You mean the one where scores above 10B don't show the first digit? That one bugs me

That one is annoying, once your score 10 billion it is hard to keep track of how many times you roll it as the scoring tends to go up fast at that point, usually because the Jackpot has built up so high.

"I looked up and saw Lady Jackpot in all her beauty.”

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I think someone brought it up to soren if he's able to update the game's code.

So, I was playing my Who Dunnit and shot a ball into the sewer for a spin on the slot machine and the game just kept on spinning the reels with no other action? It wouldn’t even go into a ball search. I had to turn it off and restart it to get the free but still does the same thing over again. Any ideas why? Opto board maybe? not sensing the ball?

Thanks,

Sounds like it, yes. I had a wire come off a solder joint on the right of the 3 standup targets that go up and down. This was also tied to the opto. I didn’t realize it till I did what you described and they kept spinning. There is no fail safe written into the code when this happens. The game must be powered off to stop it. So I’d definitely suspect an issue with optos or them getting power.

You can disable the slots in the menu if you want to still play it while you wait for parts or figure it out. It will still award slots with the computer and DMD, but will not use the mech.

Ok, cool. I will check that out tonight. Thanks for getting back to me.

I took apart the slot machine reels... cleaned everything & put new connectors in & now only the center reel spins. In test mode when testing left reel the center spins. I'm wondering if I hooked up connectors wrong?

Would someone attach a picture on how they should go? Thank you very much

I will take a picture tonight and post it tomorrow

Definitely hooked the connectors up wrong. It's easy to fix, though. Unplug all three, then plug in a single connector into the boards, trying each board until the slot on screen is the slot that's spinning in test mode.

For the other two that are NOT spinning, they might be spinning, but the spindle set screw isn't tight enough or it's slipping so the wheel doesn't move. Did you make the flat spot on the shaft of the motor while you had it out? Also, another possibility is the wheel is warped (which is common) and dragging on the opto in the assembly, preventing it from turning freely.

As promised

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Your the best! People like you make this hobby more fun than it already is.

Now only the left reel spins. In test mode left spins & all 3 light up when selected but center & right don't spin.

Any ideas?

Right now, I am having issues with the slot machine, so I disabled it until I can figure it out. Maybe someone else will chime in to help. If I come across anything I will share.

You mentioned doing new connectors, perhaps there’s something off with the pinning or connection on one of those.

I’ll take a look over your setup if you want to post some pics.

Question - have you done a switch test to see if anything else isn’t registering? That’s the easiest way to find a broken solder joint on a wire and know where it is and if it’s in the same run as the opto that’s not working.

If it’s not a loose or disconnected wire causing an opto to lose power then maybe you can try cleaning the optos with a cotton swap and add a dab of alcohol if they’re really dirty then dry swab them off.

What issues are you experiencing? I’m curious. Mine has been good for awhile but I did have the issue with them spinning and not stopping, making me reboot and I also had to rebuild a motor once, and replace one that couldn’t be rebuilt.

What mine is doing is the ball will go into a lit spin hole and activate the slot machine. Then the game continues to run the slots and the game goes into doing nothing with no ball coming out as well as not finding the ball. The only thing I can do is shut it off, so it resets, kicks the ball out and start a new game. I have changed the 16-point opto board with no success. I have started to check individual switches and found nothing so far. This weekend I plan on going through all the optos to make sure they are working.

It sounds like you and scampcamp have the same exact issue. When one or more optos aren't reading correctly, it will spin the slots indefinitely, and not kick the ball out during ball search. The only option is to turn the slots off until it's corrected otherwise the game will hang.

Mine did the exact same thing one time, but the optos and boards were fine - I found the problem was the right target that raises and lowers in that 3 target bank, which had a wire break off the solder. That wire was tied to the same run on the switch matrix as one of my slot optos. My problem with the spinning slot reels had nothing to do with an issue on the optos or those boards - it was a broken solder joint connecting a wire to a target further up the switch matrix.

The real kicker is I was all over the slot mech, tore it apart, cleaned it, checked all connectors and etc. thinking it was something in there. Then I left it alone for a few months. Wasn't motivated... Till it dawned on me that maybe it was something else in the switch matrix. It literally took me 5 minutes to find and fix when I went at it that way. Maybe your situation and scampcamp's are similar and just as easy.

I will look more closly at my moving target solder joints and hopfully it will be that. Thanks,

When you're in slot test mode check the power output from the boards on the back that connect to the motor when the test mode shows that reel should be spinning (make sure the left spins first so you're sure you have power and the interlock hasn't cut power). If you don't have power at the connector when that reel should be spinning, you know your issue is on that board (likely a transistor). If you DO have power, it's on the motor for the reel.

You can also do a quick test on each transistor to see if any are bad, if you have a multimeter.

You can also run a switch test to see if any other switches are failed, they should appear and you’ll save a ton of time looking over random switches when one might not be broken.

This is an important step to take that can also save extra aggravation since if it is switch matrix related you might not even need to mess with the slot reels or optos at all.

Is this test done in the switch levels setting?

Yep.

Thanks,

I did the test of the switches and couldn’t come up with anything. I did notice that switch 48 is supposed to be normally closed but its open per the matrix in the manual and I can’t find the location on the switch chart picture that shows locations.
So, this is what it does when I put a ball into an active slot light scoop.

