New Life Games Tech Forums

Hello all.  I have an S+ Round Top "Double Wild" that's been working great until a few days ago.  I think there's a problem with the door optics controller.
Symptom:  Machine powers up, the reels spin one time and then the bottom (yellow) candle light starts flashing, the Insert Coin light start blinking, and "0" reads in the Coins Played window.  And there it sits.  No tilt error codes.  Won't take coins.  Won't take bills.  It just sits.  Credits and Winner Paid displays are blank.

So then I open the door and step through some of the test pages, but when I close the door, the machine doesn't reset.  Hmmmmm, I can reset the machine by stepping through all the test pages, but not by closing the door.  Ah Ha!!  So I put the machine into test mode "1"; Input Test.  Using the reset key, I set the input to #13, door optics.  The display shows "13 0".  When I close the door, it still says "13 0".  When I do the same test on my other (working) S+, the display alternates from "13 0" to "13 1" when I close the door. 

Soooooo.  I swap both the door optic 'sender' in the door and the door optic 'receiver' from the working machine to the Double Wild non-working machine.  I figure the problem should 'follow' the optics and then I'll know what to replace.  Surprisingly, it doesn't.  Even with the door optics switched, the Double Wild won't 'fix' and the other (working) machine is happy working with either set of optics.  That's the mystery.  The door optic 'sender' unit (in the door) seems to be emitting light just fine in either machine.  I can hold up a digital camera up to it and I can 'see' the UV light coming from the optic emitter in my camera's display. 

Not sure where to go from here.  At this sad moment, I have a Double Wild that's now a Double paper-weight.

Thanks guys.  Super appreciate any advice you can give.  Happy to purchase whatever parts I might need to get the machine up and going again.

Dean

The optic on the cabinet is adjustable.  Make sure they are aligned when door is closed

Hi ripohl

It looks like they are lined up correctly.  I can see them through the reel glass when the door is closed and the two sides seem to be looking right at each other.  I tried moving the door handle up and down really slowly just to see if they were out.  Sadly, no change.  Think anyone makes a door optic extension cable that I can purchase so I can hold the two sides up to each other with the door physically open?  That might be a good bench tool.

Since you have two machines you could swap CPU boards.

I have posted this same picture a few times. put some tape on the door and the cabnet, place a mark with a sharpie on the tape that's aliened with the optics. Close the door, if the marks aren't lined up the the optics need to be adjusted.

You should also be able to disconnect one of them enough that you can "close" the door (as far as the optics are concerned) by holding either the emitter or the receiver up to the other optic, then see if the machine reacts.

Another consideration is that the small door that leads to the bill stacker box (the "cash can") is in-line with the main door optics.  If your cash can door is open, the machine won't register the main door as closed.  A number of home users simply remove the microswitch in the cash can box and short the two wires together (fooling the machine into believing that the cash can door is always closed).  That's not my thing, personally, but to each their own.  Do make sure that the cash can door is closed and that it's actuating the small switch in there, however.  Also, but rare, some S+ machines had a belly door switch which was also in line.  If yours does, make sure that switch is registering as closed.

If none of those suggestions work, then I'd go with what rjpohl suggested, and put the MPU board from the "good" machine into the problem machine and see if the optics then respond normally or not.  If they do, it could be a problem with the MPU board in your problem machine (and you could confirm that by putting that board into the "good" machine to test it).

Problem FIXED!!!!!

It was the cash can door micro-switch.  The door was slightly open.  For yuks, I tried to swap the boards in the machines.  When I did, I got a "65 3" error on the display that didn't clear with a press of the reset button.  Didn't want to go further for risk that I'd screw something up (and be left with TWO dead machines!).  So I put the boards back.  Thanks again for all the help!!!

Dean

Woohoo! Glad you found the cause!

Just a side note, the 65-3 is perfectly normal, to be expected with the board change. It would have cleared with a turn of the reset key. Then you would get a 61-1, turn key again and you would be set. (Disclaimer: I am not quite awake yet, and doing this from memory as we haven't messed with S+ machines for over a year.)

Roz