NOOBIE IGT S plus battery question

[Strake]

Brand new to your forum.....  and a total noobie to the technology with these machines.....  wish I had known about this sooner......


I've been the happy owner of a 1994 ( I think)  IGT S +  Double Cherry Bar machine  for the past 6 years...... no issues till recently and I really hosed it up.


Of immediate interest is to know if  I can leave the machine plugged in, and powered on  so my battery does not die   WITH  my bill validator and coin comparator  removed?  I don't know how long these batteries will typically last in a cool basement.  I'll  be gone for over 2 weeks and don't want to loose the battery, even though I have a new spare.


Got it partially straightened out so the machine played again, with the help of the dealer (on the phone) who sold me the machine years ago  but  shipped the bill validator,   as it will only accept a bill about one out of 100 tries,   and now my coin comparator won't give credit even for the coins it accepts  so  I've shipped those parts back to the dealer to check them out.   He suggested that I shut down the machine,  but   I don't want the battery to die and create yet another issue to work through.


When I was first trying to get the bill validator to accept bills,  I  cleaned the optics head with a q tip and rubbing alcohol.  When  it didn't solve my issue,  I made the fatal mistake of putting in the Jackpot key/ Reset Key  in and turning it several times,  along with pushing any of the buttons on the face of the machine......   After a phone call with the dealer,  he suggested I buy online a set of RAM clear chips, etc  which  I did.  Stuff came today,  and the dealer walked me through getting the machine re programed.   I  DID  get it to finally accept a $20 bill  and got my 80 credits.  Machine played perfectly......   I still couldn't get the coin comparator to give me credits for coins  so at the dealer's suggestion  I shipped them the coin comparator,  coin comparator gear with wire harness and the  DBV-200 Bill Validator.


Just want to make sure it's  SAFE  to leave this machine plugged in and powered up  with some of the components unplugged and removed.


thanks in advance !

[Shaggy]

Welcome to NLG. So did you put a new battery in this machine recently? You seem to be very concerned about the battery. Those batteries last for years. Obviously yours is not new. They don't have to be left on, but if it makes you feel better being gone 2 weeks. Then by all means leave them on. The machine will work without the b/v. Anyway and the c/c isn't going to hurt anything.

Dave

[Strake]

Thanks Dave,


No,  I didn't replace the battery,  but  don't want to either if not necessary.   Since   I will be gone over 2 weeks,  I thought if I turned the machine power off  I might have a dead battery on the board  when  I get my parts back from the dealer and get home.


Just wanted to make sure it was safe to leave it plugged in without all the components attached.

[rokgpsman]

Yes you can leave it plugged in and powered up 24 hours a day if you want to, even with some of the parts removed. Some machines don't even have a bill validator or coin acceptor/comparitor, that's the way the owners have configured them or the way they were built.

But I don't think it is necessary to do that. Unless there is a problem with your mpu board (the main circuit board that has the battery attached) a new battery should last for quite a while, even years maybe. The battery is only keeping 1 ram chip powered up and it is a low-power chip. After all, you've owned the machine for over 6 years and the battery lasted all that time. And keeping the machine on continuously will put a lot more time and heat on the various things like power supply, lamps, etc that could result in a failure sooner than later. Some of the parts only have a certain amount of lifetime operation. Some owners report that they have fading on their reel strips from the fluorescent lighting when the machine is left on all the time.

If you test the battery and it measures below 3.0 volts I'd replace it. It may last a long time but if it fails then I'd go from there. Each time the machine is powered up it checks the battery voltage and will give you an error if the battery is too low.

Some people install a battery holder on their mpu board to make replacing the battery easier. If you continue to have battery problems you could look into that.

When you do a CLEAR procedure it is a bit of pain getting things set back the way they were, so I'd avoid clearing the machine unless you have an error that requires it. The good news is that you will get more familiar with your machine and learn more about how to handle things from having to deal with it. It would be great if these machine never needed service but hey, it's over 20 years old.

Welcome to NLG!  That's a nice looking machine you have!

[Strake]

Thanks rokgpsman !


I was apparently under the impression that I had to keep the machine powered up  ( as it's been for nearly 7 continuous years)  or the battery would go dead in a few days.


