Ball Shooter Doesn't Work + Error Code?

[Hope Chest]

Hi everybody! (I need a Dr. Nick from The Simpsons graphic there)

Just got 3 pachis on craigslist, 2 that were supposedly not working - Popeye and Saint Maria. The Saint Maria was supposed to work with an intermittent ball shooter problem, and the Popeye was supposedly broken. I've gotten them to power up, they pay out just fine when balls are dropped in pockets, the graphics are awesome and work perfectly, but neither shoots balls. I opened the front doors and gave them a cleaning (dust, tape, candy wrappers, Popeye looked like someone may have spilled some soda in the front ball tray), checked the connections for the wires coming out of the ball shooter assembly to the circuit boards on the back (all connected), and checked for loose wires (none).

On the back of Saint Maria, there is a VERY small box at the bottom left that has a lit-up number "7" in it. When the door of it was ajar it said "8", but now it only says "7". I couldn't get a legible picture of it, but there's an index on the back with numbers 1-7 and a string of characters after, which I assume is a list of error or status codes. I tried drawing them out but a few were well complicated and I failed spectacularly. Maybe someone else has one?

What else should I look for? What would be a logical next step? Has anyone had a ball shooter problem with either of these machines?

[Meathead]

The Popeye likely only has a dongle problem. Check to see if it is seated properly (or if it is even there) and if so, then swap it out with a dongle from another machine. The locations for the dongles are different for every machine (CR machines) but they are fairly easy to find. They look similar to a plug from your old printer cable.

[Hope Chest]

REALLY???

The girl I got them from gave me the 3 pachis, a box of balls, and a plastic bag with 2 things that look like the plugs from an old printer and what looks like a rechargeable battery. I asked her what they were and she said, "I don't know, but they go with the machines". Could these things be dongles that were removed from the 2 machines and just need to be reinstalled for them to shoot??? Where would an ignorant lad like myself find the spot where it goes?

Oh lord, am I excited right now that that might be the case. Let it be so!

[drcrippen324]

yup your right there they are dongles on popey you will find the plug about half way down on the left hand side in the back

as fo rthe other 2 i cant remember as i cant remember wich frame they belong to that would cure any shooter problems

some sellers solder the dongle components streaight to the bord for ease of not having to use a dongle wich is why you may be 1 short dont worry if o uplug the dongle i nthough as it wont cause any damage

if i remember right on the santa maria with the #7 error problem the #7 means the top hopper is empty try adding balls to the hopper enough to put a 1 ball thick layer in the bottom of the hopper ans see if the 7 gose away

[hanabi]

Yep they sound like dongles to me!!

not sure what your machines look like from the back, so unsure where your dongles should go

If you are able to take a close up pic of the backs, then perhaps someone can tell you??

[Hope Chest]

If polygamy was legal, I'd marry each and every one of you.

That is AWESOME. I am tempted to leave work early and suss this dongle business all out! The remaining 6 hours of my day are going to be EXTREMELY long, indeed! Man, if THAT'S all they need I am going to be the happiest boy on my road tonight.

Doc, I do have a bunch of balls in the top hopper so I don't think that's it, unless it's not triggering correctly. I wish my camera wasn't so dodgy so I could capture better pics. I asked my wife why she hasn't learned Japanese yet but I got a stare instead of a response...

[drcrippen324]

dont worry about the dogeyness of your pics any will help you and us to help you

[compirate]

Dongle connections are always lower right side of the back, looking at the back. Variation is horizontal/vertical/facing out/facing down

[Ikaria]

Saint Maria's is lower right, just to the right of the power switch in a vertical position. You really can't miss it!

[Hope Chest]

WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!! They run like a dream!!! Such a simple fix!!!

The error code on back is now gone, so I'm assuming that "7" means "excuse me, sir, but you don't have a dongle".

Played them for a few minutes each, then ran upstairs and got the missus. Within 5 minutes of playing, she was able to get both Popeye and Saint Maria into a fever mode (Popeye's was insane!) - she seems to do that with every modern she sits down at, lucky woman. These modern pachis are something else...

Thanks a million everyone!!! It's a short trip to ball lifter-land from here, methinks...

[Hope Chest]

Saint Maria's been working like a dream until yesterday when I powered it up. It shoots and plays but no payouts, even though there are a ton of balls. The small red light (lower light of 2 in upper left) is on and the error code on the back is "3". Can anyone give me a hint as to what the problem is exactly, and what to do?

Error codes I've figured out so far are:

"6" - Front door is open
"7" - You, sir, are dongle-less

[luckydog]

check your ball tracks for any jams, if you know how to do a ball dump try that too.

[drcrippen324]

uomay find a jam by the ball sensor in the payout mec if you cant see the jam as that part is enclosed or just a dirty sensor if so clean with alcahol

[Hope Chest]

Got it! The person I had bought these moderns from had about a half a dozen metal balls that were about half the size of pachinko balls mixed in with her others. I thought that I had gotten them all, but I missed one and it was jamming the payout mech. Thankfully, it was beyond easy to remove that piece and see the problem. One paperclip later and she works like a charm again.

You folks are great. Thanks again!!