Switch 48 is Slot Index Right (opto). That’s the one causing the reels to keep spinning. What’s causing the opto issue is yet to be discovered.

If you look at the switch matrix chart I’m attaching, look at the row Switch 48 is in. You’ll see the right 3 bank target, right loop, and left loop are all wired in the same series. So if a wire came off one of those switches then it could cause the right opto to not work.

I think the reason it can be the right 3 bank target is because that mechanism raises and lowers which puts strain on the solder where the wire connects. This is exactly why mine wouldn’t work so I would definitely look there.

It could still be a bad or dirty opto also.

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Thanks. I will look at this this weekend.

Hello, all! I bought a Who Dunnit a while back, and unfortunately, it looks like it has a couple issues. The reels don’t work properly (one doesn’t work at all), but I haven’t even begun looking into that yet. What I’m starting with is a GI issue, where the back and left GI is out. Looking at J120 and J121, they are burnt up, as you’d expect, but there is also a hack job where someone has soldered directly to the backs of a couple of those header pins, some which are marked as Not Used in the manual (and on the back of the board, looks to be connected to the center leg of transistor Q14).

Has anyone seen this, or can help identify what might be the reason/what’s going on here? I’m new to this, so forgive me! I assume it was probably done to avoid replacing the burnt up pins and connectors, but I don’t understand why things are soldered to an unused pin (J120-3), or what other purpose this might serve. The orange wire meant to go into J121-2, “Orange Return GI to insert,” is terminating in the male end of the molex housing, and the female end has two (thinner gauge) wires that connect it to the Not Used J120-3 header, via the solder job on the back of the board. It looks like the trace for J121-3 might be messed up (see pics) and is connected to J120-3, so was it likely just being used as a substitute? (UPDATE: I have continuity between J121-3 and the center leg on Q14, so I think the trace is just ugly, but not cut) Does the “Not Used” not necessarily mean it can’t still function as a ground or something, but rather it is simply not needed for that particular connector’s circuit (J120, in this case), so is technically available for use by another?

I’m hoping that, ultimately, it just doesn’t matter, and I can properly repin J120 and J121 and their connectors and have the GI all work as expected, but figured I might check here first in case anyone could indicate a reason for that to be a bad idea?

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Start here.

https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php/Williams_WPC#General_Illumination_Problems

When replacing the headers you should also re-pin the connectors.

Yep, I fully intend to! The hack being present is the only thing that has thrown me off and made me hesitate; just want to make sure I won’t be causing any further issue by undoing this hack.

It appears you bought a more literal mystery than you expected.

Whatever the reason for the hack, it's a hack, and undoing it is the first step toward making the machine work properly. Undoing it may cause other problems down the line, but they're problems the hack was just masking that also need to be addressed correctly. So start with undoing this monstrosity and work from there to fix the machine right.

Whodunnit, indeed...

I'm no expert, but it looks like your chocolate chip cookies aren't wired up properly.
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On the other hand, if they came packed with the game then that is a real reason to call it a "goody" bag.

Initially, I resisted the urge to comment about the cookies and refrained from speculating over the ingredients. But they had me curious.

I'm more interested in what the other letters could be...

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They did, indeed! Original goodies from 1995 when it was made

They taste…terrible. 0/10, would not recommend 27 year old cookies.

They have aged very well, are they Maccas cookies with the extra shot of preservatives?

Happy to report that undoing the hack and properly replacing all the header pins, re-pinning and replacing all wires into (new) housings, and swapping out a blown fuse has gotten us back to full GI!

The cookies are still terrible, though.

Just joined the club and got my machine a couple of days ago. I bought a new elevator / Tony's Palace ramp and had my guy install it before I took it home. Any adjustments I should be making from the jump?

Welcome to the club!

Welcome to the club. If it’s in working order, play it.

Still trying to fix the right reel. I've replaced the LM339M & all the tip102 & tip107s under the playfield (for this particular reel) the reel tries to go & if it spins... it's backwards. Any ideas? Thanks

Is the voltage on the right wires at the connector? Compare to the other two reel power connectors. Maybe that one's backwards from a prior "repair"? Check it both visually and with a multimeter.

Could you tell me where to check voltage? Here's how it looks.
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Also... here's my board work. Should I worry about getting the resin cleaned up? It looks pretty bad. Do people use alcohol?

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Rubbing alcohol and an old toothbrush are what I use. Yeah, cleaning it up is a good idea.

Here's the points that should have 12v. The black wire next to it is ground. You might have to go into test mode to get it powered, I'm not sure if it has 12v all the time and the transistors turn it on and off for the output.

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They all tested around 11.7 maybe 11.8 when in test mode on that reel. Even with test mode off they all show 11.7

In that case, I'd swap the two connectors for that "backwards" reel with two connectors on one of the boards for a working reel and see if the problem travels. If it DOES, then the problem is on that board. If it does NOT, then it's some kind of wiring or motor issue.

Strange how right reel doesn't move at all.

And when the right one is hooked up properly, it spins backwards?

Did you connect the center one to see if it spins backwards also when hooked to the right wheel's board?

The connector on the right reel will not reach to the other boards.

Isn't that just an issue of cutting a a few zip ties to give you a more flexible reach? You can replace them once you have it working.

There goes the warranty