1996 sizzling sevens machine problem with reels.

[clown2948]

Hi all I need some help with my IGT sizzling sevens machine. I did a ram clear and set the dollar amount but when I try to get the reels to spin they only spin around one time then lockup. Than I get a 41 or 42 or 43 error. Each time it changes codes. What is my problem. I have reset the machine and I get a 2 in the coins played but when I hit the spin button the same thing happens.I need Help. This was a progressive machine but the display has been removed. This is a dollar machine with one payline three coins.

[brichter]

So, it sounds like the 41, 42, or 43 error clears when you open and close the door, correct?

Check the door optics, pay particular attention to the alignment. Also make sure none of the reels are hitting the white plastic piece that holds the LED displays and bulbs.

[clown2948]

Hi no the error code does not go away. I have to turn the reset key to remove. The reels spin free with no problem with the power off. They lock up after you try the spin button. They only turn one time than lockup and that is when i get the error code. When I do a reset i get a 2 in coins played and it will let me spin the reels.

[jay]

The 41, 42, 43 are a reel tilt error.
They typically mean that something has interfered with the reel motion.

41 = Reel 1, 42 = reel 2 etc.

IF this is moving from reel to reel and there is no interference there are only a couple of other things that can cause this.

1. Each reel has a reel optic. If these don't work right you will get this error....
If the machine worked with other kits and just started this then I would try and go to a different game kit and see if the problem also occurs as it might point to something wrong with the chips used with this kit. On the other hand if this is a new to you machine then I might try swapping the reels out with another machine as the reels could just be bad. They just snap into the reel shelf so they are easy to move.

2. It could be a bad harness between the top of the MPU cage to the reels. Given that the problem moves each time I put more salt into this being a nicked wire with a intermitent short than 3 bad reels.

3. It could be a bad MPU board - try swapping with another machine or get another mpu - its always good to have a spare and the prices are typically under $30

[clown2948]

I have not had other kits in this machine. This is the first time I have tried to get it up and running.I have tried other mpu boards and the same thing. This is a progressive machine but has no display board. Could that be the problem.I will enclose a picture of machine. Will they work with out the progressive system in them.This machine pays out the progressive amount if you hit the blazing sevens.

[jay]

I have several S's  and am progressived out the yingyang. I am running both the Mikon linked as the top award and the IGT as the secondary award.
This does not interfere with the reel action.

A progressive is really nothing other than a marketing tool.
The game is the game and pays back whatever the standard chip percentage is and the progressive doesn't effect this at all.

When you put in a coin the progressive is incremented.
When the top award is hit the progressive amount is paid out vs the standard top award hand pay.
In the case of the mikon this is simply two wires that short for a brief second that causes it to increment. Nothing to do with the core logic etc.

In my case I have my progressive set to be 4% this means when I put in a quarter my progressive increments by 1cent.

So if I am running a 92% chip my machine pays back the standard 92% most of the time but when the top award is hit I am obligaged to pay the top award which is equivelent to 4%. So I am just paying out a total of 96%.

In a typical bank of 10machines the casino actually does a bit better than this because the progressive is the contribution from all of the machines... however when you factor in that they started the progressive at say $3000 which the the combined top award of 3machines... (vs the combined top award of 10 machines) the math gets better for the casino.

The typical casino uses 1/8th of 1%.... Ie 8 coins = 1cent and when the machines are connected to a progressive they would more commonly use lower %% chips like 86% that way the progressive gets bigger and bigger and becomes more attractive..... and the casino is still only paying 1/8 of a % for this attraction tool....

[StatFreak]

I know that it's already been suggested that you check for physical interference with reel motion on the white plastic piece that holds the LED,s, but it's actually more common for the two wires in the florescent light at the top of the reel glass to droop down and scrape the reels. If that's not it, you might also try gently blowing out the reel optics with compressed (canned) air.

Since all three reels are tilting I'd be surprised if it were the harnesses, and since you say that you've already swapped MPU boards, the next logical step would be to put the reels in a known working machine. Try moving the reels by themselves first, and if they work, then move the harnesses as well and re-test.

