I have been hanging around the rec.games.pinball newsgroup since 1992 or so. In that time, there have been some postings requesting help with Zaccaria games. A few people, primarily Britt Brooks, Federico Croci, Clive Jones, and Peter Clare provided information that I have been able to use myself over the years to keep my own Farfalla running, and I have, in turn, attempted to help others restore or repair their Zaccaria games.
A couple of years ago, Clay Harrell (cfh) started his web site, offering pinball repair and restoration information, advice, and opinions. I have used, and recommended his site to dozens of people. Unfortunatly, I think Clay sold the only Zaccaria game he had, so he is unlikely to produce a repair guide for them.
Over the years, I've always thought that I would be able to use somebody else's database to retrieve old posts to the newsgroup with useful information, but I have also archived particularly useful or interesting information to my own hard disk "just in case". First, the Pinball Archive, which had posts to RGP going all the way back to the first one that started the newsgroup, went away. But DejaNews had a huge database with almost all of the posts. Then Deja took most of their data offline. Then Deja sold the usenet archive data to Google. Recently, Google has brought back most of the old Deja archive, but it is still incomplete.
Spurred by a recent bunch of posts and email messages all looking for help with Zaccaria games, I went back through my own archives, and what I could dig out of Google, and my own repair experiences with my Farfalla and other Zaccaria games, and decided that I would attempt to put it all in one place for easy reference. It is my hope that if you have or are considering getting a Zaccaria game that this document will be useful to you. If it is, or isn't, I would appreciate hearing about it. If you have suggestions, or information, I would be happy to incorporate them. Please let me know.
This document is not a replacement for the game manual and schematics. If you own a pinball machine, you will need the documentation. This guide is intended to accompany the information found in the original documentation, to better explain things that are not clear, and to cover things that are not included.
Before starting, you should review Clay's web site for general pinball repair and restoration information. Before attempting any circuit board repairs, please read this document on basic skills and tools required. Zaccaria boards are available on the used market, but are uncommon and not likely to be reproduced by anybody. Please be careful not to ruin one.
Zaccaria was an Italian company that made pinball machines from 1974 to 1987. They made both electromechanical (EM) and solid state (SS) games, changing over along with the rest of the pinball industry in 1977/1978. In 1988, they changed hands and became Mr. Game, made four more games before going out of business. Most of what I know about Zaccaria comes from Federico Croci's web site. If you are interested in Zaccaria games, own one, or are considering owning one, Federico's web site is a must-read.
Cristiano Corti has a web site at http://www.flipper.cjb.net/ with company and game history for Zaccaria and MR Game pinball machines, including flier scans for most of their solid state games. The text is in Italian, but Google's translate does a passable job of converting the pages to English. I have posted English translations (with permission) of Cristiano's Zaccaria and MR Game pages here.
This repair guide is directed at Zaccaria's solid state games; Soccer King, Pinball Champ, Time Machine, Farfalla, Devil Riders, Magic Castle. They are all electronically similar, using the same circuit boards (with the exception of displays on Soccer Kings, Pinball Champ). It may apply to older Zaccaria solid state games (Combat, Winter Sports, House of Diamonds, Strike, Ski Jump, Future World, Shooting the Rapids, Hot Wheels, Space City, Fire Mountain, Star God, Space Shuttle, Earth Wind & Fire, Locomotion), newer games (Robot, Clown, Pool Champion, Blackbelt, Mexico, Zanor, Mystic Star, Spooky, Star's Phoenix, New Star's Phoenix) or Mr. Game games, but I do not know because I have never seen one except in pictures. If you can fill in any information on Mr. Game pinball machines, please email me and let me know.
Zaccaria coils have "different" numbers than Williams/Bally or any other US manufacturer. The numbers specify the diameter of the wire and the number of turns. The voltage rating is also specified and should not be exceeded, but that is true of all manufacturer's coils.
The way to read a Zaccaria coil is by the part number:
D. 50 - S. 1600 equates to a AWG coil specification of 24-1600.
The D. number is the diameter of the wire in the coil in millimeters multiplied by 100 (i.e. 50 means a .5mm diameter wire). The S. number is the number of turns of wire in the coil.
Using the AWG spec from the National Bureau of Standards, 24 gauge wire has a diameter of 0.511mm. Hence the wire closest would be AWG 24.
