Game maker won’t start up

[Nolan8640]

I recently purchased an old Bally game maker and this is my first Bally machine so I’m sorry if I’m missing something. I don’t really have history of how long it’s been stored or what was wrong with it.

When the machine starts up everything lights up on the front but nothing comes up on the screen and the bv doesn’t start up. I first checked the board and noticed the battery wasn’t giving off charge so I replaced it with a 3.6v circle battery.I checked the voltage on the pins and they are giving 3.5v. Everything else on the board looks in good condition. I did see the 24v light lights up however none of the other green lights light up. I assume they are all suppose to light up from what I read and this might be a power supply issue? Let me know if you need any more information!

Thanks,

[Nolan8640]

Any help would be appreciated! Haven’t found any general troubleshooting threads yet so any info so I know where to start would be helpful.

[Tilt]

Yes, all three of the power supply voltage leds on the MPU should be lit.  Since they aren't that points to the power supply as being bad.  The good news is you get get  new one pretty cheap.  Here's a link to it from Digikey:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/mean-well-usa-inc/PT-65B/7705918

[Chris-socal]

Be sure to check the backup battery, if it isn’t well over 3v. Replace it. Gamemakers will stop working if the backup goes dead, might as well replace it while you have the board out. Regardless of the PS issue. If backup battery goes dead you have to run setup again.

Chris

[Tilt]

He said he replaced it in his original post.

[Nolan8640]

I have went ahead and ordered the power supply. I looked at mine and it looked a little different but I assume the one linked will work. Also I replaced the battery on the board that I have marked with the red arrow(it now has 3.6v). Is there another battery on the board as well that needs to be checked? When I do get this up and running will I need any chips(clear,set,etc).

[Chris-socal]

My apologies, I was up in the mountains with spotty access and I was speed reading topics, I really shouldn’t do that.
Im sure the battery is great. I don’t know how much juice those button cells have compared to the typical 1/2AA that these typically use. Might be a year or so. I install battery holders on mine so I can hot swap if I catch them before they die by connecting a temporary battery with alligator clips.

Once you get a working PS replaced you will need to follow the Set chip. The reason you want to use the biggest battery possible is because the full reset procedure is pretty intense and if you do a step wrong you have to start over again.

Do yourself a favor and go to the Gamemaker topic and read some of the overview topics. There is also a YouTube video that walks through the reset process. You need chips to reset.

[Nolan8640]

I replaced the power supply and the machine worked! I ordered a saferam chip and got it reset. Everything works besides some lights that need to be replaced!

Thanks!

[Chris-socal]

Congratulations!
Keep an eye on the voltage of that backup battery. The Gamemekers use a lot of juice compared to other machines, that's my experience. I think there is a jumper that reduces the amount of backup by reducing the amount of data being retained.
I usually put a 2/3 or AA sized lithium and I prefer to use a plastic holder. That way I can clip on an alternate battery while I do the swap. Otherwise you have to run the set chip.

Chris

[Tilt]

Good job!  Glad to hear you got it running!