Bally Solved Night Rider (Bally, 1977) problem

[EnduroExpertFSR]

hello, i just got a bally night rider. not the rare EM one but a SS the boards look in decent condition, when you plug the machine in all the lights light up but thats as far as it goes, none of the digital numbers light up, any help to point a fella in the right direction would be greatly appreciated such as where to start looking after fuses. they check good with a DMM

 

[SQLGuy]

You could try these test instructions: http://www.flippers.com/bally-tips.html

Worst case, Marco Specialties has a new replacement main board for $199.

 

[EnduroExpertFSR]

awesome thanks

 

[EnduroExpertFSR]

hello, i have followed the instructions several times, everything checks correct until this

Here are some other points to check. Turn the MPU board on and test:

U9 pin 3 = 2.4 volts
U9 pin 36 = 2.6 volts
U9 pin 40 = 4.75 to 5.5 volts
U9 pin 5 = 2.8 volts
If the above voltages check out, then the reset section is probably working correctly. This means your problem probably lies with chips U6, U9 or U11 (or their sockets), or incorrect MPU board jumpers

my voltages are off on every reading, i'm not sure that i'm testing the correct pins as none of them are labeled that i can find...

either way, it doesn't say what to do if your voltages are wrong lol any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[EnduroExpertFSR]

So anyone?? Im stumped

 

[SQLGuy]

When looking down at the top of the chip, there will either be a dot in one corner or a little notch at one end.

If you have a dot, that's where pin 1 is. If you have a notch, when looking at the chip so that notch is at the top, pin 1 will be at the top-left.

From pin 1, pins are numbered down the one side, and back up the other, so:

1 14
2 13
3 12
4 11
5 10
6 9
7 8

on a 14 pin DIP chip.

 

[EnduroExpertFSR]

upon more testing of voltages, i went to the rectifier assembly, my voltages are off there too mainly at TP1 which is supposed to be 5 volts DC but i only have 3 volts dc. the only thing i can find about this board for that problem has it listed as having NO voltage to check the fuse but i do have some voltage just not the full 5 volts dc that i need my score boards dont light up and my MPU doesnt boot or flash the led, the led does blip at power on and power off but thats all it does it never boots up

 

[EnduroExpertFSR]

ok so ive made some progress IMO i hooked a seperate power supply to MPU board it flashed good, hooked back up to the pinball machine, now the machine boots up and plays its little tune, it does that consistently, heres where it goes in a hand basket though, sometimes it just keeps repeating this process over and over and over again, sometimes it will repeat a couple of times then all the soleniods go crazy, rapidly firing, then sometimes it will boot up and let you actually add a credit and start a game but then half way thru the first ball the game resets itself, any ideas?

 

[SQLGuy]

One reason for reduced voltage could be a bad IC on the MPU drawing too much current. What kind of a test power supply are you using for the 5V?

BTW, a quick check would be to carefully touch the back of your finger to the various chips on the MPU board. (I say carefully, because a shorted chip will get quite hot.) If you find a really hot one, it's probably bad.

 

[EnduroExpertFSR]

i believe my issues are boiling down to old corroded terminals, i removed cleaned and reseated all the rom and ram chips on the MPU board, and i was able to sucessfully boot and play a game of pinball im excited!!! lol but i know there is much work ahead as this machine im sure has other issues aswell i need to replace the sockets. the source i was using is a power adapter i got for powering hard drives on xbox360's to flash them with the xbox software that isnt windows compatible. it gives me the 4 pin connector that contains 12v 5v and ground, just like a computer power supply cept i dont have the big bulky box only down fall is there isnt a power switch on it so you have to plug and unplug it alot. http://www.szyhpower.com/en/product_detail.asp?id=934 that is a link to the adapter its a ac/dc adapter model yh-3028