My first slot machine, i need help getting the bill validator working

[DDMAN]

I just bought my first slot machine.  I am learning so much about these, but i can't figure out the bill validator.

It's a double diamond slant top IGT S plus machine.  The bill validator is a DBV-200 unit.  The lady i bought it from had the battery die on her so the machine quit working.

I changed the battery, cleared all the error codes and got the machine working.  Everything works great on it.  Reels spin, it accepts coin, hopper pays, etc.  But the bill validator doesn't light up or accept bills.  It won't even attempt to accept bills.  It does cycle at power up, but that is it.  I've read a bunch of other threads on here about other people's issues with DBVs and tried several things, but nothing has worked.

Things i've tried:

I bought a set chip, followed the instructions, made sure it was set up to show 9-1.  Also made sure the denomiation was correct, at 25cents.

Reseated the bill changer and bill hopper many, many times.  Bent the little tabs up to make sure the bill hopper made good contact. 

Power is getting to the unit, i see little red lights on the board, but the face of the validator won't ever light up. 

The lady said it worked before the battery went dead on it.  No wires were ever disconnected or anything that i'm aware of.  Validator is getting power.

Tried the self test mode of getting the validator face to light by pushing the reel button, (self test button 4 times, jackpot key 14 times) but it won't light up.

I'm at a loss of what to try next.  Could someone help me out? 

[DDMAN]

Here are a few pics of my machine to help out with the troubleshooting.  Here's a pic of the bill validator and the board

[DDMAN]

Here are two more pics of loose wires i found when i bought the machine, i'm not sure what they are for or if they have anything to do with why the validator isn't working.  One is in the upper window area and is labelled 5V and is a 3 prong connector

The other is in the lower portion and is labelled 900045 NC. 

I don't see any places for either of these to plug into or what they do.

[poppo]

Ok, first, look at the bottom of the DBV-200 head and make sure all DIP switches are off. Specifically look at DIP switch #10. You have a SP575 in there. I don't have a PSR for that one so I don't know what ID it uses. If any other switches other than #10 were not off, turn them off first and try again. Otherwise flip # 10 the other way from whichever it is and see what happens (assuming all others were off). Always make sure power is off first.

If that doesn't help, trace all wires from the BV power supply and make sure they are all connected. The BV will cycle as long as it has power, so we know at least some of it is connected. Both connecors on the left side of the BV head should have cables connected.

Are you sure your bezel bulbs are not burnt out?

If that doesn't work, let us know and we can do some more tests.

Oh, this is very important. When it powers up and cycles, does it cycle just a little or several times (like 6 times)? You need to make sure the cash can is seated all the way and also make sure the rear of the transport is seated properly. If it's not, it will cyle a lot and then will never enable. Check out this post where I made some videos of whit it should and should not sound like when powering up. And also a picture of a properly seated transport.

http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=11332.msg99152#msg99152

[Buzz]

http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=4226.msg8620#msg8620

Poppo     I don't give a damn if your video is better, you just gotta bring this Gal out of retirement every now and then.  I hope she never shoots that arrow.   

[DDMAN]

Thank you for your help so far.  It is greatly appreciated!  I checked the dip switches, all of them were off except #10 which was on.  I turned it off and tried to run it and it did the same thing as before.  I opened it back up and switched #10 back on.  I watched the 2 videos posted and it sounds like my cash box is engaged.  I made a video for you to look at and listen to and view for yourself.  I double checked the connections (2nd picture) and they appear to be ok.  Like i said, i do have two unplugged plugs, one in the upper box (5V), and one in the bottom box (900045 NC) I don't know if those are making a difference or not.  Here is the video and picture:

[DDMAN]

Oops, here's the video (the clicking at the very end doesn't come from the machine, it was some error with the video:

[poppo]

Oops, here's the video (the clicking at the very end doesn't come from the machine, it was some error with the video:

Ok, I think that helps a lot. It should not be making that chuck, chuck chuck sound. See this thread starting here.
http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=13051.msg117023#msg117023

It turned out to be bad optics. But check that your cash can optics cable is plugged into the right side of the BV head. To test it, after the unit powers up and the BV finishes cycling, pull out the cash can and see if it makes the BV cycle. You can also pull out the transport and make sure the cable is not broken (it's the one running along the right side of the transport). It can get chewed up by the trasport if not careful.

[DDMAN]

Success!  Thank you so much for your help!!  I fiddled around with the right side connection and all of a sudden it lit up and it seems to be working now.  Must've been a loose connection or something.  It's still making a bad grinding noise when the gears engage and when it takes in bills it's still grinds a bit.  Is that normal?

Also, it seems to be kind of picky.  It took one of my dollar bills no problem.  The other one keeps getting jammed in the machine, even though it doesn't seem to be that beat up.

It won't take the new colored money either  but i figured it probably wouldn't.  Not without the upgrade chip.  Should i just leave well enough alone at this point or try to do something about that aweful grinding noise?  Also, is the lever on the bill validator supposed to be up or down?  I thought it was supposed to be down, but it seems to only work when it is up.

Also, do you have any idea what those two extra plugs in those pictures are for?

[poppo]

Glad you got it working. 

Lever should be up.

You can try cleaning the head and transport. Get all of the gunk off of the rollers. Don't use alcohol on the head optics. Just a q-tip and some warm water should do.

Does your BV head say what version of firmware it is? V2.6x will take everything except the new $5s. If yours has a plug in eprom in the bottom by those switches, you can easily upgrade it. Otherwise it's a flash based unit,

The extra plugs could be for anything. On an upright, there is a pug in the top for a progressive display. Also power for a topper.l I would not worry about them if the machine is working.

[DDMAN]

I don't think it has a plug in eprom...i didn't notice any.  I tried new 5's, new 10's and new 20's and it wasn't taking any of them.  I don't mind it only taking old bills, i can handle that.  It's just that grinding noise that was worrysome to me, but that i can also live with.

Thank you so much for all your help once again, it is much appreciated.  I hope to someday get another slot machine, but they are hard to come by where i live for certain reasons

[poppo]

In case you don't know, here is how you open the head to clean it. And the link shows opening the transport.
http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=13051.msg115647#msg115647

[DDMAN]

Thank you for the pics!  They will come in quite handy.  This is my first experience with a slot machine or a bill validator or anything of that sort.  It has been quite a learning experience for me, but very much fun nontheless. 

I saw some kits on ebay to change the type of game i have.  I'd love to get one with the reels that nudge.  Are those switches pretty easy to do?  I'm assuming you just install the new game chip and put in the new reels, right?  Since i've already got the reset chip, i should be able to do this as long as it's another S plus game, correct?

[poppo]

Switching games is fairly easy. You may or may not need a new game chip depending on what you are switching to. But you would need

Glass
Reel strips
Reel chip
Game chip (maybe)

You will then have to clear some errors. Here is the link for the them and how to clear them.

http://www.newlifegames.net/igterrors/

Among some others, you WILL get a error 61. Be sure to follow the directions exactly.

Also look in the classifieds here for a kit, or put up a WTB.

Oh, and there is a good chance you may have to change that BV DIP switch #10 if it stops working after a game change. Some use ID 022 and some use 023.