IGT S+ no LED and no candle lights

[tropicbird]

Hi-
Have an S+ mfg 3/1996. It was functioning correctly, but now when powering up, the candle does not light and the LED displays (winner paid/credits/etc.) do not light. Any thoughts on where I should start to troubleshoot?
Many thanks!!

[Stayouttadabunker]

Cool!  Next year your machine will be 30 years old!

Open the door and power ON the machine.
Gently turn any of the reel strip baskets with your fingertips.
Does it feel like there's resistance?
Like they want to be "stiff"?

I have a question for you... is the MPU enclosure tray located on the left-hand side wall of the cabinet, or up against the back wall of the cabinet, behind the coin hopper?
I will be able to tell you what to check next.

[tropicbird]

Hi!
Sorry for the delay, my reply was clocking instead of posting.

The reels turn easily (not "locked"). The MPU is at the back, behind the coin hopper. It is installed parallel to the front of the machine, if that makes sense.

Thanks!!

[Stayouttadabunker]

Okay,
Pull out the hopper and place aside.
Looking directly at the floor-mounted motherboard in front of you, you will see a large white female Molex connector with 6 wires plugged down onto the male pins.
Turn ON the power switch, lightly rest some fingertips onto the reel strips above on the reel shelf.
As you gently wiggle upwards on Molex connector, slightly raise the right side higher than the left side of the housing.
You should feel the reels jiggle with life and feel like they're energized and somewhat locked into position.
That means the pins inside the Molex connector and the male pins on the motherboard are oxidized.
If you look over at the front of the door and look at the display, there will be a number in the [Coins Played] window.

This is a common problem with S+ machines at this time.
These machines are going on 30 years old...
Let us know if the above tip, energized the reels or not.

Attached below are couple of photos for you to look at:
The first one shows the location of the power Molex header location.
I highlighted it with a green circle.
In the second photo. if you lift the Molex connector off of the male pins and flip it around, you may see a brown burn mark on the Molex connector at the second green wire location on the housing.

Click on any photo to enlarge if needed...>>>
 

[tropicbird]

OK, wiggled the pins. The reels still rotate pretty freely, but there is a slight electrical humming when I gently press them. There is still no light on the LED.

[Stayouttadabunker]

Check the three fuses on the power supply box against the right-hand wall.
There's a 115Volt AC outlet on the front of it.
Make sure the power switch is OFF.
From top to bottom:
6 amps
8 amps
6 amps
These have to be quick-blow fuses.
Meaning there's a thin filament wire inside the glass tube....NOT a flat piece of metal.
It is best to check them for continuity with a digital multimeter.
If you don't have one, the top and bottom fuses are the same - swap them, then turn ON the power switch.
This is just to check to see if the bottom fuse is burned out, because the top fuse is usually okay.

Now, if the reels get energized when wiggling the Molex plug, you know you need a new fuse.
However, a short somewhere, burned out that fuse right?
You have to do some digging around.

I wish you would have told us if the Molex connector is burned or not.
That might help too.

"There's still no light on the LED"
Could you show us which reel glass display you have?
There's 4 different kinds.

[tropicbird]

Hi!
The molex does not appear to be burned (pic attached). I have three fuses, top is 6a, middle is 8a, and bottom is 3a. All look good (pic as well).

[Stayouttadabunker]

okay...it's usually the backside of that Molex housing, that gets browned.
The side of the pins inside the housing that you are showing me in that photo, is not really the side of the pins that comes in direct contact with the male pins.
Rather, what you're seeing is the raised metal piece side of the pin, that locks them into the Molex housing.

Where was the "humming" coming from?
When you wiggled the Molex upwards and tilted it a bit, the reels did NOT get energized at all?
Tilting the Molex connector on the pins kind of temporarily forces fresh contact between the pins inside.

How do you know the fuses are good? 
You can't go by "looks"...lol
Did you check them with a multimeter?
If not, go buy a cheap digital multimeter at a place like Harbor Freight.
Here's a link...>>>
https://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-59434.html
You need to check the voltages coming out of the power supply box.

Also, are you viewing this website with a cellphone, or a laptop/desktop computer?
Your photos are sideways.

[tropicbird]

Hi-
Below is a photo of the other side of the Molex housing.

The fuses were checked with a multimeter.

If the Molex connecter is not inserted, the reels rotate without resistance. Inserted, the reels can still be turned by hand, but there is slight resistance and a very faint, electrical "hum". So yes, they do appear to be energized.

As to the photo orientation, you have me there. They are right side up on both the original device and when viewed on my machine. Why do they rotate when attached?  Who knows :-)

[Stayouttadabunker]

okay awesome!
We're getting somewhere!
Can you tell us or show the display?

If it's the long one along the entire bottom behind the reel glass, there's two connectors going to it.
The center bulb that lights up the denomination label (Usually a .25 cents sticker), runs on different power line coming out of a small black Molex connector with 4-pins and wires. way over on the right when looking a the back of the display with the door opened.
The rest of the long display panel uses the black Molex connector located just about center, next to the coin mechanism, that has 5-pins and wires on the door harness.

If it's the smaller rectangular display attached to the door frame on the reel glass on the right, then it just uses that single black Molex connector I just described with 5-pins and wires.
Unplug them and re-plug them back in.
They could be loose or oxidized then check the [Coins Played] window...there should always be some number on it.
It goes out momentarily for a couple of seconds whenever the door is opened or closed.

Finally, with the power switch OFF, can you grab that big black knob of the MPU tray and jiggle it up and out of there?
Snap a clear photo of the battery area on the MPU circuit board.

I'm thinking the battery is so dead, that you're not even getting a "Low Battery" code [12].
Judging from the rust on the floor, I'm starting to think you might have corrosion problems.
Post some photos of the interior of the cabinet.
From there, we may be able to see and tell you more.

[tropicbird]

Hi-
Looks like it is the long one with two connectors (wiggled both). The center bulb does light.

Battery pic attached. I get about 6.5 volts across the battery using the multimeter.

[Stayouttadabunker]

OMG..pull that battery outta there!
Somebody before you hacked it!
6.5 volts is way too high.
Only supposed to use at most 3.6 VDC
I get away with 3 volt 2032 coin cell batteries in a holder soldered to the battery pads.
Before, it was fairly cheap to get SAFT LS 14250 cells with a holder....but shipping is crazy now.

Top one is the 1/2AA SAFT 14250 batteries and a couple of 2032 coin cell holders.
Under that is a 2032 holder, slightly different.
All available via Amazon...pretty cheap really.
Hope you know how to solder?
A cheap solder pen kit from places like Harbor Freight will work.

Also, get a vacuum in there.
If any of that debris is metal, you could easily short out something.

Click on any photo to enlarge if needed...>>>