This can be done for all Zaccaria coils. Here is a list of the AWG numbers for some commonly used guages:
| AWG | Diameter of Wire in mm |
|---|---|
| 20 | 0.813 |
| 21 | 0.724 |
| 22 | 0.643 |
| 23 | 0.574 |
| 24 | 0.511 |
| 25 | 0.455 |
| 26 | 0.404 |
| 27 | 0.361 |
| 28 | 0.320 |
| 29 | 0.287 |
| 30 | 0.254 |
| 35 | 0.142 |
And here is a list of some coil substitutions that should work if you cannot get an original Zaccaria coil:
| Zaccaria Coil Numbers | Equivalent coil |
|---|---|
| D. 40 - S. 1200 | 26-1200 (Wico # 01-166600) |
| D. 45 - S. 1000 | 25-1000 (I think Bally used a 25-1050) |
| D. 50 - S. 1600 | 24-1600 (A 24-1400 may work as well) |
| D. 71 - S. 1700 | 21-1700 (Good luck finding this one) |
| Flippers: | |
| D. 45 - S. 500 / D. 14 - S. 6000 | 25-500/35-6000 - Custom or use Bally 25-500/34-5050 |
| D. 355 - S. 1000 / D. 14 - S. 6000 | 27-1000/35-6000 - Custom (for upper flippers) |
I do not know if all Zaccaria machines used the same coils, but here is a list of what is in Farfalla:
| Location | Coil |
|---|---|
| Left Flipper | D.50 S.600 / D.14 S.5000 |
| Right Flipper | D.50 S.600 / D.14 S.5000 |
| Left React Flipper | D.355 S.1000 / D.14 S.6000 |
| Right React Flipper | D.355 S.1000 / D.14 S.6000 |
| Left Upper Flipper | D.355 S.1000 / D.14 S.6000 |
| Right Upper Flipper | D.355 S.1000 / D.14 S.6000 |
| Ball Trough Kicker | D.40 S.1200 |
| Knocker | D.40 S.1200 |
| Door | D.12 S.6000 |
| Drop Targets | D.50 S.1600 |
| Pop Bumpers | D.45 S.1000 |
| Ramp | D.355 S.1000 / D.14 S.6000 |
| Left Slingshot | D.40 S.1200 |
| Right Slingshot | D.40 S.1200 |
For Amusement Only has a source of NOS Zaccaria coils. You can contact them at:
Dave Mercer For Amusement Only 943 Butte Pass Drive Fort Collins, CO 80526 970-282-8282 970-223-2372 fax Visit our website for specials http://www.foramusementonly.to/Coil prices run approximately $20 each, and take a couple of weeks to get and ship out.
The only other source I know of for original coils is parted out games from other people. They show up in Daina Pettit's Pinball Classifieds or posted to rec.games.pinball from time to time. If you cannot find an original, or a suitable substitute, I have heard that Steve Young at the Pinball Resource is able to custom-wind coils and he may be able to make a replacent for you.
I would like to include a rubber ring chart listing sizes, quantities, and if possible a location diagram, for each Zaccaria game here. Since I only have Farfalla, I can only include information for it at this time. If you have a Soccer Kings, Devil Riders, Time Machine, Magic Castle, etc. and are willing to send me the information for this section, please email me and let me know. The rings list in the manuals is not helpful, as it includes what seem to be metric ring sizes, not standard sizes, and at least in the case of Farfalla, it is not even correct; I need verified lists of rings that you know fit your game.
| Qty. | Size |
|---|---|
| 2 | 3" |
| 2 | 2 1/2" |
| 4 | 2" |
| 4 | 1 1/2" |
| 7 | 1 1/4" |
| 8 | 1" |
| 1 | 3/4" |
| 5 | 5/16" |
| 1 | mini post |
| 4 | flipper (yellow) |
| 1 | plunger tip |
Insert ring location chart here ...
Rings:
Main Playfield Locations
Rings:
Upper Playfield Locations
| Qty. | Size |
|---|---|
| 4 | 3 1/2" |
| 5 | 2 1/2" |
| 1 | 2" |
| 5 | 1 1/2" |
| 2 | 1" |
| 1 | 3/4" |
| 9 | 3/8" |
| 7 | target button |
| 4 | flipper (yellow) |
| 1 | plunger tip |
Rings:
Main Playfield Locations
Rings:
Upper Playfield Locations
Thanks to Cliff "Cliffy" Rinear.
| Qty. | Size |
|---|---|
| 3 | 2 1/2" |
| 1 | 2 " |
| 4 | 1 1/2" |
| 11 | 1 1/4" |
| 7 | 1" |
| 11 | 5/16" |
| 1 | mini post |
| 3 | flipper (red) |
| 1 | half size flipper (red) |
| 1 | plunger tip |
Insert ring location chart here ...
Rings:
Main Playfield Locations
Rings:
Upper Playfield Locations
Thanks to Barry Miller.
| Qty. | Size |
|---|---|
| Qty | Size |
Insert ring location chart here ...
Rings:
Main Playfield Locations
Rings:
Upper Playfield Locations
| Qty. | Size |
|---|---|
| Qty | Size |
Insert ring location chart here ...
Rings:
Main Playfield Locations
Rings:
Upper Playfield Locations
| Qty. | Size |
|---|---|
| Qty | Size |
Insert ring location chart here ...
Rings:
Main Playfield Locations
Rings:
Upper Playfield Locations
| Qty. | Size |
|---|---|
| Qty | Size |
Insert ring location chart here ...
Rings:
Main Playfield Locations
Rings:
Upper Playfield Locations
I use standard #47 lamps in my Farfalla with one exception. The lamp behind the "Move Ramp" target behind the Blue drop targets is a #51. Be careful in setting up this lamp, as it is directly in the path of the pinball and can be easily broken if the metal protector behind the Move Ramp target gets bent back. It's also a pain to replace, because you have to remove the upper playfield, the plastic over it, and the rubber rings around it, just to get at it.
The controlled lamps are driven by SCRs on the Driver Board. See the Circuit Boards section below for details.
