IGT S+ Bill Validator Not Working - IS Activated

[Riffkid77]

Hello everyone!

I am new to NLG, and I am also the new owner of my very own slot machine (first of many to come!!)

It is a IGT S+ Made in 1998, and is the Red White and Blue $0.25 machine (3 coin)

I have been playing it for quite a while at this point, and I absolutely love it. I am hoping to soon become a collector, but I am having a bit of an issue with this first one.

I got a good deal on the machine from a local guy who needed to get rid of it (I like to think I got a great deal at least!) but there was two issues when I got the machine.

The first issue was that he stated the "Payouts are wrong." - After studying the times it was "wrong" and comparing the info on when it won and didn't win, I ended up swapping the reel strips from reels #2 & reel #3 = Problem solved!-

Now for my biggest struggle, the bill validator. I bought the machine full on knowing that the BV was not working. I don't mind playing coins, but would really like to pop some hundreds into this and play for hours without interruption.

The facts:

- When the machine is first powered on, the BV makes a whirring sounds, and when the head is lifted up the belts move, etc.
- I know it is activated, as I just got finished installing the BV/Denom set chip, and it was already on 9-1.
- The Insert bills light is not lit up, and I know that the bulbs are not burned out
- The BV will not even attempt to take the bills in - It does not eat them and spit them out, it simply won't even attempt to eat it.
- I have made sure there is no jam, that the cash can is all closed up properly, and then it is all locked in place where needed.


Please, please please, if you have any information that you could extend me way, please do share. I would really LOVE to use bills in this machine, but I have exhausted the extent of my knowledge on the machine.

Thank you in advance!!

[staz]

use a Set 90 chip to get to the option of Country Code <0>[30] and check if the machine set to Canada {7}....if so Change this to United States {37} and it should work....

[Riffkid77]

Thanks a million for your response! I will get the Set 90 chip soon.

May I ask, just prior to ordering the Set Chip, would the country being listed as Canada not allow me to even initiate the BV at all? By that, I means would having it to Canada set it to where under no circumstance would it ever accept bills?

[staz]

you need to set it to usa......

[knagl]

Hold on a second.  Staz, what makes you think his machine is set to Canada?

There could be half a dozen reasons why your validator isn't attempting to accept bills.  Before you go and spend money on a chip you may not need, let's start with some basics.  What SP chip is in your machine, Riffkid77?  If you don't know how to check, here are directions.

Is the stacker box ("cash can") completely and firmly inserted (don't be afraid to be a little firm when you insert it)?

What model of bill validator do you have (there should be a label on the top of the head)?

Welcome to the site, by the way!

[poppo]

Is the stacker box ("cash can") completely and firmly inserted (don't be afraid to be a little firm when you insert it)?

Along the same lines as this, make sure the transport is seated properly in the rear. It's easy not to have the legs, latched properly. If the trasnport and cash can don't mate and cylce properly, the BV will not enable.

[Riffkid77]

Thank you for the responses everyone, and for the welcome to the site!

As far as the BV head, it doesn't have a label on top stating the model number. Others I have seen all have a big label with the Model, though mine does not. The only label on the BV has a small bardcode on it, and says WBA-13-SU.

When I make sure that the Can is firmly seated in there, the BV did seem to make a bit of a different noise. As well, when holding the door open on the machine, if I applied a bit of pressure into the can, the Validator would start whirring the same way it does when the machine is powered on. Even still, the 'Bills Here' light did not come on, and the Validator still would not even attempt to accept my dollar bill.

As far as the Transport, thank you for the large and detailed photo! As far as I can tell, and hear when I am inserting it, it is definitely latched in to everything. When I place the can in, it doesn't wiggle by any means, and definitely feels secure.

On another note, and not sure if this has anything to do with anything, but when inspecting the machine and trying to look behind the Cash Can/BV, I do see a femaie power cord that is connected to the base of the machine about 4 inches behind the Can, but the female and goes to absolutely nothing. Not sure if it is related at all, but kind of curious and figured I would bring up anything out of the ordinary

[knagl]

It's possible that the unplugged pigtail goes to the top box for some removed player tracking stuff.  Some pictures of the inside might help at this point.  You have a WBA-13 bill validator, by the way.

Can you tell us what SP chip is in your machine?

[staz]

if its a wba13 could it be the switches? are they all on the up position on your transport?

[poppo]

When I make sure that the Can is firmly seated in there, the BV did seem to make a bit of a different noise. As well, when holding the door open on the machine, if I applied a bit of pressure into the can, the Validator would start whirring the same way it does when the machine is powered on.

