuit. GFIs are normally in bathrooms/kitchens anywhere with water and high risk of electrocution. But they can and do interfere with modern shooters from working if tripped! (Even when everything else works fine when plugged in…)
    Last edited by lotsoballs; 07-05-2021 at 12:21 PM.

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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    so your saying that some power is passing thew the tripped gfi..
    Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, .......... /........ If your not going to stand behind our troops
    ...committed people can change the world. ............. /.................Please, Please stand in front of them
    .....Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has............./
    .........................................Margaret Mead

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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Quote Originally Posted by Moparformances View Post
    so your saying that some power is passing thew the tripped gfi..
    Curious as that all power should be cut off when tripped. You may want to check into the GFI's on that circuit as you could still be at risk if all the power isn't cut off.

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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Wow, that is pretty weird about the GFI circuit causing those issues. To rule that out, I tried out the machine in different outlets, which do work for my other machines. No change.

    I fully emptied out the balls, which gave me the expected error code of "3". I checked thoroughly for obstructions again and couldn't find anything suspicious. As soon as I put maybe 25+ balls back in, the error code reverted from a 3 back to 0, so it *seems* like the machine is detecting the balls as expected.

    I started trying to inspect the individual plugs around the shooter with a headlamp and magnifying lens. I haven't found any loose connectors or anything yet. The PCBs seem like they are okay. I'm not exactly sure what to look for to spot problems, but I don't see anything obvious like leaky capacitors or chips that look to have come unseated. I'm planning to check fuses, but I am not sure where they are located and haven't come across them yet.

    I actually have one other modern pachinko with the same issue of not shooting balls (Mahjong Story 2). Most of the symptoms are identical, so I am going to try out all the suggestions from this thread on that machine too, and maybe I will have better luck there.

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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    When do you anticipate delivery of the dongles from YJA? I could send a couple freebies by the weekend if you'd like.

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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    Quote Originally Posted by Peteybob View Post
    When do you anticipate delivery of the dongles from YJA? I could send a couple freebies by the weekend if you'd like.
    That's a very kind offer, I appreciate it. The new dongles from YAJ will probably be a couple weeks out, but I did end up finding a different model dongle on the back of one of my other machines. I tested it out on Castlevania, and it's still not shooting balls.

    I did find the 1A fuse for the card reader (I think), and it tested out fine. It was located just above the CR board and tucked way back in. So, I think the dongle and the CR board fuse can probably be ruled out at this point as the problem for Castlevania.

    Some GOOD news though on a different machine. I took another look at the Mahjong Story 2 machine I have that was also not shooting balls, and I applied the same advice from this thread. I noticed there was an error light for the CR unit. I found the fuse for it, and that one *was* blown. I replaced the fuse and the machine is working now! One nice feature I noticed on that Mahjong Story machine was an LED on the back that lights up when you twist the shooter knob and shuts off when you release it. It would be great if the castlevania had that same feature so that we could determine if the inputs from the knob are at least coming through.

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    Pachi Puro Moparformances's Avatar
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    Default Re: Castlevanie pachinko machine not firing balls

    have you tried grounding the handle.. some time a machine will need to be grounded for the shooter handle to activate.. as i remember you can twist the knob with your left hand and touch the metal part of the shooter motor with your right hand creating a ground.. one time when i was playing a modern machine.. (a decade or so back..) i used a piece of wire to hold the shooter on and wrapped it to the motor for a ground wire..
    Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, .......... /........ If your not going to stand behind our troops
    ...committed people can change the world. ............. /.................Please, Please stand in front of them
    .....Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has............./
    .........................................Margaret Mead

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