WMS BB2 Cuts to No Signal Both Monitors During Bonus

[fdtamomma]

Hello all - am new to posting in the forums. Have an issue with WMS BB2 where machine boots fine and game works fine until during a bonus (not always, just sometimes) it will black out both screens with "no signal" message. Initially thought was a game issue (only had one game - LOTR) but purchased another game (Ruby Slippers) and after installing had the same issue occur during gameplay in the bonus. When reboot the machine, will come back up, start the bonus over on its own, and then once bonus gets going good it will cut to "no signal" again. Could it be when the game gets loud, something is moving inside that causes the no signal to happen? Have reseated DVI cable, wiggled, poked, prodded all I can think to try and am just plain frustrated  Any ideas what could be causing this? This is my first slot machine I have owned so am new to this. Any suggestions on what I should try?

[Yoeddy1]

What brand of monitors does the machine have?  Only things I can think of is there’s a frequency change or something during the bonus round that doesn’t communicate with your monitors correctly.  Has it done this since you bought your machine, or did it used to work fine?


Or if you have a flaky power supply and there is enough action going on with the system, maybe it can’t handle the load? 


Just a couple of thoughts.


Jason

[fdtamomma]

Back of monitors says Wells Gardner - Bottom WGF2298 has DVI cable, top WGF2298A has VGA cable. Has happened since I received the machine, which was shipped to me. Thought was a loose cable or something that when the game got loud during the bonus it must be vibrating somehow and causing it to go out. I bought the machine with LOTR game in it, and the no signal both monitors issue would happen only during the Gandalf's Fireworks bonus and sometimes during the Legolas' Arrows feature. Changed game to Ruby Slippers last night and the no signal issue happened during the first bonus I got after installing, but happened when it rolled a "Big Win". May be giving too much info, just having a hard time understanding how can not have a signal on both monitors when I can see the screens just fine until getting the error. Really appreciate your help - machine is driving me crazy trying to figure out the root cause....

[Yoeddy1]

Does the machine still play when the screens go off?  Sounds, gameplay, etc.?  In other words, does the bonus finish, and you can still press the buttons and play the game with nothing on the screen, or does the game halt?


Jason

[fdtamomma]

When the screens go black and the no signal messages appear, the game sound continues but will stop after several minutes, and does not play sounds like the bonus is continuing to play on its own (like reels spin again in the bonus, etc.). The bonus does not finish, and I am not able to play the game once the no signal message appears. Sometimes when I reboot the machine after this occurs, the game will come back up and start replaying the bonus, and stop again with no signal message at same point in the bonus. Other times, when I reboot the machine it will go through the start up screens and then go straight to the no signal message.

[Yoeddy1]

Have you contacted the company that you purchased it from?  I suspect a power supply or an MPU related problem. 


Jason

[rickhunter]

Sounds like a video card issue.  The same thing happens on Blade games when the video card is having issues.

[fdtamomma]

Initially thought it may be that something came loose during shipping the machine. Am a newbie - have a pinball and pachinko machines but this is my first slot machine. Are the video cards hard to get? Should I start by replacing it and seeing if that fixes the issue?

[rickhunter]

Here's a new one on ebay from a reputable dealer.  He is also on this site as blueridge slots.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/WMS-CPU-NXT-2-VIDEO-CARD-NEW-BB2-BB-2/332840603821?hash=item4d7ed890ad:g:CEcAAOSwSlBYxddP:rk:1:pf:0

Before I buy a video card, with the price of bb2 mpu's as they are now, I would buy a known working one to have as a backup.  You can get some good prices sometimes around $300 most of the time.  The price curve on these MPU's is at their lowest.  Once the supplies start drying up, they will go up in price, so now is the time to buy your spares.  Remember these are casino (ab)USED machines, and bb2's have been retired for some time now, so the parts are plentiful and cheap now, but that is not going to be the case in the near future.

[fdtamomma]

Exactly what is the MPU / look like? Do not have a manual, and have much to learn - this forum has been great source information.
Is there a way to test these components (MPU, video card, etc.) to find out if they are bad? Do not own another slot to try them in and at a glance am not seeing discoloration with what I can see without taking anything apart.

[fdtamomma]

Here is pic of what inside of door looks like. Sorry for all the questions, just not sure which parts are called what unless they are labelled. Just starting out with learning. Thank you!

[rickhunter]

Well, for one thing the cpu fan has fallen off.  That is supposed to be attached to the CPU.  That might be your issue, as the cpu heats up (the bonus rounds use more resources), if there is no cooling done, it will protect itself and go into thermal shutdown.  That heatsink/fan needs to be attached with a clip to the CPU and proper thermal transfer compound needs to be re-applied (after completely cleaning out the old one).

The picture below is what it is supposed to look like. There should be a retaining clip that holds the fan/heatsink assembly on top of the cpu. (which is in your case is bare, the green chip with the square in the middle that has some grey compound on it).

[fdtamomma]

  will see what I can do to get the fan on right and see if that fixes the issue.

[fdtamomma]

Ok - I found the clip to the fan and missing screw to the Adastra board (was in the bottom of the machine). Went and got some thermal paste and have cleaned the old paste off (it was very crusty and just scraped right off). Could you give a quick tutorial on how to mount the fan? Have looked at several photos of that area online but is not apparent to me how the rod looking piece attaches? If this even goes to the fan?

[rickhunter]

I won't be home for several hours, post a close up photo of the area with the cpu, and I will try to explain.

[fdtamomma]

Figured out mounting the fan - was not what I was expecting...rod goes through the center of the fan and into a small loop coming out of the board. Now fan is working (yeah!) Had high hopes but when turned machine back on it went through the boot up cycle and straight to no signal again. Am going to try rebooting a couple more times and if that doesn't work, clear and reinstall the Ruby Slippers game to see if I can get it to come back up.

[rickhunter]

Yeah, if you are getting the no signal issue, then it's probably the video card.  I would just get a known working mpu from a reputable source.  You will get your game running faster that way.  Of course if you are the type that like a challenge...

Getting a no signal after it boots into game, or before it even gets to the game?

[fdtamomma]

Initially had no signal after booting. Rebooted until got the game back working. Played for awhile, even made it through one bonus, but then got a big win and again went to no signal. Ordered the video card from the source from your post. Soon as it comes in will change it out and see if that fixes it. (fingers crossed!)

[fdtamomma]

Issue fixed - a BIG THANKS to all who helped. Replaced the video card with an excellent one from BlueRidgeSlots, and now able to play the game - bonuses, big wins, and all! - without any problems. 

[rickhunter]

Execellent, glad you got it fixed!  I would still highly recommend you purchase a spare MPU while they are inexpensive and easy to obtain.  Enjoy your game!