Sankyo Fortune Frame Payout Fault

[JReed357]

Hi there guys, I've recently acquired a Fever Yume Fukujin (Fortune Frame) which won't payout any balls. Firstly I discovered an orange pipe had been added into the payout chute which was actually blocking the channel from the payout motor, which initially led me to believe the payout motor had been intentionally disabled (otherwise the payout chute would of become backed up) I've added a before picture for reference:
PXL_20230728_182337663.jpg

I've removed the orange pipe and blocked off the holes in the sides that were left behind. I've followed all wiring from the payout motor to the boards and nothing is disconnected. Dropping a ball into a pocket does trigger the slot reels to spin, so the machine is reacting to "winning" balls but just not paying out.

I have no error codes on the display, and manually turning the gear on the side of the payout mech does release balls, so the motor isn't jammed. Any ideas would be hugely appreciated.
PXL_20230728_195520448.jpg

Thanks,
Jame

[Drunkenclam]

I would follow the ball path back up to the tank and make sure any sensors in the ball path haven't been tampered with. It looks like it might have had a basic cyclic system retro-ed ar some point.