Bally Playboy

Torin

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Well, I picked up my first pin yesterday. Bally 1978 Playboy. Did quite a bit of research before going to see it and think I got a nice machine. The lights turn on but the game won't start. I will post pics of the boards later but the cabinet itself is in good condition. The playfield and art has been touched up in the past.

The boards are really clean and the battery had already been replaced (which I was really concerned about before seeing the boards). All of the instruction cards are next to the boards and the plastics are still intact around the HV sections. It has repair tags from California and Ed's Pinball Michigan. I just got it home, put the legs back on, wiped it down and took these pics. I haven't even had a chance to check the fuses yet. I guess it is getting 12V but no 5V at this point but I will start to take readings tonight. I don't see anything visibly fried and the connectors look good.

I picked it up from a guy locally who had it shipped out here from Michigan for his wife (hot, I might add). They said it just died when he pressed the start button one day and they didn't check anything. It just has been sitting for the past 2 years. When I opened the backbox to reveal the boards, they were amazed. They didn't even know they were there!

Anyway, just wanted to share. I really like modern pins better but this one brings back memories because I had a buddy in Jr. High that had one at his house and we played it all the time so, I couldn't pass it up.
 

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Well, I went to open the backbox and I can't get the damn lock open now. I used the same key yesterday and it worked. Now, it is not moving the lockbar off the top of the glass. I've been trying for about a half hour. The key fits in either right side up or upside down. It must be stripped. I guess I might have to drill it. Frustrating. Are these locks readily available?
 
Hey Torin,
That looks nice.
It is doing exactly what my '77 Night Rider was doing.
The lights would come on but the score displays stayed dark and it would not coin up.
Mine had the battery replaced also but apparently the corrosion wasnt nuteralized and several components were coroded and damaged. I have the board on the bench and still hope to get it working but I did break down and buy the MPU replacement board from alltek which works great.
Check your fuses and supply voltages and check to see what the LED on the MPU board is doing.
You might want to try to lift up on the part of the back box that swings open,Mine has sagged a little bit and it tends to jam the arm of the lock.

Good luck and I hope you get her going soon.
 
Thanks for the advice. I got it open finally and found the 5A fuse blown on the power supply. I replaced it and then the small fuse on the solenoid driver board blew. I don't have a replacement handy. I have yet to see anything flash on the MPU board. Anyone know what to check when the solenoid fuse blows?

Edit:

So, actually the game now fires up and plays. Which is really cool! Except, the displays are all dark. Some of the sounds seem a touch off as well. I guess I need to troubleshoot the displays. Connectors, headers, HV section of solenoid and get some of those small fuses. Any other ideas?


Hey Torin,
That looks nice.
It is doing exactly what my '77 Night Rider was doing.
The lights would come on but the score displays stayed dark and it would not coin up.
Mine had the battery replaced also but apparently the corrosion wasnt nuteralized and several components were coroded and damaged. I have the board on the bench and still hope to get it working but I did break down and buy the MPU replacement board from alltek which works great.
Check your fuses and supply voltages and check to see what the LED on the MPU board is doing.
You might want to try to lift up on the part of the back box that swings open,Mine has sagged a little bit and it tends to jam the arm of the lock.

Good luck and I hope you get her going soon.
 
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Ok, blank displays (all of them) typically means no +190 volts. On the Solenoid board, check TP2. It should be 190 +/- 5 volts. If good there. check TP2 on the display boards. Should be 190 +/- 5 volts.

If you have no voltage on TP2 of the Solenoid board, check TP4. It should be 230 +/- 20 volts. If good there then your 190 volt regulator is bad. You'll need to check both transistors there.

If no voltage at TP4 on the Solenoid board check TP2 on the Rectifier board It should be 230 +/- 20 volts. If good there, you have a wiring issue. If not then one or more of the diodes for the high voltage are bad.

Report back what you find and we"ll go from there. Good luck!
 
Great, thanks a lot. One question: Do I have to have a good fuse in f1 before taking readings? I have to order some of these fuses because it is an uncommon type.


Ok, blank displays (all of them) typically means no +190 volts. On the Solenoid board, check TP2. It should be 190 +/- 5 volts. If good there. check TP2 on the display boards. Should be 190 +/- 5 volts.

If you have no voltage on TP2 of the Solenoid board, check TP4. It should be 230 +/- 20 volts. If good there then your 190 volt regulator is bad. You'll need to check both transistors there.

If no voltage at TP4 on the Solenoid board check TP2 on the Rectifier board It should be 230 +/- 20 volts. If good there, you have a wiring issue. If not then one or more of the diodes for the high voltage are bad.

Report back what you find and we"ll go from there. Good luck!
 
Great, thanks a lot. One question: Do I have to have a good fuse in f1 before taking readings? I have to order some of these fuses because it is an uncommon type.
the small fuse on the driver board controls the power to the displays, it wont work without that fuse. Im assuming thats the fuse your referring to
 
Yeah, the small fuse on the solenoid driver board. It blew as soon as I changed out the blown 5V fuse on the power supply fuse block. Not sure why it would have blown right away. I'm hoping when I replace it, it won't blow again and I can check some voltages. If it keeps blowing, I guess I probably have a short somewhere to track down. Thanks to all for your continued help. It's cool to finally have a pin to work on!


the small fuse on the driver board controls the power to the displays, it wont work without that fuse. Im assuming thats the fuse your referring to
 
Well, while waiting for the replacement 3/16 amp fuse, I thought I'd check some transistors and such on the Solenoid board. Took it off and here is what I found on the solder side of things. One transistor tested bad and so it will have to be replaced. Check out these fried, lifted traces! I suppose these could be a reason why the 3/16 amp fuse blew? Not really sure, but I will repair the traces and transistor, pop in a new fuse and see what happens. Any other areas to check?
 

