Need help with my Silver Bullet slot machine, please!

[DGA3]

I put a quarter in and spin. When a winning combination comes up, the machine makes lots of noises and you can hear the hopper spinning. No coins come out, and the "Tilt" light comes on, along with "Error 33" (hopper empty).

However, the hopper has plenty of quarters in it, so I don't know what the problem is.

Thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[Stayouttadabunker]

Can you post some clear high-resolution photos of your coin hopper?

[DGA3]

More than happy to!

Thanks for the quick response.

I should add that the hopper has quarters in all of the slots/holes, but there are also random quarters up in there as well. Not sure if that's normal or not, but thought I would point it out.

[DGA3]

Getting there . . . . .

And finally . . . . .

[Stayouttadabunker]

Your photos are perfect.
Now all you gotta do is be a little patient and hope UNIMAN sees this topic.
He's the man for Universals.
Or maybe you can get a hold of him thru the NLG Members List up top?
Unfortunately, he hasn't been on since Sept?
He's in Nevada.
Try to send him a message.

For now, slide out the coin hopper.
Be careful, they are heavy.
Try dumping everything out of the hopper onto some cardboard laid out on the floor.
Take a good look inside of the bowl.
Maybe there's a coin jammed in there somewhere?

[erbs]

Look at this post. You can see where the usual spot is where the coins get jammed up. Common for all makes. /nlg/index.php?topic=42659.msg226509#msg226509

[DGA3]

Hopper removed

[DGA3]

Your photos are perfect.
Now all you gotta do is be a little patient and hope UNIMAN sees this topic.
He's the man for Universals.
Or maybe you can get a hold of him thru the NLG Members List up top?
Unfortunately, he hasn't been on since Sept?
He's in Nevada.
Try to send him a message.

For now, slide out the coin hopper.
Be careful, they are heavy.
Try dumping everything out of the hopper onto some cardboard laid out on the floor.
Take a good look inside of the bowl.
Maybe there's a coin jammed in there somewhere?

I sent a message to UNIMAN. Hopefully, he will see it.

I did notice that he has not been active since September, so I hope he still checks in here from time to time (and I hope that he is OK).

Fingers crossed.   

[Jim]

there is a test you can do to test the hopper,  on the panel where the volume knob , two buttons, I believe the green one allows you to advance through the tests, press yellow reset to clear error, now press the green to get a 4 in the coins in window, leave door open, this should turn on the hopper, count 10 coins and stop.

a typical problem is the coin kick out lever, it is a lever that sticks out into the coin payout path, its purpose is to pull in when hopper is on and when the count is finished it releases and prevent any other coins from coming out.

best way to see all the moving parts would be to removethe hopper bowl, four screws, take pictures to see how it is attached.

with the back off of the hopper, you can activate the solenoid with your finger and watch the lever operate, sometimes this gets gummed  up.

Hope this helps

Jim

[Pitts256]

Here's some more info:

Hopper Empty (33 Code)

1) Assuming there's coins in the hopper
2) The coin disk is turning

Things to check & adjust:
a) Check for coins jammed at the knife or chute
b) Check for a worn count switch roller bushing or if the tension spring is broken (lube the bushing with a drop of machine oil)
c) Check if the knife is out of alignment (see photo for correct position)
d) Check that the kicker is retracting
e) Check if the count switch is defective or out of adjustment
f) Check the alignment of coin sweep, should be very close but not touching the coin disk lobes

It's best to remove the bowl to see and adjust the knife, bushing etc. Make sure the bowl shoulder screws, springs and washers go back in the same positions as removed from. They have 1 or 3 washers and different spring tensions.

[DGA3]

Here's some more info:

Hopper Empty (33 Code)

1) Assuming there's coins in the hopper
2) The coin disk is turning

Things to check & adjust:
a) Check for coins jammed at the knife or chute
b) Check for a worn count switch roller bushing or if the tension spring is broken (lube the bushing with a drop of machine oil)
c) Check if the knife is out of alignment (see photo for correct position)
d) Check that the kicker is retracting
e) Check if the count switch is defective or out of adjustment
f) Check the alignment of coin sweep, should be very close but not touching the coin disk lobes

It's best to remove the bowl to see and adjust the knife, bushing etc. Make sure the bowl shoulder screws, springs and washers go back in the same positions as removed from. They have 1 or 3 washers and different spring tensions.

Thank you so much for the help. I know I can remove the bowl to check everything, but when putting it back together, how do I know the amount of tension to put on the springs? In other words, how much do I tighten down the screws/springs? There are 4 of them.