Hmmm... That may be a clue. It should not cycle just by pressing on the can.

[Riffkid77]

Very sorry, I completely forgot to include that in there. The SP is 00-1160, and if it matters, the Reel Prom is 3281.


Here is a video of the machine with the BV turning on, checking the cash can to make sure it is snug, and a wire I just noticed coming from the cash can that never completes it's circuit. I am  starting to think this mystical green wire is the culprit. Any thoughts??


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cwsrGU5uaiI&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/cwsrGU5uaiI&rel=0</a>




edited to embed the video -KN

[Riffkid77]

Very sorry Staz, I am not entirely sure what you mean by that. - I am not sure what the switches are on the BV, nor what they do.

Care to elaborate? I am still quite new at this 

[poppo]

Not sure about the WBA-13, but when a DBV-200 cycles that long, it usually means it's not engaging the cash can or there is a problem with the stacker. Are there any broken teeth on the can gear? Can you manually turn the gear on the cash can and make the stacker go through a cycle? I've seen cans that have the stacker stuck. But maybe someone else will know if that sounds right.

Those green wires should be shorted together. They are for the cash can door switch (that many machines don't have anymore). Not sure if it would cause the BV not to work though.

[Riffkid77]

Hi Poppo,

I just pulled the can out, and none of the teeth on the gears are broken at all. As well, if the can is completely out, I can manually cycle a dollar bill through with my hands, though it isn't connected to the BV at all.

Also, If I really jam the can up in there underneath the validator, it doesn't seem to cycle as long, so that may have helped in that department. Nevertheless, still no acceptor light coming on and no bills will even attempt to go through.

I was concerned it may be the head of the BV, although if I open the head, place a dollar in, close it, and then power on the machine, it will immediately spit it out. The only time it has ever moved a dollar is by myself doing that. It has still yet to accept a bill or even attempt to accept one

[Jim]

first check the wiring going into the transport, when you pull the transport out there is a plug on the top, left, rear.  it mates with the connector located in the same position on the transport housing. there should be four plugs coming out of that connector. only three are used, the small two pin is the 12CDC, the four pin connector is the interface, the other four pin plug only has two wires on it , this goes over to provide a signal to turn on the lamps behind the yellow decal.
the two green wires:  they went to a switch located underneath the lock opening. they traveled along the bottom of the housing and along side the housing exiting out the back, follow those wires, at some point along that path they should be twisted together and taped.
going back to your setting of the bill denom, what set chip did you use to accomplish this?   everytime I set this it always comes up 9-0, then you press the spin button and change it to a 1, then there is a second and critical part to this setting. that is to set the denomination, if no denomination is set then the BV will NOT work.
finally, there is a set of switches located on the right hand side toward the bottom front, these all have to be set in the same direction, I think UP???

in your video, you flipped over the transport unit and showed the chip that is in the machine--- what numbers and info is on that label??
wba's differ from 200's in the way they act when power is applied. with no cash can in the wba it won't cycle or do anything,the only sign of life would be the red lights on (right side circuit board)  so if you insert the cash can with the power on it should cycle .  try all these steps and see what we come up with

Jim 

[staz]

 watching the video it sounds like you have a bad bv head  or a bad transport ...if that transport has dip switches make sure there all on the up position.... i never had a wba13  sound like that.....mine sounds totally different......

[poppo]

....., then there is a second and critical part to this setting. that is to set the denomination, if no denomination is set then the BV will NOT work.

Jim,
Does the WBA work different than the DBV on this? I thought the DBV will still light up the bezel and take a bill, but reject it if the denomination is set to 0.

[knagl]

I am  starting to think this mystical green wire is the culprit. Any thoughts??

I don't think so, but it won't hurt to short it together (twist the two ends together).  It looks to me like that was extra wiring that the casino may have put in to have an additional door switch.

I agree with what poppo said.  My S+ with the WBA in it doesn't continue to cycle over and over like that when I turn it on.  I don't think the transport is properly engaging the gears on the cash can.  It sounds like it's trying, and never succeeds.  Since it knows that the stacker can isn't cycling, it won't allow the validator to enable.  If it would help, I can take a video of what mine sounds like when I power it on.  It will take a day or two from start to upload of that, though, due to some spotty internet issues I've been having.

[Riffkid77]

Jim:

I pulled the transport out, and I know the plug you are referring to. It is in tact and does connect with it's mate in the back where the transport locks in.

As for the wires, I made sure they are shorted together, and from following them back into the machine they don't ever seem to be misplaced by any means.

