Sanity Checking 120V to 240V (230V) US imported machine before plugging in (Gottlieb ish System 3)

[saladman]

With my Night Moves now in 1000 tiny bits I managed to find a Caribbean Cruise in decent condition to tide me over (can't get a full sized machine in the house)...

Surprisingly the shipping company I got to sort out the 'big move' advised that due to the small size of the machine, air freight actually worked out cheaper than a boat. So it turned up a lot quicker than expected.



Condition is decent and was advertised as fully working. After general inspection (nothing seems to have broken in transit) there is nothing I can see that would make me suspect otherwise. I did have to partially deconstruct it to get it home - basically into one person lift-able chunks.



I don't have the manual (yet), so did some research on what to change over.

While I had the transformer out, I checked it over to see if I could work out what is required to convert from 120v to 240v. I found bits and bats of info online but still had to do a bit of thinking. My understanding is:

Gottlieb System 3. The transformer board has a connector that allows jumpering to set the voltage. Photo below shows original connector (red and white wires) and a second connector that I made up following some advice I saw on an Australian pin forum.



Connector reference code is A12J5. Original wiring for 120v has three jumper wires: pins 1-6 / 8-10 / 3-5.
I spent a few minutes trying to get the crimped ends out without having the correct tool. Certainly a fool's game. Then I found the connector and corresponding crimp terminals on RS. Part numbers for reference:

• Molex Mini-fit 10-way connector: 4841798
• Standard receptacle contact 24-18AWG: 1729134

I believe the connector that I made up should allow for operation on 240v without any puffs of magic smoke. Two jumper wires: pins 1-9 / 4-5. I took the pin numbers from the Molex datasheet I found on the RS site.

Now for the list of other things that I checked:

• Inline mains filter. I had thought that I needed to source one, but it looks like the unit that is already installed in the machine is OK up to 250V (see photo below, note that the mains earth is tied to the yellow straps elsewhere in the cabinet)
• MOV / Metal Oxide Varistor - I had read about people converting some older machines that this is needed. I can't see any other varistor on the machine, what are people's thoughts on requirement or not? If required, would I solder it across the live / neutral mains feed to the line filter? The MOVs I have on hand are RS part number 2897187 - 430V / 50A
• Changing two fuses to account for the change from 120V to 240V:
  • F1 - in the switch housing fuse holder located in the cabinet. Handily noted on stickers. Changing from 8A T to 4A T
  • F2 - in chassis fuse holder on the transformer board. Again handily noted - changing from 5A T to 2.5A T
• Changing the plug and flex from US to UK
  • I haven't dealt with US electrical equipment before and was surprised to note that the three colours (colors?) used in US mains equipment is green/black/white - with black as the live
• I think that I wired the jumper plug for 240V. Still unsure about 240V vs 230V in the UK - I think it's 230V now.
• Any issues with changing from the 60Hz AC frequency in US compared to 50Hz in UK?

Is there anything else that I can or should idiot check before plugging in? The temptation is huge, but I'm of the opinion that it's better to wait a little bit longer in case there's something obvious I've missed. Don't want to roast anything just yet.

I note that the recommended ground mods have not been carried out but I'm hesitant to change too much right now. The boards look pretty clean and free from any significant damage / corrosion.



Thanks. I know that forums have really helped me over the years and hope that noting this down may prove useful for somebody converting a System 3 from 100v - 240v in the future.

 

[paddythegreek]

The chart is from my Cactus Jacks manual. The plug with the green/white wires is 220v and the plug with the blue/white wires is 240v. There is no 230v plug. It had 220v plug in when I got it but I changed it to the 240v one with no ill effects. Transformers of this era will run fine on either 50hz or 60hz.
so for 240v and looking from above the plug where the wires come out 1 goes to 2 and 5 goes to 9

 

[paddythegreek]

Better pic

 

[saladman]

@paddythegreek brilliant thanks for the photos and advice. I am forever doubtful of what 'wiring view' means for connectors! It looks like the connector I made up with blue wire matches your blue and white cable-d connector which gives me greater confidence.

Appreciate you taking the time to dig the manual and connectors out for a photo and reply. Cheers

 

[saladman]

Just a quick update to say that the machine powered up well with the updated power connector as shown above. Cheers @paddythegreek. Now for a helpful piece of advice:

 

[stumblor]

Now for a helpful piece of advice:

View attachment 104706

Wow close shave I was about neck a whole packet of Adderall