S+ 41 42 43 Over and Over

[DB26]

04/17/21 Update on my 3rd post with the two videos.








NEW PROBLEM IN NEXT POST ⬇️⬇️ This problem is solved.


I just started working on my first S+ machine. So far I’ve only had experience with the S2000s.  It’s an early intermediate cabinet Double Diamond Deluxe. The MPU was missing when I bought it, and I have a replacement purchased from a member here.

I was trying to use the pseudo coins to test the machine but they won’t activate the reels. The white button will add up to 3 credits but pushing the spin buttons do nothing. I am able to pull the handle but the game immediately tilts with a 42 code. What could be the problem here?

I should add I haven’t got the machine to accept a coin yet. (Yes the sample coin is installed) and the bottom half of the candle light is constantly flashing quickly. I do believe my optics are working, as the pseudo coins go away when the door is closed.

[DB26]

Here’s a video of my problem. And I know now the led on the coin comparator is only on when the door is closed.

<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=BdWb7y8ABgA" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://youtube.com/watch?v=BdWb7y8ABgA</a>

[DB26]

It was the sensitivity on the comparitor everyone. Takes coins now.


Next issues are constant reel tilts 41 42 43. Plays a game or two and then tilts. And also the buttons on the panel don’t work. Spin reels and play 3 credits do nothing.


Here are videos explaining the new issues:

<a href="http://youtu.be/Qbl0PvNSjRI" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://youtu.be/Qbl0PvNSjRI</a>

<a href="http://youtu.be/KtfkkPA9p9M" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://youtu.be/KtfkkPA9p9M</a>

[DB26]

It was suggested I go through all my wiring, so I’m going to pull at the connectors and reseat them. I will check for any broken connections and apply some contact cleaner as I go.

[jay]

I would check that the baskets are fully inserted in the reel tray and the reel tray is fully set back.
The reel tilts across all three randomly sound like something is touching - Doesn't take more than a feather to cause a reel tilt.


For the buttons not working - if its more than one it is usually a broken ground wire. Use a meter and follow it from button to button.

[DB26]

I would check that the baskets are fully inserted in the reel tray and the reel tray is fully set back.
The reel tilts across all three randomly sound like something is touching - Doesn't take more than a feather to cause a reel tilt.


For the buttons not working - if its more than one it is usually a broken ground wire. Use a meter and follow it from button to button.

Thank you! I will check the reels and all my grounds while I go through the machine.

[DB26]

All wiring seems to look okay. The switches all have ground and continuity is good.
I have a stack of bad MPUs I bought from a member here for future repair / use. I thought, what the hell, and swapped MPUs with the one that looked the best. The reel tilts seemed to go away, as I was able to add pseudo credits and it played okay. It wasn’t registering the door as closed, though, so I wasn’t able to test it with quarters. I tried it with a second “bad” MPU and it acted like the first one. Constant 41 42 and 43 tilts.

Also my lower candle won’t turn off. Constant quick flash.

I was reading through some archives and users with similar issues have said to use a clear and go from there. And others have said it could be bad resistors or reel drivers. Any thoughts?

[jay]

There are 5 resistors in the top corner of the board.
You will note that 3 are more baked than the others.
That’s because you have a 3 reel game and not 5.


You can steal the good ones and replace the baked.


The reel drivers are socketed chips and can be swapped.


Typically you see one reel acting up not all 3 at the same time. That is why no one was giving you advice around swapping chips and resistors. Once again I would make sure nothing is rubbing when the door is closed.


The buttons are mechanical. If your ground is good. Then check the button function Ooen close with a meter and see if something is bad that way. If there was a MPU / software glitch then pulling the handle would not work either. It shares the same wiring. In this case a clear is not going to help you.

[DB26]

There are 5 resistors in the top corner of the board.
You will note that 3 are more baked than the others.
That’s because you have a 3 reel game and not 5.


You can steal the good ones and replace the baked.


The reel drivers are socketed chips and can be swapped.


Typically you see one reel acting up not all 3 at the same time. That is why no one was giving you advice around swapping chips and resistors. Once again I would make sure nothing is rubbing when the door is closed.


The buttons are mechanical. If your ground is good. Then check the button function Ooen close with a meter and see if something is bad that way. If there was a MPU / software glitch then pulling the handle would not work either. It shares the same wiring. In this case a clear is not going to help you.

Thank you for the reply. I was looking at those 5 resistors. They all seemed uniform in color to me. But I’ll check them again. 


I’ve checked the reels over and over and they seem free and clear. I don’t see them rubbing on anything. They also tilt just as much with the door open as they do with the door closed.


I have done a continuity test with my buttons and they do open and close as they should. So it’s more confusing as to why they don’t activate the reels.


All my connectors seem good and I’ve used contact cleaner on all of them. The wiring all looks good and unmolested.

