Is it worth buying?

[billkater]

I found a old Universal machine. I am new to slots and repair. The owner says that it throws the breaker in his breaker box when he powers it on.

Is this machine worth trying to fix?

Can I get parts if I need them?

What would be good price?

[erbs]

Very hard to find parts for the Universal machines. You will be better off looking for an IGT S+ or S-2000.

[Pitts256]

It appears to be in great shape but it's what's inside that's going to make or break the deal. Tripping the breaker? The power supply is fused, they should blow before the breaker trips. So you may have a simple fix...replace the power supply cord. Another possibility could be the power supply has enough leakage to ground that it's tripping an ARC/GROUND fault breaker. The power supplies are pretty robust and hold up well over time, in this case I would suspect the EMI filter which can be removed and bypassed. Could also be a hopper motor drive or florescent light starters as well.

Major parts like the CPU board, power supply, hopper, bill validator for Universal machines are very difficult to come by. I've purchased a few of these machines with the expectation that the major components may have to be repaired. Decent schematics exist and parts can be found. Battery damage to the CPU board should be the biggest fear, repairing an open/shorted trace may be an easy fix, finding a bad chip takes perseverance.

So is it worth fixing? If the CPU board isn't destroyed I would say yes. Be prepared though to fix it yourself. Not sure if there's a vendor posted on the website that will repair Universal components, worth asking. What would I spend for a dead machine? Probably about $150-$200 for this one, and that's if the CPU board is in good condition.

[billkater]

I was figured the most I would pay would be $100 even before I made this post. How hard is it to pull the mpu board when I go look at the machine?

Thanks for.the reply

[Pitts256]

Remove the coin tray

Remove the 1-2 screws securing the CPU tray pull handle.

Unplug the two Molex connectors.

The CPU tray will pull straight out using the handle.

There's a cover on the CPU tray that's held on with about a half a dozen screws. Remove the cover to inspect the board.