Bill validator DBV 145 problem

[mas]

Need help !  Have an IGT S-Plus upright slot with a bill validator DBV-145-SS-6031-B022.  Replaced a battery, used Clear & Reset chips and machine was working fine.  It was taking paper money (I use $20's) and credits were registering properly.  Now for some unknown reason it will NOT take the paper money.  It simply takes it in and spites it back out.  The green lites are on and I cleaned the optics to no avail.  I'm not an expert and am now stumped.  Can anyone give me an idea as to what I might try next ?  Any help will be appreciated.

[cowboygames]

How many credits are on the machine already? Maybe you're exceeding the machine credit limits trying to put more money in at this point. If you've got 198 credits on a dollar machine and your limit is set for 200 then any attempt to put a bill larger than $1 in at this point will trigger the response you're getting from the BV. The same would be true if your limit on a quarter machine was 1000 credits and you had anything over 600 credits already on the machine. Putting a $100 in the BV would trigger a bill reject because adding 400 credits would exceed the limit settings of the machine

[mas]

Cowboygames,

Your comments are appreciated but are not the problem.  My machine is set for .25 coin and max payout is set at 7000.  In other words up to 7000 credits before it would begin to drop quarters.  I had about 80 credits, played them off and tried to insert the bills again and it still rejects.  Out of about a dozen trys with different bills one finally registered the proper credits, then right back to spitting them out again.

[cowboygames]

Ok, you stated that you cleaned the optics, have you tried cleaning the transport belts and rollers? If the bills don't feed at a constant rate the BV will kick them out. Any slippage or jamming before the bill is in the cashcan and stored will cause a reject. I use cotton swabs and glass cleaner to clean all belts and rollers in these cases. Obviously there's no guarantee this will fix it, but it's just another thing that can cause the problem along with chipped or broken gears, dirty optics other than the BV head optics and a failing BV head to name a few

[cowboygames]

Also, are you using newer or older money. I don't recall what the capabilities are for the 145, but I know support for it ended a few years back. Not sure if it was before or after the colored money.

[mas]

Cowboygames, Appreciate your responses. I'm using the newer bills which are the same 20's I've been using for about 8 yrs now.  You mentioned other optic other than those in the head.  Where are they located and how do I get to them for cleaning?  That could be my problem as all rollers and belts appear to be okay and the validator does pull the bills all the way in, pauses a few seconds then spittes them back out.  With everything appearing to be working properly it could possibly be those other optic you mentioned if I can find them and manage to clean them.  Thanks again for your help.

[cowboygames]

The transport assembly should have a couple as should your cashbox, but I haven't had that type of assembly for a couple years so I can't be more accurate on locations, sorry. Does the BV appear to take the bill in at the same speed it always did? Those are designed not to just look for speed interruptions, but they also read at a specific feed rate. I know this is a pain in the ass, but unless you've got another known good unit you can try it's gonna be a "fix by process of elimination" kind of deal

[mas]

Cowboygames, Yes, the bills go all the way in as they are suppose to.  I do have another machine with the same bill validator model except that one will take up a $100 dollar bill.  I don't want to exchange them from one machine to the other for fear I might wind up screwing up both of them.  I'll keep fooling with the broken one in hopes I might get it to work.  If push comes to shove I'll get another off Ebay.  Your help was very much appreciated and I'll try to get it apart and find those other optics to clean as that could very well be the problem.  Thanks again.

[Buzz]

If you decide to get a new one forget about a DBV 145 and get a DBV 200. They use the same transport, you will need a 200 BV power supply  IMO a DBV 145 was junk on it's very best day.

[knagl]

The green lites are on and I cleaned the optics to no avail.

What did you use to clean the optics?  If you used an alcohol-based cleaner, I hate to say it, but you likely made the problem worse by making the optic lenses cloudy, which will reduce acceptance.

Since it is accepting bills on occasion, I'd say it's an issue with the validator not seeing the bills correctly and rejecting them because it's not getting a good enough read on them.