As for the chip, I bought it on eBay ( I actually work for eBay Inc out here in Draper Utah ) and all it says on the chip is S+ Bill Val/ Set Denom.
When I used it, I followed only the steps to make sure it was at 9-1 (was already, but I did hit the spin to change it, then changed it back). BUT, I didn't set the denomination as it was and is working fine with quarters. Do I need to go through the process of setting the to .25 anyway to enable it correctly?

I will have to post back later tonight with the chip numbers on the transport as we just left the house.


Staz: I see no dipswitches anywhere on my transport, should there be?

Thank you for the video as well! Sure wish I could get mine to work that smoothly, and yours sounds much different when cycling the money through



Knagl:

I think the other video posted by staz helped a bit for how it should sound, but thank you for the offer. Would you possibly agree that I must set the denom when setting up the BV for it to engage? Also, any ideas what could cause my can to not be synching with the transport? Could the transport be bad?

[poppo]

As for the chip, I bought it on eBay ( I actually work for eBay Inc out here in Draper Utah ) and all it says on the chip is S+ Bill Val/ Set Denom.
When I used it, I followed only the steps to make sure it was at 9-1 (was already, but I did hit the spin to change it, then changed it back). BUT, I didn't set the denomination as it was and is working fine with quarters. Do I need to go through the process of setting the to .25 anyway to enable it correctly?

Yes, you need to set the denomination. The fact it works with quarters has nothing to do with it. The denomination tells the machine how much each dollar is worth (i.e., 25=4 credits per dollar). If it's not set, it tells the machine that a dollar is worth nada (it defaults to 0).

Note: Some people will set the denomintation to $.01 (on a quarter machine) to quickly add credits. $1 would give you 100 credits.

Your BV still sounds like something else is wrong though.

[Riffkid77]

Thank you poppo, that is good to know!!

Would this function make it so it wouldn't ever attempt to take the bill in? I am going to try this when I get home in an hour, but I was just curious. My thought process would be that it would take it in and spit it out without knowing what to do with it. Just a thought

[poppo]

Would this function make it so it wouldn't ever attempt to take the bill in? I am going to try this when I get home in an hour, but I was just curious. My thought process would be that it would take it in and spit it out without knowing what to do with it. Just a thought

I'm almost positive (at least on a DVB-200) that it will take the bill and then spit it back out if the BV is enabled but the denomination is 0. So I think you may have multiple issues, especially because of the cycling and bezel not lighting up. But yes, get the denomination set first, and then see what happens.

Note: when you set the denomination, be sure to press the self test button to save the setting before powering down the machine.

[knagl]

Would you possibly agree that I must set the denom when setting up the BV for it to engage?

Well, you have to set the denom for it to work -- I'm not positive about whether or not it will enable or not if the denom isn't set.  I actually suspect that it won't enable, but that's just a guess.

Also, any ideas what could cause my can to not be synching with the transport? Could the transport be bad?

When you remove the cash can, are you pressing down the lever on the right inside of the cash can box, or is it just pulling out?  If it's just pulling out, the can isn't in far enough.  Take the can out, put it about halfway in, then (careful that you don't pinch your fingers) slam it into place inside the box.  I feel like it isn't seating correctly, causing the motor on the top to not spin the gears in the cash can.

Your BV still sounds like something else is wrong though.

I agree -- it sounds like it's not cycling the can to the "home" position.

[Riffkid77]

Just set the denomination for it using my chip, and also made sure it was at 9-1 and saved settings.

When I remove the can, I do have to push down the little lever to get it out. As well, I just put it in position, and slammed it in pretty well (alerted my wife, who thought I was just getting fed up and hitting it, haha)

It did cycle a bit less when doing this, and made a more natural whirring sound so I am certain it is in place. It was less of a whir and more of a cycling noise, similar to a change machine.

Unfortunately, still no light and no bills heading in.

I'm diligently trying to find someone in salt lake selling and IGT machine that is an S+ to see if I can pay them $10 or so to pop my BV in their machine just to see if it works. No luck thus far, but still looking

[poppo]

Can you post another video of how it sounds when you pull the cash can out and then put it back in? I'm still thinking the problem has to do with the excessive cycling. If the cash can/stacker is not found, it will never enable.

Also with cash can out and the cash can door open, when you turn the gear on the can, do you see the stacker move down and then back up? As I mentioned earlier, I have seen the stacker plate get hung up and not move like it should. Earlier you said it took a bill, but the rollers might feed that. The stacker needs to move properly too. Just trying to use process of elimination.