Zaccaria's manuals have a list of switches, with locations, but do not include a correct matrix diagram. This makes switch matrix troubleshooting rather difficult. Like others, they used an 8 x 8 matrix of switches. There is a row driver chip on the CPU board (IC38), output to the wiring harness on CN11, and a column input via CN10 that the CPU reads via IC24 and IC25. Not all switches possible in the matrix are used on all games.
Switch matrix table for:
Like most other manufacturers, Zaccaria use high voltage gas discharge displays. Some games (Magic Castle, Soccer Kings, Pinball Champ) use 4 x 2-digit displays for each player, allowing the game to show 8-digit scores. These displays have been out of production for many years and are essentially unobtainable. Worse, they are reported to have a high failure rate due to their age and original manufacture quality. If you have any that are known good, I know of several people who need them for their games; please email me and let me know if you are willing to sell them. The remaining Zaccaria games use a single 7-digit display for each player; these appear to be standard Beckman (at least on my game) 7-digit displays as used on Williams games like Jungle Lord.
For some reason, probably simplified manufacturing, Zaccaria made a very strange looking circuit board for the 7-digit displays
where the plated holes that the display glass should be soldered to have been cut away from the edge of the board. This weakens the joint, and every Zaccaria display I have seen has had cracked solder joints in this area. Check here first for any display that has bad digits, missing segments, or other display problems; the glass probably is not connected! Resolder the joint and the display should work normally again.
The only display failure I have had was a failed BF422 SCR that controlled the "C" segment on one of my displays. This SCR is no longer available, but was a common part at one time. The cross reference books say that an ECG287 is a direct replacment, but they are wrong. The specifications on the part match, but the pinout is wrong.
You can use ECG287 to replace a failed BF422 on a Zaccaria display, but you have to turn the piece 90 degrees and bend the legs to meet up with the holes. Install it so that C goes to R5/R10, E goes to R16, and B goes to the drive chip (HEF4511BP / FSS8301 / 1W).
Looking at the schematics for the 8-digit and 7-digit displays, it looks like Zaccaria did something clever when they designed their 7-digit display board. They made it physically the same size and shape, and they made it plug compatible with the earlier 8-digit display design.
Since the 8-digit displays are getting very hard to find, this appears to be a way to keep the older games running and functioning without having to resort to designing and building new displays running bright orange LEDs or having to live without one or more working displays.
I can confirm that a game originally designed for 8-digit displays (Pinball Champ) works fine with 7-digit boards in it. The only problem is that any displays using the leftmost digit will be missing it. This is better than no display at all, but is less than ideal.
I have been told that on the 8-digit display boards, a common failure item is IC2. This is a 4042BP Quad Clocked D, which crosses to NTE4042B. If you have at least one working display, compare IC2 on both boards with a DMM. Any difference found, replace the chip.
Not strictly a "tech" item, but I believe Zaccaria was the only manufacturer using a 7-digit display that can correctly track and display scores over 9,999,990, by using the ones digit to represent the ten-millions digit. I'm not sure if this is because early games had an 8-digit display, so the software was already written to track 10,000,000 and higher scores, but it seems like a reasonable guess.
A Zaccaria board set is comprised of four main circuit boards and five displays, all of which are mounted in the backbox. The four main boards are the CPU (upper left), Driver (lower left), Sound (upper right), and Power Supply (lower right). These are connected with a combination of wiring harnesses with Molex 7675-series insulation displacement connectors (IDC) and ribbon cables.
The 7675-series Molex connectors can be replaced with 7674-series; the difference is that the 7674 has "Trifurcon" female pins, with more contact surface available to grip the male pin. Either 7675 or 7674 will work, but the 7674 connector is preferable. Molex part numbers:
| Pins | 7675 Series | 7674 Series |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | 09-06-0137 | 09-06-0139 |
| 7 | 09-06-0077 | 09-06-0079 |
| 5 | 09-06-0057 | 09-06-0059 |
The displays are connected via a 20-pin ribbon cable to the CPU board.
This board houses the CPU chip, game ROMs, game RAM, CMOS RAM with battery, and the circuitry for the switch matrix. It has connectors for power, switch matrix send/return lines, and ribbon cables to the driver, sound, and displays. Unlike most other solid state pinball manufacturers, Zaccaria used a Signetics 2650A CPU chip for their boards.
Click on the thumbnail above for a larger picture of a Zaccaria CPU board. This one has already had the (leaking) battery removed and a fly-lead installed in its place.
The major areas of this board are:
| Pin | Voltage |
|---|---|
| 1 | 170VDC |
| 2 | Ground |
| 3 | Power Good |
| 4 | 5VDC |
The biggest worry with a Zaccaria CPU board is the battery pack used to maintain the CMOS memory when the game is powered off. This battery pack is mounted at the top of the circuit board, in the center. If it starts to leak, the battery fluid runs down the board and ruins every component in its path. If you have a non-working Zaccaria game, this is the first thing to look for. If yours is working and hasn't leaked, PLEASE get the battery off the board and mount a remote battery immediately. If the battery has leaked, Clay's web site has a good recovery procedure for dealing with the corrosion and damage. After cleaning up and neutralizing the leaked fluid, remove and replace all components that were touched by the battery fluid, and all sockets on the board. Inspect the connectors and ribbon cables for signs of corrosion and replace as necessary.