I'm with Buzz -- upgrade to a 200 head (and get the 200 power supply if your current power supply doesn't have vents on it) -- you'll get greater acceptance with a wider variety of bills (including some of the newer bills that the 145 doesn't support).  They're not terribly expensive, either.

[mas]

Hi fellows,

I'm back again.  Thought I had the problem resolved but no luck.  To answer a question I used Isopropyl Alcohol to clean the optic's.  Keep in mind that I have 12 games for this machine and have changed them numerous times without a hitch.  Never once did I have to use the Clear nor Set chips at anytime and have been using the same $20's as well without a problem.  My problem developed when I let the machine sit for a year or so without use and the battery went dead.

Now, after replacing the battery I had to use both the Clear & Set chips to get the machine up and running.  It will take the 1st $20 and give the proper credits, but, will not accept any bills beyond that point.  I have two machines with the hopper payouts set at 7000 so they won't drop quarters until they exceed that figure.  One machine powered up after replacing the battery and using the clear & set chips without any problems.  It will accept bills no matter how many credits are showing as long as you don't insert the bill just after a hit.

However, the second machine is giving me a fit with the bill validator.  I even purchased another DBV 145 and installed it in case I had screwed up the optic's somehow.  I still get the same results as it won't take the second $20 either.  The red lites inside the validator are lite as well as the yellow sign just above it the states "$1-$20 face up".  One thing I notice is that when this machine surpasses 120 credits that yellow lite goes out, whereas, it does not on my other machine.  I'm inclined to believe it is something simple that I'm missing.  I see no reason for these problems since one machine powered up and works fine.  The machine in question works fine except for the validator.

Didn't intend to be so long winded, but, wanted to get it all out there for review.  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Mike 

[Buzz]

I wish I could remember how but it's just a simple setting. One of the S+ experts will come along and they are going to ask you to post the SP and SS chip numbers and if it's a 10 meg or 16 meg MPU ( 10 meg has dip switches and a volume control, 16 meg doesn't have either one.

[mas]

Before the tech responds, I am using game SP 779 and reel SS 7575 which are for a 3 coin Chaos.  My board is appearently a 10 meg as it has 8 dip switches and a volumn control.  Dip switches 1 thru 4 are on and 5 thru 8 are off.  Keep in mind this game worked perfectly for years until I replaced the battery.  That's when my problem began.  My machine is an IGT S-plus 16" upright.

Thanks,

Mike

[poppo]

One thing I notice is that when this machine surpasses 120 credits that yellow lite goes out, whereas, it does not on my other machine.  I'm inclined to believe it is something simple that I'm missing.  

This is a limit setting. Be aware that depending on the SP chip, there are different limits for how many credits you can accumulate from wins and how many you can accumulate via the BV. I don't have the PSR for the SP779, but it will probably be similar to to this. It will be the next press of the self test button when you first get a 7 in the coins played. Keep in mind you can not have any credits on the machine when you try and change it.

Max Hopper Pay <7>   Programmable only if the DIP switches 1 and 2 are set for self test selection (on position), otherwise this page is for display purposes only.  Determines the maximum number of coins that may be paid out of the hopper.
Bill Acceptor Credit Limit <7>   Determines the maximum amount of credits that can be accumulated before the bill acceptor is disabled.  The limit must be less than the max hopper size or $2,500, which ever is less.


And as others had noted, you really should have gone with a DBV-200 head.

[mas]

Hey Poppo,

You are the man !!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you !  Followed your suggestion except I kept my credits at 7000 and it's working just fine.  It did dump quarters out when I put a $20 in, but, I knew how to correct that.  I put four $20's in one right after the other and they all took giving the correct credits.  The fix was simple, but, it took someone with your knowledge to help a dummy like me.  Thinking back I believe I was trying to do a fix with credits still on the machine.  You made it clear you must clear off all credits before attempting a fix.

Thanking you again sir.  Have a nice day and thanks for your quick response.

Mike