Re: the kicker. How do I know if it is retracting unless the machine is operating? Do you mean just push on it to see if it is free enough to retract?

Where is the tension spring?

[Pitts256]

"Thank you so much for the help. I know I can remove the bowl to check everything, but when putting it back together, how do I know the amount of tension to put on the springs? In other words, how much do I tighten down the screws/springs? There are 4 of them.

Re: the kicker. How do I know if it is retracting unless the machine is operating? Do you mean just push on it to see if it is free enough to retract?

Where is the tension spring?"


If the bowl tension springs are reinstalled in the same positions they were removed from and tightened all the way down they're good.

The cam roller bushing spring can be checked by pulling up on the roller, you'll feel the spring tension. You can also take the cover off (four screws) and inspect the coin switch pivot arm & spring.

As Jim stated above there is a test (#4) that runs the assembled hopper for 10 coins every time you hit the green TEST button 4 times and wait for about 2 sec. I just watch the kicker (should hear it too) to see if it's retracted while the hopper wheel is running. If it's not the coins will "kick" back into the bowl.

There's also another test (#6) to check the hopper coin switch output, when the coin switch roller arm is moved up & down, the WIN METER LED display will change to 6   200.

[DGA3]

Do I run the "10 coin hopper test" with lots of coins in the hopper, just 10 coins in the hopper, or no coins at all? (because it's just a test to see if the device is working properly without coins in the way to block the view of moving parts)

Please forgive these basic questions, but I am a rookie at this, so be patient!

I really appreciate everyone's help. 

[Pitts256]

I typically have several handfuls in the hopper.
 

[DGA3]

I'm not having any luck with the 10 coins hopper test.

How do you make it work with the door open?

I press the yellow reset button, and then press the green test button 4 times (door is open, of course).

I don't see any numbers in the coins in window, and nothing happens.

However, when I close the door, my machine makes the payout noises and the hopper is spinning.

No coins come out, and then it reverts to tilt, and errors 13 and 33.

Since I can't see the hopper in operation, I can't determine if the kicker is retracting, or if the knife is in the proper position (although I don't know what the proper position is).

Sorry if I am so dense, but believe me - I'm trying!   

[Pitts256]

So yes with the main door open, push the yellow reset button to clear the fault, the "WIN METER" LED display will have a flashing 50 (door open) on the left side and a 0 on the right side. When you push the GREEN TEST switch 4 times the 0 in the display should change to 4. There will be a 1-2 sec pause then the hopper will start and discharge 10 coins. The coin count is displayed on the right side of the "WIN METER".

While you have the door open press the red coin switch, this should add one credit to the "COINS PLAYED" LED. Press the spin button to play the one credit. If neither RED or GREEN test buttons work then there's a wiring problem. The CN-24 plug is unplugged or an open ground to the push buttons and meters.

[DGA3]

Well, there must be a wiring problem, because I followed your directions, but after pressing the reset button and then the green test switch 4 times, the right display shows nothing. Also, when I press the red button, no credits are added to "coins played."

In addition, I have a error 13 light (power interruption), so I don't know if that has anything to do with the problem.

You said that perhaps the CN-24 plug is unplugged or an open ground to the push buttons and meters.

Is it possible for me to find the CN-24 plug and see if it is, indeed, unplugged?

Thanks.

[Pitts256]

Code 13 is normal on a power-up.

The CN-24 plug (9 pins) is located above the coin hopper on the right side (see photo).

A few things to check on the plug:
a) The plugs are fully seated to each other
b) Pin 1 (brown wire) and pin 2 (red wire) have 5vdc on them, check each with a volt meter to a screw on the cabinet frame as a ground
c) Check pin 9 (black wire) resistance to a cabinet ground, should be close to zero ohms

Loss of 5vdc is a wire or CPU board problem, loss of a ground on the plug is a wire issue.

[Jim]

try and do a master reset, sounds as if you have credits on the machine that need to be paid off or cleared??

pull out the hopper, your board is located to the left of the hopper in a metal enclosure, at the bottom of that enclosure is a hole, that hole allows you to put your finger in there and press and hold the reset button, use a flashlight and locate the black button first, then, turn off the power, press and hold the black button, now turn on the power and wait for about 10 seconds, you will usually hear some static coming from the speaker, this would indicate a clear.  does not hurt anything to do this.

hope this helps

Jim

[Pitts256]

Spot on Jim.

I just verified, having credits in the machine that are in the process of paying out through the hopper will disable the test buttons. So that being said the hopper kicker may still be a problem but with the credits in the CPU cleared you should be able to use the green test switch.