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Repair the broken traces and then I would rebuild the HV section of the solenoid board. Kits are available.

Might as well do the rectifier board while your at it.

You can also move the fuse holder up so you can use a standard size fuse.
 
Yep, placed an order for the HV rebuild kit as well as a sound board cap kit because some of the game sound tones are off just a bit. I'm hoping that might solve it. I didn't get the rectifier kit yet. I'll just have to wait and see if I need it after rebuilding the solenoid board.

Repair the broken traces and then I would rebuild the HV section of the solenoid board. Kits are available.

Might as well do the rectifier board while your at it.

You can also move the fuse holder up so you can use a standard size fuse.
 
The pots on the Soundboard work but they don't fix the sounds that have the wrong pitch. Thanks for the help, I didn't even see them at first. I repaired the broken traces on the solenoid board and now the 5v fuse is blowing again. I've narrowed it down to the J2 connector. I guess it might be blowing the fuse because of the bad transistor. Not sure though.




Did you try adjusting the pots on the sound board?
 
Here are my results for testing these (These readings are all with no 3/16 fuse and with J2 Unpligged from the solenoid board):

Solenoid test points:

TP2: 170 Vdc
TP4: 252 vdc

Rectifier test points:

TP2: 0 vdc
TP3: 5 vdc




Ok, blank displays (all of them) typically means no +190 volts. On the Solenoid board, check TP2. It should be 190 +/- 5 volts. If good there. check TP2 on the display boards. Should be 190 +/- 5 volts.

If you have no voltage on TP2 of the Solenoid board, check TP4. It should be 230 +/- 20 volts. If good there then your 190 volt regulator is bad. You'll need to check both transistors there.

If no voltage at TP4 on the Solenoid board check TP2 on the Rectifier board It should be 230 +/- 20 volts. If good there, you have a wiring issue. If not then one or more of the diodes for the high voltage are bad.

Report back what you find and we"ll go from there. Good luck!
 
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Ok, looks like you have some wacky readings. In that case we'll back up a bit.

On the Rectifier board, check the following:

TP1 = 5.4VDC (switched illumination, not really necessary to check)
TP2 = 230VDC (high voltage for displays)
TP3 = 11.9VDC (this is where 5VDC regulated comes from)
TP4 = 7.3VAC (not really necessary to check, used for general illumination)
TP5 = 43VDC (solenoids)

I say wacky because you have 252VDC on TP4 of the Solenoid board (comes from Rectifier board) but yet you have 0VDC on TP2 on the Rectifier board. Since TP4 on the Solenoid board appears good and TP2 is close, next check TP2 on each Display board for 190VDC.

If they match the output of the Solenoid board (170VDC) pull the connectors from all displays to check if one or more is loading down the high voltage. With all display connectors removed see if you can adjust (if needed) the voltage at TP2 on the Rectifier board using RT1.

If the voltage on TP2 (Solenoid board) is near normal (190VDC) with all displays disconnected, replace each one at a time and recheck TP2 on the Solenoid board.

Try those things and post your results. You're closer than you may think.
 
Yeah, the small fuse on the solenoid driver board. It blew as soon as I changed out the blown 5V fuse on the power supply fuse block. Not sure why it would have blown right away. I'm hoping when I replace it, it won't blow again and I can check some voltages. If it keeps blowing, I guess I probably have a short somewhere to track down. Thanks to all for your continued help. It's cool to finally have a pin to work on!
a shorted display will blow that fuse immediately. If it was me Id disconnect all the displays before turning it on with the new fuse, then reattach them one at a time
 
Ok, cool. Thanks a lot for your help. I was initially taking the reading of TP2 on the rectifier wrong. Here are my results:

Rectifier Board:

TP1: 5.4 VDC
TP2: 217 VDC
TP3: 14.18 VDC
TP4: 6 VAC
TP5: 44.5 VDC

I'm not getting any HV leaving the solenoid board.

I checked J3 pin 8 for the HV and I get nothing. That pin is fed by the HV fuse on the board and so I will have to wait until the fuse comes in. Then I will do as wildwest3163 said with connecting the displays one at a time.

I also figured out that if I disconnect the wire on J2 going to the knocker (the knocker looks pretty toasted), my 5v fuse on the rectifier stops blowing. I guess I need to replace the knocker?

Ok, looks like you have some wacky readings. In that case we'll back up a bit.

On the Rectifier board, check the following:

TP1 = 5.4VDC (switched illumination, not really necessary to check)
TP2 = 230VDC (high voltage for displays)
TP3 = 11.9VDC (this is where 5VDC regulated comes from)
TP4 = 7.3VAC (not really necessary to check, used for general illumination)
TP5 = 43VDC (solenoids)

I say wacky because you have 252VDC on TP4 of the Solenoid board (comes from Rectifier board) but yet you have 0VDC on TP2 on the Rectifier board. Since TP4 on the Solenoid board appears good and TP2 is close, next check TP2 on each Display board for 190VDC.

If they match the output of the Solenoid board (170VDC) pull the connectors from all displays to check if one or more is loading down the high voltage. With all display connectors removed see if you can adjust (if needed) the voltage at TP2 on the Rectifier board using RT1.

If the voltage on TP2 (Solenoid board) is near normal (190VDC) with all displays disconnected, replace each one at a time and recheck TP2 on the Solenoid board.

Try those things and post your results. You're closer than you may think.
 
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