[Badbaud]

Check the backplane (mother) board for loose connections or bent pins.
See attached.

[DB26]

Check the backplane (mother) board for loose connections or bent pins.
See attached.

Thanks, I’ll give it a thorough going through!

[DB26]

Does it mean anything when the reels aren’t very stiff?


I keep reading the reels should be stiff. When I touch the reels while the machine is on, there’s a very slight resistance (which is easily overcome, and then immediately goes away...to like no resistance at all) and then the machine senses me messing with the reels and spins them all to reset them to their last combination.

[jay]

When the power is off the reels are free spinning.


With the power on the reels hold their position and you can move them step by step to other positions.
Usually they only spin back to their original position when you close the dooralbiet I have never moved them more than 2 or 3 positions.


When people ask if the reels are stiff they are questioning if there is power to the reels. This typically points to a fuse or issue with the molex coming from the fixed motherboard.

[DB26]

Thank you Jay. This machine seems to be an exception to all the normal rules I’ve read. Maybe because it’s an early S+ / intermediate cabinet. I’ll make a video of what I described in my last post.

[DB26]

Update:


On the topic of the buttons, I’ve done some extensive continuity tests on the wires and everything checks out good. I see no reason why the machine isn’t seeing the button presses. So I’m at a standstill there...


On the reels, here is what I was talking about earlier

Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

And here is an interesting development. I swapped a known bad MPU into the mix, since it’s all I have, and the reels won’t tilt. But the door optics aren’t being seen on the bad MPU.

Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

[jay]

So swap the reel driver chips to your good board. I have never heard of 3 going at the same time but it’s possible.

[Trisail]

This may be a long shot. I recently repaired the same/similar problem for a member's S+ board a little while ago.

He had a board that would reel tilt on reel 2 almost all the time, sometimes he would get the other reel tilts, but mostly reel 2 (42). He tried replacing reel driver chips and other work on the board but could not get it working.

The problem was a 'cold'/'bad' solder connection on the MPU board J2 connector for the reel 2 connections. I re-soldered those connections and the tilt problem was fixed. ( I had to repair other problems with the board to get it working good, but none of that was related to the reel tilt problems, so to speak )

So the fix for his reel 2 and sometimes other reel 1 and 3 tilts - was the connections on J2 on the MPU board. (See picture, connections circled are for reel 2)

He sent it to me and I was able to see the problem. The voltage that holds the reels on power on and after a spin is supposed to be applied to the reels all the time. The voltage was way too low, around 1 to 3 volts. There is a circuit on the board that switches the voltage to the reels (stepper motors) when the reels spin, that is a higher voltage. When the reels are being held in place the voltage is lower to reduce the current draw and the heat generated by the stepper motor when it is being held in place. The lower voltage is supposed to about 7 volts the higher (spin) voltage is supposed to be about 11.5 volts (according to the schematics)

I know this sounds a bit out there but worth a chance as you have determined the MPU board is the bad part. You can't really hurt anything if you re-solder (reflow) the J1 and J2 connections, just don't short or solder bridge any of them. There are 4 connections for each of the 5 reel driver chips that go out the J1 and J2 connectors to the stepper motors, you have 3 reels so those are for sure which ones to do. So 12 connections needed (reel 1 has one connection going to J1, reel 4 has 2, the rest you need all go to J2, I did not put J2 on the others) -
reel 1 = J1-30B, 11A, 17A, 19B | reel 2 = 19A, 20B, 21B, 20A | reel 3 = 21A, 22B, 22A, 23B ( reel 4 = J1-10B, J1-10A, 15A, 13A | reel 5 = 23A, 24A, 27A, 25A in case for those that have 5 reels that see this post in the future)
Do all the connections if you like, or just do each reel one at a time, if this should fix your problem and you want to know which one(s) may have been the bad ones, do one reel 4 connections at a time and try the board.

It looks like in the videos it is an intermittent problem and you get all 3 reels tilting at one time or another. I have been working with electronics and troubleshooting many problems for many years. This is screaming at me there is a bad connection.

Hope this helps,
Tony

[DB26]

Tony, that’s a lot of great information! Thank you so much. I will attempt to reflow some of the solder connections and test again. I will update when I get this done.


On a side note, does anyone know where/what to repair or test on the MPU for the door not being read as closed? Someone had written on the back of it “door open” so I know that’s why it was trashed.

[Stayouttadabunker]

Your Reply #16 is excellent Trisail! 

I've gotten lucky with re-flowing the cold joints down along the main motherboard headers.

This makes me wonder if replacing the reel drivers often was a waste of my time but I'll never know.

[Trisail]

Your side note question on your bad board with the door open error.

See the page from the manual below.

You should be able to download the information from the site if you haven't already.

Tony