mr/ms pacman transformer in a bally freedom ss.. uhoh

cadillacman

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mr/ms pacman transformer in a bally freedom ss.. uhoh

Well hell. I got a deal on a ss mr+ms pacman transformer, hoping to use it with my ss freedom. Much to my dismay, i got to looking at it, and is physically larger and also not quite the same style tranformer as the original. It does however look a little more robust then the original freedom.

Has anybody ever hacked one over like this? If its possible ill go for it, but does anyone have a schamatic of what is what on the mr/ms pac transformer?

i could stuff it where the old one went, but i think im going to mount it somewhere else, that way the rectifiers can ( hopefully) run cooler.
 
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Well hell. I got a deal on a ss mr+ms pacman transformer, hoping to use it with my ss freedom. Much to my dismay, i got to looking at it, and is physically larger and also not quite the same style tranformer as the original. It does however look a little more robust then the original freedom.

Has anybody ever hacked one over like this? If its possible ill go for it, but does anyone have a schamatic of what is what on the mr/ms pac transformer?

i could stuff it where the old one went, but i think im going to mount it somewhere else, that way the rectifiers can ( hopefully) run cooler.

The later bally games use a different transformer and rectifier board but the voltages are the same. The transformer will work in either game. It's just a matter of wiring it in.
 
YAY thats what i needed to hear. I dont mind the work, just wanted to make sure its possible. I like the idea of mounting the transformer away fromt he rectifier board. mabye ill add a small fan blowing on the rectifiers while im at it...

i did find a mr ms pac scham of the power supply transformer but i have a few colors that dont match up, so i think im going ot have to power it up and find out what winds are what with my dmm
 
YAY thats what i needed to hear. I dont mind the work, just wanted to make sure its possible. I like the idea of mounting the transformer away fromt he rectifier board. mabye ill add a small fan blowing on the rectifiers while im at it...

Sounds like extreme overkill to me but it definitely won't hurt anything.

i did find a mr ms pac scham of the power supply transformer but i have a few colors that dont match up, so i think im going ot have to power it up and find out what winds are what with my dmm

hmmm... that's weird. You might want to look at schematics for other games from that era. You might find one with the right colours.

Alternatively, you could connect the mains to the transformer and measure the windings as you've suggested. Shouldn't be too tough to figure out what the mystery colours are.
 
Now the fun part comes. When i first started having issues i had a schem of the freedom transformer. But no schems available for that ss freedom, it was for a different game with same transformer and now for the life of me i cant remember what..
 
I ended up using this: http://arcarc.xmission.com/Pinball/PDF Pinball Manuals and Schematics/8-Ball Schematics.pdf

as an example of my freedom type power schematic.


Was simple once i had both schems in front of me. There were a few variances on the mr/ms pac transformer but i was able to figure it out.

Put it all back togther, and volia! Powers up, boots up, voltages right on.

Ive noticed some differences already.

- This backbox always used to hum a little. Thats gone

- Over the time ive had this game the flipper action got weaker and weaker, less peppy. The slingshots were also lazy. That issue is also fixed, shes back to the way she used to be!

- Most importantly the old transformer used to run hot, super hot all the time. This one runs cool/barely lukewarm to the touch!

- the mr/ms pac transformer is larger-more heavy duty, and the wires are 2-3x the thickness, this thing shoudl outlast the machine.


I went ahead and saved as much of the wires of both the freedom and mr/ms pac transformer as i could. I soldered the wires as necessary, taped everything up, then i was able to remotely mount the transformer near the middle of the backbox. One side i was able to install two screws down into the wood. The other side hangs over the screen there in the middle, so i ran 2 zipties through the mounting bracket through the screen and there ya go.

Now i need to fix the rest of the issues with this damn thing. Krappy mpu sockets, and i forgot how nasssttyyyy the molex connectors at the rectifier board are. I need to replace em before they catch on fire man.


Heres a pic of my hackery if your interested.
 

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added a (ex) cpu prosessor fan to the front of the rectifier board. Theres a metal lip under the rectifier thats perfect for sinking a pair of screws into. The fan blows directly on the rectifiers, and is thin enough that the backbox still closes fully( the transformer also clears in its current location) I hooked up the power for the 12vdc fan right at the rectifier.

It blocks the test points but oh well i can always zing off two screws and let the fan hang should i have to test powers in the future.
 
son of a bi**h


the gi started flickering so i opened the backbox to see whats up. Had it open just in time to see sparks fly from the rectifier furthest to the right. That 10a fuse blew too. of course, that rectifier just shat itself. Hooray!

Now i get to try to remember where the hell i bought these. They are a little thicker/heavier duty then the originals..

See why i want a fan on these lindsey? :D
 
See why i want a fan on these lindsey? :D

No... I still don't. I really doubt the bridge failed due to heat unless it's the wrong bridge or installed incorrectly. The biggest fan in the world wouldn't have helped you there :)

If they were going to burn up because of excessive heat they would have done it 30 years ago.

EDIT: I would go with 35A bridges with nice heat sinks and heat sink compound. You shouldn't have any bridge failures due to heat.
 
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you mean reverse em so they are on top like they belong?

Shouldn't really matter which side they're on given that you've mounted the board in such a way that they could be installed either way. I would install them so the heat sinks are on the "top" because heat tends to rise.

In any case, you need heat sinks on the bridges. You would need a HUGE fan to do the job of a small heat sink. If you didn't have heat sinks on them then I would guess that the switched illumination bridge melted down.
 
yeah this is one of those ballys that has the rectifier board screwed doen to the metal plate, so the rectifiers are actually mounted under the board originally(piss poor imho). IIRC when i first got this pin, that same rectifier was bad. I put it back togther with the board mounted back on top ther elike it was originally- rectifiers underneath screwed down to that aluminum piece.

I think im going to top mount that rectifier with a big heat sink , use the other two the way they are mounted underneath sinking on the big alimumum piece, and see what i get.
 
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done and alive. I used a physically larger and higher rated rectifier( i believe 35a iirc), stole a heat sink off of a old junk power supply i had laying around, top mounted the rectifier.
The way i already mounted the fan it blows abnout 50% of the air right at this rectifier and heatsink, that ought to keep her cool.

when i was all done it blew another fuse. KRAP i thought.

then i realized one of the 12vac wires was pinched under one of the original rectifiers causing a short heh. Pulled the rectifier board back up, fixed the wire, reinstalled the board with a new fuse and viola shes back in business.

I hope thats it for awhile. Im getting sick of fixing this damn thing, its already got a hacked/acid repaired mpu and ive been through the solenoid driver board and stuff too... always something..
 
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