New Life Games Tech Forums

Hello,   

I just aquired a IGT I Game Little green Men.   When it boots up, it shows the following errors & photo of the screen is below:

  Touch screen communication error
  Operator must set accounting
  Denomination Value
  Options verification required
  Bill Validator comm failure

In addition, the screen does not respond to the touch.   I tried resetting by turning the Key and I am able to get through to screen temprature sequence,  but when it comes to touch screen calibration, the "dot" never shows up on the screen.

What I am trying to do is narrow down the problem from either a bad monitor or a bad touch screen board... but I am not sure what is the next proper step in troubleshooting this issue. :103-

I tried using the LGM board (3902) inside a Texas Tea cabinet and it came up perfectly...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Have you tried the key 22 clear chip to try and reset the machine?

Thanks for the tip Jimise,   

After replacing both of the I/O cards which didn't any differnce which known good I/O cards from Texas Tea chassis,    I then used the key 22 and tried to reset the machine,  however after re-installing the base chip back on the board, the monitor will not even come back to life...   The machine completes the boot up cycle, but no monitor display at all.   

I then took the 3902 board and placed it in Texas Tea chassis and it works perfect.   

My gut feeling is that I have a bad monitor....  is there any other tests I can perform prior than swapping out the monitor (which I plan to do anyways) ?

Thanks agian

Moe

you probably have either a bad touch screen or a bad touch screen controller.  once you get the touch screen problem fixed you can continue your setup and get the game back to playable.

Is there a touchscreen setup menu that's accessible from the main button deck? My reel touch machines have done this before and I could go through a setup from the main button deck, that's why I ask. I don't have any I-games and don't know if they work that way or not

I appreciate your input kforeman & cowboygames.   I will try to check the touch screen & the controler to see if that helps.

And to cowboygames response,  I have tried every switch inside the cabinet, but could not get the touch screen to respond.

Thanks & I will post my findings once I figure this out.

Moe

You have a problem with your Netplex communications bus.  That's why you have a bill validator communications failure too.  The touchscreen, bill validator, and printer (if you have one) are all netplex devices. Try removing the bill validator and see if that clears your touchscreen error, if not, try the printer next.  Netplex communications do not go through the IO cards, so those are not your problem. 

:212-
good catch Tilt, a netplex device issue is another strong possibility. :89-

Moe you mentioned that you have another IGame, power down and pull the t/s controller out of it and try it in your LGM machine.  if that doesn't help swap the entire monitor to verify the touch screen itself.  always power down when swapping components to avoid voltage surges. :50-

My first guess would be the  Touch Screen  controller... ( rectangular (green)  board  mounted on the inside frame of the  Monitor. )  All your tilts  show up when you cannot / and did not   set denom, game etc  in your initial setup.  Either sitting there for some time and you couldn't get the TScreen to respond the machine goes  past the settup and  all your tilts show up.    If you have a known working  monitor  great.    If you change out the  TS controller...   there are  2 different types.  (just match same to same)  otherwise it's a long and winding road to  swap controllers  with different connectors.    Good Luck.

 :212-

Many Thanks "TILT", "Bettor Slots", "CP" & "kforeman" for sharing your wisdom  :131- :131-  :131- :131-

btw,  does anyone know where I can get instructions or have a link handy on pulling a 17" inch I GAME monitor?    I found directions for 19" GameKing.. I am thinking its similar or the same.    :103-

I am sure I will figure it out,  and I just wanted to check if there are any special steps or process or gotchas.  :186-

Thanks again,

Moe

It just slides out.  Support it from the front, and there's handles on the sides.  It's somewhat heavy, so be careful not to drop it.

Tilt  I seem to recall some people changed over to LCDs mounted in/on the door.

From what I'm reading he had a picture with a bunch of errors and now ( reply #2 ) he now has a dark screen after switching boards.  :103- :103-

I think I wuld pull the LGM board back out and make sure none of the pins got bent.

In regards to pulling out the monitor...  it does slide out... sometimes with a good tug... ALSO you might check underneath the monitor "shelf".... sometimes the monitors have a  screw holding the monitor in place...  You  would find it in the front center (underneath)  the  monitor shelf.  Of course,  just remove the screw  before  pulling the monitor.

Yeah, the picture was of a CRT so I assumed that's what was in the in the LGM. 


Thanks. I guess all the ones I've seen have had it removed.

Thank you all for your continuted support!!!!    :131-

I have a good idea now how to yank that puppy out.   

 
Moe   :204-

Note that if you are going to slide the monitor from your other machine into this one for testing that there are 2 monitor types, a 19-pin and a 25-pin.  So you might check before you try cramming in the other monitor into the problem machine.  Just count the number of holes you see in the black hub you see at the back right hand corner and see if they are a match.

Thank you "Better Slots" for the tip & saving me from making more work for myself..   

Also Thanks Buzz for your input to check for bent pins while I have the monitor out.