I have taken to connecting a fly lead where the battery used to be. I cut the wires to about 16" long, and solder them to the battery pads. The other end I solder to a .100" two-pin connector snipped from an old PC floppy drive controller. I add a drop of JB Weld two part epoxy, then heat-shrink the connector, forming a small plug that is just the right size to connect a Radio Shack rechargable portable phone battery (Part #23-197, 3.6V, 350mAh, NiCad). Mount the battery on the left wall of the backbox with a velcro strap stapled to the wood, and you should never have to worry about battery leakage again. Replace the battery every few years, just to be on the safe side.
There are several logic test points on the CPU board:
| Test Point | Signal | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| TP1 | HIGH | CPU Pin 1 - SENSE |
| TP2 | Pulsing | CPU Pin 38 - CLOCK |
| TP3 | Pulsing | Interrupt Generator |
| TP4 | LOW | CPU Pin 16 - RESET |
| TP5 | HIGH / Pulsing | CPU Pin 17 - INTREQ |
| TP6 | Pulsing | Out Counter |
| TP7 | LOW | Out Counter |
| TP8 | LOW | Voltage Good |
| TP9 | LOW / Pulsing | Clock oscilator output |
These are useful if the game is not running, or to confirm that it is running with the displays disconnected.
I know of two revisions of Zaccaria CPU boards for the games covered by this document; part numbers 1B1165/1 and 1B1165/2. There are eariler games, like Space Shuttle, that have a completely different circuit board setup and are not at all compatible.
On the 1B1165/1 board, as used in Farfalla, Pinball Champ, and Devil Riders, IC8 Pin 14 is connected to R26, IC9 Pin 39, IC10 Pin 16, and IC11 Pin 16.
On the newer 1B1165/2 board, as used in Magic Castle, they added a jumper pad labled "J16" with options "E" and "F" on the board just to the right of IC8 Pin 14. The options connect IC8 Pin 14 to either "E" or "F". If connected to "E", IC8 Pin 14 is connected to a trace that runs to IC4 Pin 18, then to R1, D1, and D2. Jumper "F" appears designed to make the 1B1165/2 board backward compatible with a 1B1165/1 board, and IC8 Pin 14 is connected as described above to R26, IC9, IC10, and IC11.For Magic Castle, the board is jumpered with J16 on the "E" setting. I have not tested it, but it appears that jumpering it to the "F" setting would allow it to work in an older game that came with a 1B1165/1.
The driver board houses the lamp matrix and the solenoid drive transistors. It takes a data signal from the CPU board via a short ribbon cable, and has Molex connectors for the controlled lamps and solenoids.
The lamp matrix is controlled by the SCRs (SCR1 ... SCR63, and SCR65 ... SCR80) on the left hand side of the board, via support logic chips at IC1 ... IC16. Lamp voltage (5.6VAC) leaves the Power Supply board on connectors CN2 (Head), CN3 (Playfield), and CN4 (Cabinet), goes through the wiring harness, returns on Driver Board connectors CN18 ... CN22, and is grounded through the SCRs.
There are two sets of SCRs used for the lamps. The first set (SCR1 ... SCR63) are rated at 0.8A and listed on the schematic as 2N5060 parts, labled as "Single Lamps". The other set (SCR65 ... SCR80) are BAX62 parts, rated for 4A and labled as "Group Lamps". I have not found a source for BAX62 SCRs, but they can be replaced with C106B1 SCRs, which are available from Jameco as part number 14736. According to the catalog page, these are equivilent to NTE5455 or 2N6238 SCRs. I have seen several driver boards with various SCRs here, so it appears that any SCR with a sufficient rating should work fine..
The second set appears to be intended to drive multiple bulbs. The only use of this that I am aware of, so far, is for the lamps in the pop bumpers on Farfalla, where two bulbs are driven off of each of two SCRs to alternately light pairs of bumpers. If you know of other places where this capability was used, please email me.
The solenoids are driven by transistors (Q1 ... Q24) on the bottom right quadrant of the board, via the support logic chips at IC17 ... IC20. As with Williams, Bally, etc., Zaccaria coils are always hot, and the ground side is switched on or off by the driver transistor to turn on (off) the solenoid coil. CN17 on the bottom right corner of the Driver board is where the solenoid ground return lines come back in to the board. 39VDC is supplied to the solenoids via CN2 on the Power Supply board.
The schematic and parts list for Farfalla calls for BD649 transistors for the solenoid drivers. The driver board in my game has BDW93C transistors actually installed. The specs on a TIP102 transistor are a close match to the BDW93C installed, and the TIP102 is rated higher than the BD649, so it should be safe to use TIP102s to replace these.
There is an error in the schematics for Farfalla. The drive transistors for the slingshots ("Left Flap" and "Right Flap") are reversed. Q4 drives the right slingshot, and Q9 drives the left.
Zaccaria games have both sound and speech capabilities on the sound board. A 6802 CPU on the board does the work, and will run independantly of the game's CPU board. Electronic sound effects are generated via a GI AY-3-8910, and sampled speech clips are recorded in ROMs on the board. There are adjustment pots for each circuit to adjust their relative volume, an adjustment pot for the pitch of the speech clips, and a final mix and amplification stage that feeds the sound to the single speaker mounted in the bottom of the cabinet. There is a volume pot mounted near the coin door to adjust the final volume. There is a self-test button on the sound board that will confirm that the board is working, though the game's built in diagnostics actually run through all of the sound and speech items in the ROMs.
