New Life Games LLC
**Video Poker, Keno, Slots, 21** Gaming machines => IGT PE and PE Plus Poker Games => Topic started by: Willson on December 06, 2016, 12:05:32 PM
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Hello all,
I'm very new to this, I just picked up a machine on Sunday night, my first one, I traded a WiiU for it. I spent last night taking apart all the buttons and giving them a nice cleaning with my Dremel, button prongs, springs, grounds, tightened up the connectors, got all the buttons working good now. The game runs fine, its a little glitchy if it get bumped the right way, screen starts rolling, color gets messed up... I just have to wiggle the MPU board to get it to come back correctly (I feel like I'm playing with NES cartridges again) Anyhoo... Taking a look at the MPU board its filthy, I've taken a pretty big ratio picture of it so you can really see the condition of it. Is there a good way to clean this thing? Or should I just leave it the way it is, maybe the crap is holding it together? Thx.
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You should try and find a PE+ Superboard while you can still find them (it has multi-poker sets). I would also pick up a couple spare regular MPU's. Looks like that one is not in good shape. As far as cleaning it is concerned, others here have more experience on that. I usually use a moist towel and then blow dry the board and let it stand for 48 hours in a dry place after that. But there are some cleaners that can be used as well, I've never used cleaners though, never had a board quite as bad as yours.
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..... Is there a good way to clean this thing? Or should I just leave it the way it is, maybe the crap is holding it together? Thx.
Ha! They say not to repair something when it is working or even sorta working, leave sleeping dogs lie and all that. But I'd be inclined to clean yours to prevent a future problem from possibly happening.
Your machines glichiness may be because of a flaky connection in one of the wiring connectors, so inspect other parts of the machine also. Even fuse holders can get intermittent, the fuse cap may be loose or the spring bad. Take a look at all the connectors you can, check for tarnished or corroded or loose connectors. The edge connectors on boards can be cleaned with a soft pencil eraser. Keep in mind that your mpu plugs into another board, called the motherboard or backplane board or interconnect board, and it could have flaky connectors. So you might want to examine it.
As Rick said you should find another mpu board to have on hand, think of it as an investment in case yours becomes unreliable.
We used to take a pan, like a cake pan or other large pan and place the board in it, then run enough distilled water over it to cover it. You could also do this in a large sink. Add some mild liquid detergent, just enough to make suds or bubbles. Take a small new paintbrush and brush the board all over, clean the board thoroughly topside and backside. If the water gets yucky then pour it out and add fresh. Take your time and try to brush every square inch of the board. Don't damage the board, just dislodge whatever crap is on it. If you are comfortable I'd remove the chips in sockets so the sockets and their contacts can be cleaned better. Make notes and take photos so you can get the chips back into the correct socket, pay attention to the notch on one end of the chip so you don't get it installed backwards. Don't bend the chip's legs when removing or reinstalling them. If there is any part on the board that would allow water inside and be difficult to remove, like a transformer with paper covered windings, then it is best to not submerge that part of the board. The reason to use distilled water is to avoid water spots or mineral deposits when you are done and the water evaporates. If you think there is battery leakage on the board then I'd clean that area with vinegar first to neutralize the battery leakage, then clean the board with distilled water and detergent as described.
Once you are happy that the board is as clean as you can get it you rinse it over and over in fresh distilled water. You can use a wetting agent in the rinse water (like Jet-Dry) to help the water run off as much as possible. When done tilt the board and tap it on a dry towel to get as much water off as you can. Then lay the board on a thick dry towel and have a ceiling fan or other fan nearby blow air slowly across it to dry. A blow-dryer on low heat could be used also. Be careful about using compressed air to blow the excess water off the board, at this time of year the air is dry and you can get very high static electricity levels with high-speed fast moving air, enough to zap an ic on the board. Make sure the board is completely dry before installing it into the machine and powering it up. I'd let it dry overnight to be safe.
Before cleaning the board extensively I'd get another board, just in case things go south. Cleaning like this isn't a big risk, but hey, it's electronics and stuff happens.
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The best way that I have found to clean a board is to use "Simple Green" and a scrub brush.
Then rinse with hot water, then rinse with rubbing alcohol, the 95% or higher type.
The allow to air dry for 24 hours standing on edge.
This is how to clean boards that have had leaking capacitors replaced to remove the electrolytic fluid.
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Cool thanks for the tips. My only concern is in the picture, well can't really be seen is a transformer can only see the power plug and whatever is inside the heat sinks, I don't think I should get those wet, or can those be removed easily?
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The power transistors in the heat sinks can be unsoldered but not necessary.
The transformer should be removed or care taken to keep as much liquids off of it as possible.