Much appreicated,   :3-

Moe

if your machine has a printer on it I would disconnect it  and see if this won't clear up the touch screen problem.  does the bill acceptor try and cycle every ten seconds or so ?? brief cycle. 

if this does cure the problem, check the gray ribbon cable on the printer. its probably crushed underneath the roller.

Jim

I finally got some time to continue working on this issue.    I removed the old monitor which was full of smoke residue big time (I am re-considering giving up cigars if this is what my lungs look like.. see gross photo below)    also looking for tips on how to best clean it and open to suggestions.  I am thinking of compressed air canister?

Luckily the Texas Tea monitor has identical 19 pin configuration, and it slid into LGM nicely...  So the results so far is that the game came up, but again would not respond to touch-screen commands.   I could turn the attendant key and get it to start taking ambient temprature, but when it gets to the sequence of the screen calibration, no dot appears...   same symptom as the previous monitor before it stopped working.  (see photo)

I disconnected the printer and BV but still same symptom as above.   (And by disconnecting I mean unplug the printer cable and removed the BV head, not entire BV assembly)

Just for kicks I installed the old monitor in the working Texas Tea chassis, but it would not come up.

So I am kinda stuck thinking that LGM has an issue with touch-screen or Netplex circuit... not sure what to try next   :103-   


Thanks agian for the help, 

I also forgot to mention that one of the symptoms is that the BV does make a slight noise as if it's trying to cycle or initialize every 10 seconds when it is plugged in.

Thanks agiain

moe

 Are your BV transport and cash can fully seated with the cash can release lever in the full upright position. For that to be restarting constantly like that indicates a bad switch or open switch, it would seem anyway

I appreciate the input Cowboygames.    I will look into the BV transport and cash can assembly to make sure they are properly seated and lever if fully upright locked position.

Thank you again   

Moe

As far as cleaning that CRT, you can use windex on the whole of the tube itself, just be a little careful around the rubber plug where the anode lead goes into the top of the tube. For the circuit board, if it's kinda sticky buildup, grab a can of electronics parts cleaner from radio shack or order a can of "tun-o-wash" on the internet and spray it down

Power up the machine without the BV transport installed and see if that clears the touchscreen problem.

Thanks for the cleaning tip cowboygames!  I will follow your advice!   :3-

Also Thank you TILT on another troubleshooting procedure tip as I continue to work on resolving the touch-screen issue. 

Moe

when the BV tries to cycle,do the red lights on the right side go dim?  I had the exact same problem, it was the gray ribbon cable shorting out to ground. don't know if it was the +12vdc being pulled down?  you might remove the BV transport as well and see what happens.  you could also monitor the +12vdc and +25vdc and see if they are ok.  

you know the board is good, the monitor from the TT works (just no TS) if you unplug and take the printer/BV out of the picture, then you are down to the motherboard, power supply, and the cabinet wiring.

Jim

Finally success tonight.   First I removed the complete BV assembly, but same symptom.   I then installed the BV and removed the complete ticket printer assembly and was finally able to get the touch-screen to respond. :244-  I now also understand how to remove the top 1/2 round glass and access the inside of the head. 

I set all of the options and got the game to finally play and enjoyed it.....    :117-

The only thing I noticed that I had to touch the screen with extra pressure with my fingers, but it worked..  :3-         

Question:  Is there a touch-screen sensitivity adjustment either through the menu or something on the board that one could adjust? I tried to callibrate the touch-screen several times and also It's currently 50 degrees in the garage where the game is currently sitting, so maybe it's a temprature related issue... I will play it tomorrow when the room temp will be closer to 60 + degrees.

Major Thanks to everyone who guided me through this!!!!!    :293-   :131- :131- :131-

Ever-grateful Moe

Glad you were able to get it working!  :3-  Going through the calibration procedure is the only adjustment you can make to the touchscreen that I know of. 

Room temp has a huge effect on screen response. You should see a marked differance in temps over 60. The newer cellphone screens do a little better, but I would consider your experience at 50 pretty average

glad you got the machine up and working!  slide open the printer chassis and check out the gray ribbon cable that runs from the back to the sliding part, see if there is damage to that cable. If the cable doesn't fold like an accordion, its gets pinched by the rollers and usually tears or shorts out to the chassis.

Jim 

:212-

if your ribbon is damaged (probably) you may have to replace the daughterboard for the printer as well as the ribbon cable.  the daughterboard is the pcb on the back of the printer chassis that the ribbon connects to.  i'm sure one of the helpful vendors here can hook you up with a new ribbon cable and daughterboard at a decent price so you can get the printer running again too! :3-

Thanks TILT & cowboygames for your very helpful input on Touch-screen temperature behavior, and what to expect.     

Jim, likewise I appreciate the tip on the printer cable getting caught issue,  I will inspect the cable for any closely tears or pinches which may be causing a short.   Question on the Printer cable connection itslef,  is there only 1 main connector or are there 2 (1 main and another smaller 4-pin white connector)?

  :285-  again,

Moe