SS Solved Hoe Down (Allied Leisure, 1978) Scoring Problem

[number7]

Wanted to see if there was anyone with knowledge of Allied Leisure pins that could help me with a problem I am having with a 1978 Hoe Down SS.

I picked up Hoe Down earlier this year and it has worked without issue until just this week. Now, the scoring readouts in the backbox do not light or show any numbers at all. In addition, the playfield lights from about midway down to the front of the machine will not light up.

I can start the game and it releases the ball; bumpers, popups, chimes, credits etc. all still work just no display of the scoring or lower playfield lights.

I have checked all the fuses, transformer output and voltage up to the motherboard. I also cleaned all contacts and edge connectors and made sure all IC's were firmly in place but no difference. I am at a loss and if anyone has ideas that may help they are greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

 

[Coil_Smoke]

Makes me wonder if there is a broken ground connection with half playfield lamps going out at same time. Could that relate to the LED displays ... Not too likely.(at least you don't have hi volts to deal with ) Is power making it to those lamps? If yes>Try jumping dead illumination ground to a known good ground and see what happens. Double check fuses , ohm them in holder or check for voltage drop with game energized . Re-seat connectors on that board in the cabinet and back box. Unfortunate that http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1252&picno=3443&zoom=1 Has no documentation for this rare game...

 

[pinballdaveh]

good advice coil_smoke. the playfield lights that arent working are they cpu controlled , general illum. , or both? the schematic that i did find is for a A L dynomite. its confusing to read and hard to understand. it seems like both issues are cpu data related , possibly a bad chip socket or a socketed chip like a MPU or PIA. sending the CPU board out for testing or repair might be needed.

 

[number7]

Hoe Down Scoring Problem Solved

Thank you Coil_Smoke & pinballdaveh for your assistance. :) I discovered the problem and have now fixed my Hoe Down Machine.

I had previously checked for voltage up to the fuses and visually checked to see if any had burned out and all appeared ok. I used the advice from Coil_Smoke to double check fuses and ohm them in the holder. I discovered that the 7.5v dc fuse was not showing anything while checking ohm however it appeared fine with no visual sign of being bad. I changed the fuse and everything started up fine including the score readout and lower playfield lights. I will need to replace the fuse holders in the future as they are quite worn and I had to use zip ties to keep them in place. I have attached photos showing the location of the fuse that was bad and the bad fuse itself which visually appears ok.

I am a newbie to pinball and did not think that a fuse could be bad but look ok. I will not make that mistake again. I have learned a lot since joining this forum and it is one of the best things I have done. Thank You.