Pressing the self test button on this board causes the board to perform several self checks which are confirmed by the LED flashing, then play a couple of sounds and at least one speech clip from the ROMs. This can be done with the Sound Board disconnected from the CPU to confirm that the board is working.
The LED flashes and their meanings:
| Flash | Test |
|---|---|
| 1 | CPU RAM tested OK |
| 2 | PIA 1 (IC15) - Sounds tested OK |
| 3 | PIA 2 (IC14) - Speech tested OK |
| 4 | Sound generator tested OK |
| 5 | Speech synthesizer tested OK |
Zaccaria used at least two different sound boards in their games, as pictured above. The smaller board that is fully populated appears to be an earlier version, and the larger board an updated design. The updated version looks like it has doubled the sound and voice capabilities, but that area of the board is unpopulated on the ones I have seen.
The power supply board takes the input voltage from the transformer in the main cabinet, and generates the +5, +12, +39, +170 and -5 voltages needed for the logic, lamps, solenoids, and display circuits.
The input Molex connector at the bottom right corner (CN1) of this board can overheat with time, scorching the housing and building up resistance in the connector pins. Check here for any signs of overheating and replace the connector if necessary.
The fuse clips used are cheap and tend to corrode and weaken over time. They are also a non-US-standard size. I have replaced all of the fuse clips with high-quality ones. To do this, I had to drill holes in the board to mount the clips properly. The solder pads for the fuse clips are large enough to allow 2 x 1/16" holes to be drilled to allow a normal fuse clip to be soldered in place. Enlarge one hole on each side, and add one new hole to fit the new fuse clip in place.
There are three bridge rectifiers mounted under the large heat sink in the middle of the power supply board. If one of them fails, you should replace all three of them while you already have the board out and are working on it. Two of the three are lug-type bridges and require a soldering iron that can deliver enough heat to work a large joint. Don't try this with a 15W Radio Shack soldering pencil!
I have seen Power Supply boards with three lug-type bridge rectifiers, and boards with two lug-type bridges and one (P2) with pins. The board itself has holes for either a pin or lug bridge at P2. Use whatever is available.
The schematic / parts list calls for these bridge rectifiers:
| Bridge Rectifier | Part Number | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| P2 | KBPC 8005 | 50V 8A |
| P3 | KBPC 10005 | 100V 10A |
| P5 | KBPC 1002 | 200V 10A |
You can substitute a higher rating for any of these.
There is an error in the schematic in the manual. The voltage regulator, a 79M05 is shown connected backwards. The corrected circuit should look like this:
Note the change in the polarity shown for the bridge rectifier.
Before trying to troubleshoot a game in an unknown state, verify that the transformer is configured for the correct line voltage and has the correct fuse installed for your line voltage, then verify that the power supply is getting the correct input voltages and producing the correct output voltages.
Disconnect CN1 from the power supply board and test the transformer first. The correct way to test a transformer with a meter is to read voltages between pairs of pins in the connector. Do not attempt to read a voltage compared to the chassis ground, you will get approximately half the voltage reading that you would expect to see. Put your DMM on the appropriate VAC range before testing each pair of pins in this connector.
| Pin 1 | Wire Colour | Pin 2 | Wire Colour | Voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red | 2 | Red | 165VAC |
| 5 | Yellow | 6 | Yellow | 10.5VAC |
| 9/10 | White | 11/12 | White | 6.5VAC |
| 7 | Blue | 8 | Blue | 43VAC |
| 3 | Brown | 4 | Brown | 10VAC |
After verifying the input voltages from the transformer, turn the power to the game off and reconnect CN1 to the Power Supply board. Disconnect the Molex connectors from the Power Supply that go to the Driver and Sound boards. Disconnect the ribbon cables from the CPU board that go to the Driver, Sound, and Display boards. Disconnect the Molex connectors from the CPU that go to the switch matrix. This leaves just the Power Supply and the CPU connected.
Turn the power on to the game, and the CPU should boot up (see Startup, below). There are several test points on the Power Supply board to check:
| Test Point | Voltage |
|---|---|
| TP1 | 170VDC |
| TP2 | 12VDC |
| TP3 | 5.6VDC |
| TP4 | 5VDC |
| TP5 | 39VDC |
| TP6 | -5VDC |
| TP7 | Power Failure (note) |
| TP8 | Ground |
Put the black lead of your DMM on TP8, and use the other lead to probe these test points. On some boards, there are nice little wire loops soldered to the test points. On others, there are none. I have found that it is easier to test these with the loops, and have taken to installing them. You can use any scraps of 18 ga. wire, strip the insulation, and solder in place. Keep the loops short, no more than 1/4" tall.
Note:
The Power Failure test point is a logic level output of a LM339 at IC1 that shows whether the Power Supply is putting out correct voltages for the CPU board to boot up. It is tied directly to the reset (pin 16) pin on the CPU. There is some additional logic on the CPU board that also verifies that it is getting the appropriate voltages and feeds back this information to the Power Supply board.I could use some help here explaining exactly how this part of the circuit works...