I would REALLY prefer to power it off when we are not here, even though it's weeks at a time.  Battery doesn't go dead


I have a new spare battery,  that came with the eprom clear set I bought .....  but haven't had to install it.   I'm still on the original battery...... BUT,  as stated above, have not powered the machine for more that an hour or so,  or during power outages, occasionally.


Richard

[rokgpsman]

I wouldn't be afraid to power it down when it isn't being played. That will protect it in case of electrical storm, plus reduce all the negative things I mentioned earlier. The only reason the casinos leave them on all the time is because they are open 24 hours and don't want a customer to have to wait to lose their money if the machine went into "sleep" mode or something similar. There are some owners that leave their machine on all the time but I think most do not. A good battery should last much longer than a few days when the machine is turned off.

Like I said, the battery doesn't run the whole circuit board, only a very small part of it. Even if you do need to replace the battery now & then that is much less cost than the added electrical cost the machine will use if left on all the time, plus it gives off some heat that will increase your a/c usage in summertime. If you are able to replace the battery then you know how to solder, so you can solder in a battery holder and make changing the battery even easier when it is needed.

 

[Strake]

Great info rokgpsman !!!   I really appreciate the replies from all.


I do know how to solder,  so when it becomes necessary,  I will replace the battery.   I also am understanding that after a battery replacement it will require re programming the machine.  Is that a correct assumption?


thanks!

[rokgpsman]

Not always, sometimes you just have to open and close the door a couple of times to clear any errors. It depends on the error that you get. But now that you have the SET and CLEAR chip you will be able to handle any problems. We just like to tell folks not to be too quick to do a CLEAR, since that will cause more work with reprogramming your settings, plus you can bend or break a leg on the game software ic when you reinstall it after using the CLEAR chip. Many times whatever is the problem can be solved without resorting to a CLEAR.

Here's a good writeup by one of our more experienced members about using the CLEAR chip:

http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=516.0


EDIT-
PS> I figure you know this, but just to make sure, when removing or installing parts of the machine like the bill validator, circuit boards, coin comparitor, etc always power down the machine.

[Strake]

Great info....... thanks for the link.... will read it in the morning.


Went ahead and turned the machine off      First time in 7 years, other than when  I did the RAM Clear and reset today for an hour with the dealer over the phone.


thanks again,


Richard

[jay]

I left my machines off for over a year while I moved and developed a basement. They don't go dead.
The battery is used to hold the CMOS information contained on 1 chip. This draws such minimal voltage you could probably leave your machine 5 years on a fresh battery and have nay a concern. One of my machines was manufactured in 1994. I acquired it in 2003 and only had my machines on when I played them, a couple hours a week. I replaced the battery in 2008. 14 years is not bad for any battery.

The battery is NOT rechargeable - but isn't used when the machine is powered on. You could equate your battery health to leaving a pack of consumer batteries on the shelf. Eventually they will need replacing even though they were never used.

[Strake]

Thanks Jay......


Understood completely now.....   for some reason,  I thought it kept the battery charged up by being powered up.


What started my battery fear issue was when  I purchased the machine in the dead of winter,  Dec 2009   the machine arrived after a 2 or 3 day commercial truck ride from OH.  The dealer asked that I leave it in the room where I will use it for another 2 days to acclimate to the room after being in very cold temps getting here.  When I fired it up initially,  found that I had a low, or nearly dead battery.  The dealer walked me through removing the board,  and they Fed Ex'd me a replacement and I then shipped them back the motherboard with the bad battery.  They attributed it to the cold weather and the machine not being powered up for several days. Since then,  I've never shut it off......  almost 7 years.


This site has already shown to be a huge help 

[rokgpsman]

.....   for some reason,  I thought it kept the battery charged up by being powered up....

Not to add any confusion, but there were some older slot machines like the Bally E-1000 that had a nicad battery and it was rechargeable. While the machine was powered on the battery would get recharged. Sort of like how a car battery gets recharged as you run the engine.

Your machine uses a lithium battery which is much longer lasting. But before lithium batteries were available companies had to use other types of batteries like nicad rechargeables in order to get the performance they wanted. So you may be remembering that older battery technology and how it worked.