[CaptainHappy]

After looking closely at your ...047 picture I noticed that the reel strip is kinked inward at the bottom by the red seven. Also the reel basket looks a bit distended at that point. It may be rubbing on the inside? The strips should lay smoothly in the grooves in the reel basket. You can gently pop the strip into the groove from behind it usually if it is just popped out of place. If the strip is badly damaged that is another story...

Also if you are familiar with how to reinstall the strips into the reels you coud try a test by carefully removing all of the reel strips from the baskets and running the machine without them to see if you still get a tilt. 

CaptainHappy

[knagl]

With the power off, do the three reels spin very freely when turned by hand?

Also, I agree with SF - check those wires at the top of the light over the reel glass.  I've had to wire tie mine up on one of my machines because they were touching the reels.

[clown2948]

Hi I replaced all the reels with ones from my other machine and the same thing. I was just wondering if the battery is low would that stop the reels from spinning. They only turn about a 1/4 turn than stop quick. Maybe it did not do a ram clear with a low battery.At first i thought they spun one time but now I found that they only turn 1/4 of a turn. I get a different code each time. A 41-42-43 code. The reels spin freely with the power off and the wires are tied up and do not touch the reels. When I press the white reset button the machine tries to spin the reels but they only turn 1/4 turn than stop than I get the 41 error code.

[stayouttadabunker]

A low battery, clown2948, would give you a code "12".
Are you getting a code 12?

I hate to be the one to say it...persistent 41/42/43 error codes usually means a bad MPU board.
Better ask around for one that matches yours...

[StatFreak]

A low battery, clown2948, would give you a code "12".
Are you getting a code 12?

I hate to be the one to say it...persistent 41/42/43 error codes usually means a bad MPU board.
Better ask around for one that matches yours...

I agree completely, but he said that he changed out several MPU boards..  That's why I had thought that perhaps the optics got dirt or dust in them while he was working on them machine..

I have not had other kits in this machine. This is the first time I have tried to get it up and running.I have tried other mpu boards and the same thing. This is a progressive machine but has no display board. Could that be the problem.I will enclose a picture of machine. Will they work with out the progressive system in them.This machine pays out the progressive amount if you hit the blazing sevens.

Hi I replaced all the reels with ones from my other machine and the same thing.
...
They only turn about a 1/4 turn than stop quick.
...

Since you moved known good reels into the problematic machine instead of moving the unknown reels into a known working unit, did you also move the harnesses from the known good machine into the problem one? Although I think it unlikely that all three harnesses would fail simultaneously, it would be best to eliminate them as a cause.

[clown2948]

The one thing that makes me wonder is that both boards have a place for a dip switch but that has been removed and both boards have a dip switch setting sheet on the outside of the aluminun tray. Should they have a 16 pin dip switch on them.I have enclosed a picture of the board. The dip switch is missing and it is just to the right of the coil mounted on the left side.

[jay]

The absence of a dip switch and volume control means that this is a 16mhz board and not a 10mhz board.
The tray is from a 10mhz board - as it has the sticker on it that describes the dip switch.
The tray should be compatiable as all it does is have a transformer and hold the board.

I don't know if your game chip is compatiable with this board.
Can you post the number of the game chip you are using.

Game chips that are compatiable with the 16mhz board have a setting for volume within the PSR. In the later series 10mhz game chips they ignored the dip settings anyways but did not have control over the volume making them incompatiable.

The reel chip would be compatiable but it has to be burnt on a higher speed chip than what is typially used for a 10mhz version

[idylewild1]

Did you swap the game chips when you swapped MPU boards ??? Make sure the game chip on the MPU is 120NS or faster chip and that it is a 16 MHZ chip number i.e. 1272 etc. I had this happen on a machine I was shopping out and it was the game chip was to slow for the 16 MHZ board. If you have a good 16 MHZ MPU just put it in the sizzling 7's machine without changing the chips --- clear the errors and see what happens. Good luck.