After verifying the voltages on the Power Supply board, move on to the test points on the CPU with a logic probe.
The normal Zaccaria power supply is part number 1B1167/0. This power supply board was used in all of the games covered by this document, as far as I have been able to determine. There is an earlier revision of this board, part number 1B1167. The differences are minor, and the boards appear to be plug-compatible, but the older 1B1167 board does not work quite the same in a newer game.
Differences between 1B1167 and 1B1167/0:
The 1B1167 and 1B1167/0 boards are physically interchangable, and are plug compatible as well. My guess is that a 1B1167/0 board would probably work in whatever game originally came with a 1B1167, but when a 1B1167 board is installed in to a newer game, the controlled lamps behave a bit differently. In my Farfalla, the controlled lamps would turn on normally, but would not turn off normally, leading to some strange looking light effects.
I did not have a chance to figure out exactly why the 1B1167 board made my game behave this way. My guess is that since the controlled lamps are using SCRs, that the additional TR6 is responsible allowing them to turn off correctly.
If you have any additional information on the 1B1167 board (what game(s) it was used in, or what the changes were made for), please email me.
There are five displays in a Zaccaria game. Four "Player" displays, and one used to show the high score to date, the credits, and the current ball count. If the feature is enabled, it also is used to show the player's current "time bonus" as it is counted up and down.
The displays are configured via wire jumpers on the display boards. Set the jumper on a display to match the position it is going to be installed in.
Image here of display selection jumpers...?
The displays are connected to the CPU board via a single ribbon cable. If you look closely at the cable, you will find that it makes a twist between the first two and the last three displays!
In the bottom of the cabinet is the transformer. It is configurable for several common input voltages used in different parts of the world. On the front (toward the coin door) side of the transformer box there is a screw-in fuse holder for the line fuse. Unscrew the knob and pull the fuse out. The knob part has a pin that can be turned to mate with the required input voltage when it is screwed back in to its recepticle.
As I have taken on working on Zaccaria boards for other people, putting the boards in to my Farfalla and taking them out again has been a simple way to test them, but time consuming. Additionally, the Molex IDC connectors for the wiring harness are only rated for 25 cycles (one cycle == remove connector from header, install connector on header) before the wipers start to lose their spring tension and stop making good contact with the header pins. Following Clay's advice on some of his testing and repair pages, I decided to see if I could power up the boards on my workbench using a standard PC power supply.
This is still being tested, but so far the results are promising. Looking at the schematics, the only voltages present are +5, +12, -5 and +170. The +170 only goes to the displays and is not used anywhere else. A PC power supply has the +5, +12, and -5 available on several different connectors.
By interconnecting the boards with their ribbon cables, it should be possible to run the game entirely on the bench. Unfortunatly, there will be no displays, so it is hard to test completely. But, a logic probe on the switch row connector (CN11) should show the matrix being scanned. Using a diode and a test lead, it should be possible to enter the game diagnostics, and advance through the solenoid test, lamp test, switch test, and sound board test. For the solenoid, lamp, and switch tests, a logic probe should be used to show the lines on the driver board being grounded. For the sound board test, connect a speaker to CN16 Pins 5 and 6 and the sound board tests should work.
This part of this document is obviously incomplete. I will be updating it further as I test these out.
Most of the parts used by Zaccaria are either common, or were common at one time and are well known. Most have cross referenced parts that can replace them if you cannot locate the exact replacement. I have been able to find replacement parts for almost everything I have needed via Jameco, Mouser, or Halted Specialties.
The tricky part of working on a Zaccaria board is that the traces seem particularly easy to lift if too much heat is applied or the iron left in contact with the board for too long. This can be especially bad if there is any corrosion on the solder joints keeping them from melting easily and quickly.
When removing failed or corroded components, always cut the component off the board with a set of dikes. If it is a chip, cut the legs and pull the chip body off. Use a small hemostat to grasp the remaining leg while desoldering it from the back. Be careful to apply enough heat to melt the solder and release the leg, do not pull hard or the trace will pull off of the board.
Federico has ROMs on his web site for download. If you have a game for which he does not already have an image posted, please email it to him.
One thing that most people note immediately about Zaccaria games is that their playfields never seem to show any wear. Even their EM games from the 1970s have pristine playfields. I do not know what it was that they used to paint them with, but whatever it is, it does not wear. This does simplify care for the home collector, just clean it off with some Novus #2 plastic polish and wax it with Johnson's paste wax.
Many of Zaccaria's games have a backglass that is almost entirely clear glass. There is artwork screened around the border of the glass, but the centre is clear. Behind the glass is a molded plastic insert that has the remaining artwork on it. The actual screened area of the glass is hiding a neon tube used for illumination of both the backglass and the plastic insert. One game, Devil Riders, even featured backglass animation with a small circular area that shows a motorcycle with rider doing loop-the-loops. If you have a broken or dead neon tube, a local sign shop may be able to repair it.
The most common failures I have seen are the battery leakage on the CPU board, Molex connector failure (CN1) due to overheating, and the solder joints on the display boards.
