code 3300 on S+ that will not go away

[SlotSure]

Hi all, I guess I am a slot machine guy now. I have bought 5 in the past month. All but 1 needing various degrees of repair.  The current headache is what I will call a 1st generation S+ 25cent Double Diamond machine. The processor is at bottom left of case,power switch bottom front of case, old school toggle type. I will try to be as complete I can, as to what I've done so far. Some things I've done more than once.

Machine was stored in garage for some time. Found mouse nest at rear of cabinet directly behind hopper. After cleaning all remnants of mice out (nest,urine,turds,etc., still working on odor), started repairing wiring. All wires appeared to be undamaged, only the insulation chewed.(Did blow a fuse) Slid heat shrink tubing over wires I could comfortably remove from connectors(without fear of damaging terminals) and taped the rest.(Only about 4 or5). Replaced battery on board.

Before I continue, I have bought any manuals I could for all machines. The IGT S+ troubleshooting guide (from IGT) is vague and generic at best. (It reminded me of technical manuals when I was in the Army. " If it doesn't work, replace with known good part." That's great if one has access to a warehouse of slot parts.

Anyway, turned on machine, it went through start up, maiden reel spin etc. Insert coin comes up (no bill validator), I start playing 3 coins per spin for maybe 20-25 spins, alternating between reel button and handle. At this point no wins to test cash out. Then after a random spin the game locked up and 3300 comes up. Now I never asked for a payout so why did 3300 even trigger? Removed and cleaned all connectors to motherboard. Checked continuity on wires going from J10 connector to hopper and SSR. (Thanks previous thread) All good. The processor looks like new. Found some green corrosion on backside of rear connector to motherboard. Cleaned. Put back together. Fired it up. Started playing. Played 30 spins or so. Built up 27 credits. Hit cash out, 3300 flashes, game locks up  

How about a reset chip? Ok. Tried that, same thing, played then locked up, 3300. Found a new motherboard on eBay. Recleaned all connectors (cleaning with torch tip cleaner tool and CRC electrical contact cleaner) installed new M.B., fired up started playing. 30 or so spins in with no wins so far, reels come up double bar, doublebar, double diamond. Then comes 3300. Once again without requesting a cash out.  

At this point all there seems to be left is the processor. I have gone over it several times with a magnifying glass. Looks fine. I have not separated it from the tray to see the underside. The motherboard was so urine soaked that I had to replace the 6 wire power connector and terminals because 2 terminals were dissolved by the acid I presume. This was why the motherboard seemed like a good idea. I have another newer S+ machine. Put hopper in that machine, works perfect. One last thing. At no point throughout this will the hopper test work. For now I am out of ideas.

Any help is appreciated.





(edit to add some paragraphs, much easier to read)

[rokgpsman]

Welcome to NLG, glad to see you here!   


There are plenty of S+ experts here (along with a few half-a$$ hobbyists like me) so standby for suggestions, ideas and maybe some questions to get you the help you need.

If you can take the time to post photos of the mpu board and the machine itself that often helps us to maybe see something that could be causing a problem. And photos keep the interest level up, so you are more apt to get more responses.

Since the hopper works good in another machine maybe the error 3300 is being caused by the machine trying to pay any winning spin from the hopper? The machine can be set to put wins to credits or to pay out immediately from the hopper. But if the error 3300 comes up sometimes when there wasn't a winning spin then that's not the cause.

Have you inspected the Cash Out button, makes sure the wiring for it is in good condition? If there was something flaky with the Cash Out button or its wiring then the vibration of the machine when you are playing it could be causing the Cash Out line to get activated. If you put a few coins in the hopper and play it to build up some credits does the hopper randomly pay out coins and the error 3300 never happens? If so you can disconnect 1 or both wires from the Cash Out button switch and see if the error 3300 goes away. Another thing to check, does the Cash Out button spring back strongly when your press and release it? Might have a bad or broken spring inside the Cash Out button, that could let the button press down on the Cash Out switch more than it should.

[SlotSure]

Thanks for the welcome. There is no doubt there is a wealth of info on this site. I have fixed 2 machines just reading posts before I joined. As I said initially, the machine locked up 2 times without requesting payout. I did not know that it can be set to pay out automatically but if so would it not try to pay on every win? I cannot recall when the first time this occurred, what came up on the reels. As for the cash button, I will check it but it works fine when I use it to toggle through tests. As I said in my post, I can't understand why 3300 comes up anyway based on the conditions for code to set, I.E. hopper running for 8 seconds with no coins seen passing optics. The hopper thus far has never come on. Not even on a forced test. I was an automotive mechanic for 25 years. This reminds me of what we called "ghost codes" on earlier computers. A code that would show up for a failed component that was not even on a particular model of vehicle. This was usually a defective computer, hence my suspicion of the processor.  I will try to snap some pics and upload today. Thanks for the quick response. As I mentioned initially, the technical info I have found so far has not been very helpful.  The first hand knowledge from people who actually fixed a machine is much more useful and often a better repair  than the vague text of a manual. Thanks again...

[rokgpsman]

The random 3300 error could be from contamination or damage to either the mpu board or the motherboard.

With the condition of the machine as you described then the problem could be a number of things. Such as contamination on the mpu board from the mouse droppings & liquid stuff (water and urine). Also, if there was any mpu battery leakage that can cause a lot of oddball stuff. Or there could be more mouse-chewed wiring that you haven't found yet. If two wires that are near each other have their insulation chewed off then wire strands from one wire can intermittently touch the other wire.

If you have another S+ mpu board you can install it in the machine and prove if the old mpu is causing the random 3300 error.

Are the wires going to the player pushbuttons in good condition, or did the mice chew on them too?

The motherboard has many signal and control lines that pass thru it. If you haven't already done so I'd remove it from the machine, clean top and bottom sides and examine it carefully. Since it lays horizontally in the bottom of the machine there could be anything underneath it, as well as on top of it. The motherboard often gets dirtyier than the mpu board since the mpu is standing up vertically but the motherboard lays flat in horizontal position.

Yes, you can set the machine so that the winning spins cause credits to be stored on the credit meter, or the wins can be set to payout immediately from the hopper. But as you say, if it was set that way then every winning spin would attempt to pay from the hopper, not just some.

At some point you will need to know what SP chip is in your machine. It is one of the socketed chips on the mpu board. The other socketed chip near it is the SS chip. You can look at the label on top of the chips and it should have the IGT number. Or you can follow these easy instructions and the machine will display the SP and SS chip numbers on the front display:

http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=2251.msg11326#msg11326

[SlotSure]

Thanks for your help rokgpsman. Found open connection at what is like a Buss bar at bottom of case. It feeds I guess, most things 110v . This particular wire feeds the line side of the SSR. Repiared and game payout works perfect.

[rokgpsman]

Good to hear that you found that problem. Might want to look at other wiring and connectors in that area in case of other similar damage that could cause intermittent problems or failures in a few months. That machine may have been neglected for a while, you'll want to have some confidence about it and a good inspection will do that.