The other common failure that can be confusing is the outlane flippers not working. Check the coils to be sure that they don't have an open or short circuit, then check the diode that is on the End Of Stroke switch. If the diode is not connected, the outlane flipper will not work.
I originally wrote this section for somebody that I had repaired a set of Farfalla boards for. If you have recently repaired the boards, or have a game where the battery is dead or has been removed, you will need to go through and set up the game similar to what is covered in this section. If you are powering up an unknown condition game for the first time, see here first before continuing with the initial setup.
First, install the boards in the backbox with the interconnect cables. I labled the cable ends, though they are probably interchangable and would work in either orientation.
Next, install the CMOS backup battery (Black to Black, Red to White) and mount it to the side of the backbox. I used a stick-on loop from Wal Mart, but almost anything that will hold the battery up will work fine.
Power up the game and check for smoke. The boards were working fine in my game before they left here, but if there is any sign of anything going wrong, power off immediately.
Assuming nothing blew up, you're ready to test and set up the game. Locate the DIP switch block (SW1) on the CPU board and change switch #4 to "on". The game will start going "Bing! Bing! Bing! Bing!...", this is normal. Open the coin door and press the Advance switch forward to get in to the game test and setup options. The noise should stop and you should be in the displays test (#1).
The displays will be cycling 0000000, 1111111, ... 9999999. If you press the Start button, they will start rolling 1,234,567 right to left as a second test. Confirm that all of your displays are working correctly. If you are missing any digits on any of the displays, check the solder joints on the display board where the pins from the glass are attached. I have had around 10 Zaccaria display boards, and I think 8 of them had bad solder joints here. Resolder as needed.
Press the Advance switch again to get to the Switch Matrix test (#2). With the ball removed and all of the drop target banks reset, you should have nothing displayed in the Ball/Credit display. Hopefully you have the manual and can verify that all of the switches are working correctly. If not, at least press each switch with a finger and make sure that something shows up in the display.
Press Advance again to get to the Controlled Lamps test (#3). All of the General Illumination lights are already on, and now the Controlled lamps should all be flashing. Note any that are not and replace them as needed.
Press Advance again to get to the Solenoids test (#4). Again, the manual is helpful here so you can tell if all of the solenoids are working correctly, but the game will cycle through all of them. A couple are "not used", so don't be alarmed by it skipping over a couple without anything happening.
Press Advance again to get to the last test, the Sound Board test (#5). All of the various game sounds and voice samples should be played.
Assuming you found no problems with the tests, it's time to set up the game for play. Zaccaria is a bit wierd, I think, in that the first time you power up the game, the CMOS contains random garbage. Rather than assume it to be bad and clear it, they just try to use it as though it were correct data. You absolutely must go through all of the Audits and game settings options and change them, even if they appear to be correct. If you, for example, look at option #10 (High Score Type) and you want it to be set to 0, you may find that when you get to #10 that the Ball/Credit display says that it is set to 0. Don't believe it, use the Start button to cycle through all possible values to get back to 0.
Press Advance to get from the Sound Board test to the Audits. The Ball/Credit display will show that you are in item #6. The Player displays will have random garbage. Press and hold the Start button to clear the first four Audits to 0.
Press Advance again to get to item #7, then press and hold Start to clear the audit data. Repeat for #8 and #9.
Press Advance again to get to the Operator Settings options. Items #10 through #37 are the game setup options. These are game specific. I have the manual for Farfalla, and these are the settings options for it. If you have the manual for one of the other games and are willing to transcribe the options, please email me and let me know.
Recommended operator settings for:
Be sure to set all of the options, even if they appear to already be set correctly. Keep pressing Advance to get to the next option, and Start to set the value, until you get to item #37.
When you get to #37, and have set the value to 0, press Advance one more time and the game will return to Game Over mode, and will resume it's "Bing! Bing! Bing! ..." noise. Change DIP switch #4 back to "off" and the game will stop complaining and be ready to play. Trip the coin switch to add a credit, and hit Start. Zaccaria doesn't have a Free Play setting option, so in game option #22 you set the first Replay score to 10,000 points. You get 10,000 points for hitting the rollovers at the top of the game where the plunger ramp exits, so the game will always have credits available on it.
You will notice that you get a Replay from the game for plunging, keeping the credit count up, but that there is no "thwack" from the knocker. This is normal. The game only uses the knocker when it awards the "Special Bonus". See the lamp in the backglass. The "Special Bonus" is special in two ways. First, it only awards that lamp in the backglass. No points, no free games, no extra ball, nothing, just the lamp. It's also special because that is the only time that the game uses the knocker coil. The reason is that the game was designed with the European market in mind. It is, or was, common for a pinball to be used as a psuedo pay-out machine, where the location owner could award prizes (typically a pint of beer or similar) to players. The Special Bonus feature is designed to alert the location owner to award a prize. There are several game features that can be set to score the Special Bonus, but the only one I selected is #25. This one is awarded when you beat the highest ("Grand Champion") score, which also awards you a voice comment ("Hello Champion! You are the Best!"). The default highest score (option #17) I had you select (1,710,000) is low enough that you should be able to beat it pretty easily. After that, though, you won't hear "Hello Champion!" very often.
If you have one of Zaccaria's games, and can transcribe the operator's settings for me from the manual, please email me and let me know. I would like to include them here for other games.
There are two diagnostics LEDs on the boards in the backbox. Unlike more modern games, Zaccaria's LEDs don't tell you much about the game when you turn it on.
When you turn the game on, the LEDs in the backbox should:
| CPU | Sound |
|---|---|
| flicker | off |
| off | on |
| on | off |
Commonly, on a board where the battery has leaked, the CPU will attempt to boot, you will see the LED come on, then the game will crash and the LED will go out again. This is usually caused by either (or both) IC4 or IC5 being destroyed by the battery alkaline.
If you have just acquired a Zaccaria game in unknown condition and are powering it up for the first time, you should make several basic safety checks before hitting the power switch. This is to ensure your own safety and that of the game, and will only take a few minutes if there are no problems found.
First, CHECK THE FUSES. Only a fool overfuses a game, but there are a lot of fools out there. You may find 20A or 30A fuses where there should be something much smaller, just because the correct fuse blew. Remove each fuse and verify that it is the correct rating and type (Normal or Slo Blo). Replace any fuses that are over the rating found in the manual for the game.
Fuse locations and ratings:
| Fuse | Location | Rating | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transformer | 5A | Normal | |
| F1 | Power Supply Board | 1A | Normal |
| F2 | Power Supply Board | 5A | Normal |
| F3 | Power Supply Board | 15A | Normal |
| F4 | Power Supply Board | 1A | Normal |
| F5 | Power Supply Board | 5A | Normal |
| Under Playfield | 2 x 3A | Normal |
The Transformer fuse is located in the input voltage adjustment. Unscrew the knob on the front right uppper corner until it comes off. You will see the 5A line fuse, in addition to the settings for the supported input voltages (100V, 115V, 200V, 220V, 245V). The brass spike (and the window on the edge of the cover) point to the desired input voltage setting.
There are two fuses under the playfield in a small holder. They are both 3A fuses.
Once you have verified that the fuses are correct, check to see that the transformer in the bottom cabinet has been configured for the correct line voltage for your location. If the game was purchased locally, it most likely is already set correctly, but it doesn't hurt to double check it, and you have to open this up to check the line fuse anyway. If you are especially paranoid, you can verify that the transformer is putting out correct voltages as specified above.
Second, disconnect the ribbon cables from the CPU board that lead to the Driver Board, Sound Board, and Displays. Also disconnect the Power Supply connectors CN2, CN3, CN4 as well as CN16 on the Driver and CN6 on the Sound board. Then disconnect the switch matrix, CN10 and CN11 from the CPU board. This leaves only the transformer, Power Supply (via CN1) and CPU board connected.
Turn the power on and watch the LED on the CPU. As described above, it should flicker briefly, go dark, then come on and stay on. If it does, the CPU booted correctly. If it does not, something is wrong either on the Power Supply or CPU board and will have to be troubleshot and repaired.
If the CPU seems to be booting correctly, turn the power off and reconnect one subsystem at a time. After connecting each subsystem, turn the power on and verify that that part of the game is working correctly and that none of the magic smoke escaped from anything. You can reconnect subsystems in any order, but I prefer this order:
When I first got my Farfalla, the ball plunger was bent. I replaced it with a generic Williams' black knob plunger, but it never looked quite right. At a coin-op show, I found a box full of Sega ball plungers from one of their pinball games that had a nice translucent red knob, almost a perfect match for the original Zaccaria plunger. That looks much nicer than the generic black knob plunger.
If you are keeping any pinball machine running, Steve Young at the Pinball Resource in Poughkeepsie, New York is somebody you need to know. Parts, supplies, manuals and schematics all come from Pinball Resource. He probably does not have any Zaccaria-specific items, but standard parts like rubber rings fit fine.
For general pinball repair and troubleshooting information, Clay Harrel's web site, http://marvin3m.com/fix.htm is a must-bookmark.
Federico Croci is an Italian pinball collector who has a web site at http://www.tilt.it/ that anybody who owns an Italian pinball machine or who is interested in them should read.
I would like to include names of companies here that will work on Zaccaria boards for you if you are not able to do it yourself. Unfortunatly, I don't know of any. If you do, please email me and let me know.
Because I do not know of any companies that work on Zaccaria boards, I am willing to work on boards myself. I am not a professional, just a hobbiest, but have brought several Zaccaria games back from electronic death. I ask only two things: that you send me all of the boards so that I can test them as a set and not have to guess whether there might be a problem on a board that you did not send, and that you be patient. I will be working on these in my spare time, and if I have to order parts to repair them, it could take a while to find, order, and get the parts I need to complete the repair. I will keep you informed of the status of whatever is going on. I am trying to help. Please be reasonable.
I would like to thank these people for providing information that has, in one way or another, helped me keep my Farfalla running, or fix a board for somebody else to keep their game running:
| Britt Brooks |
| Federico Croci |
| Clive Jones |
| Clay Harrell |
| Peter Clare |
| Duncan Brown |
| Bob Ellingson |
| Cliff "Cliffy" Rinear |
David Gersic dgersic_@_niu.edu
Copyright © 2001. All rights reserved.
This document may be freely distributed so long as the content is not modified and the copyright notice remains intact.
Document Source: http://straylight.cso.niu.edu/pinball/zaccaria