Williams High Speed Coin coin issues...need advice

[mainpin]

I have a 1995 Williams High Speed Slot machine that won't coin op when I put quarters in (bill validator works but only takes the old money) At first, I was getting a coin jam error and once I replaced the optic board under the coin comparator,  I no longer have that error.   However quarters just drop straight thru without adding credits now.  The green light is on, on the coin comparator but the  "insert coin" light is not lit on the front of the machine.  Could the comparator be bad?   Any suggestions?
Thanks for any input.
Jim

[rokgpsman]

Can you tell us what make & model coin comparator you have? Also, did the coin comparator ever work for you and this is a new problem, or has it been bad since you got the machine? A photo of your coin comparator could help. Since the insert coin light is not on it makes me wonder if coin play is disabled for some reason. Have you tried checking or changing any of the settings in diagnostics? Also, if you already have a bunch of credits on the machine it may have reached the limit and is not able to add any more credits.

[mainpin]

Thanks for responding.  The Slot is a 3 reeled 1995 Williams High Speed 400 series.  The coin mech did work but then started to have some problems with coins not accepting.  At first I could correct the problem by opening and closing the door but then it started showing an error "coinj".  I replaced the coin optic under the comparitor and now the quarter justs drops thru.  No other adjustments were made to the machine
Any suggestions?
Jim

[rokgpsman]

When you say the coin just drops thru, do you mean it falls back into the tray (rejected coin) or it falls thru the coin optics (and into the hopper) but the coin is not sensed by the machine, you don't get a credit for it? The fact that you could fix it sometimes by opening and closing the door makes me think there is a loose or flaky connection on a cable and the jarring from shutting the door gets it to work again for a little while.

When you replaced the coin optics did you also remove the coin comparator? If so I'd try a few things like making sure the little cable and connectors that connect to the coin comparator look ok and are fully plugged in, especially any that you previously removed. Try removing the connector and then reseating it, in case some oxidation or a weak contact is causing the problem. Make sure you don't have the little connector misaligned, like one pin off.

Also loosen the screw on the round cover above the sample coin, slide the cover over to the right and remove the sample coin. Make sure it is a real US quarter, see if it is dirty or simply put another quarter in there just to be sure. When you slide the cover back to the left over the sample coin be sure to get it all the way over. Tighten its screw firm but not so tight to break anything.

If it is still not working then turn machine power off and remove the coin comparator. Look on the back and inspect the "rake". This is a metal flange that is spring loaded and can be actuated by a nearby solenoid (magnetic coil). Gently lift the rake and see that it moves freely. You can temporarily put a folded piece of paper under this rake to hold it in the open position. This will allow the coin to pass thru the comparator and then to the coin optics. Report back what happens if you do this.

Hopefully others here will have more ideas and suggestions. Keep posting your results, it will get solved.

 

[mainpin]

Thanks Rokqpsman,
I pulled the comparator out, worked the rake behind it, removed the coin in the comparator and replaced it and made sure the wiring harness was seated properly.   Not sure what was the exact problem was  but I have ran about $20 in quarters thru it and it is now working as it should!!!

Next question.....my bill validator only accepts the old style money I believe ( I don't have any old bills other than a $1 bill to check it but the $1 bill works)   Is there a way to upgrade the validator to accept the newer money?

Happy New Year!
Jim

[CVslots]

Next question.....my bill validator only accepts the old style money I believe ( I don't have any old bills other than a $1 bill to check it but the $1 bill works)   Is there a way to upgrade the validator to accept the newer money?

Happy New Year!
Jim

Good job!!!! At least you are operational now!

To upgrade your validator, you will need to ID what model you have (pics will do fine) and then contact one of our vendors. BlueRidge Slots is a great source for validator upgrades! You may get lucky and just need a new EPROM with the updated software or worst case, you send the validator out and have the new software programmed onto it. 

[rokgpsman]

Thanks Rokqpsman,
I pulled the comparator out, worked the rake behind it, removed the coin in the comparator and replaced it and made sure the wiring harness was seated properly.   Not sure what was the exact problem was  but I have ran about $20 in quarters thru it and it is now working as it should!!!

Next question.....my bill validator only accepts the old style money I believe ( I don't have any old bills other than a $1 bill to check it but the $1 bill works)   Is there a way to upgrade the validator to accept the newer money?

Happy New Year!
Jim

Happy New Year to you, and good job on getting the coin comparator going. Impossible to know for sure but it was likely a flaky connection on one of the cables since you said closing the main door would cause it to start working for awhile (until machine vibration once again caused the flaky connection to fail). The metal pins in the connectors oxidize over the years, likely moving it to a slightly different position got it working again. Just a theory, but good enough until proved otherwise.

I'm not too experienced on bill validators, CVslots and others here can advise you better than I can. If you look at the bill validator on the top or somewhere there should be a sticker giving the model number, such as a JCM DBV-145 or similar. The JCM company released software updates for the bill validator over time to update it to recognize newer bills. But on older models the company no longer released updates after a point in time. So if you have an older model there is only so far you can update the software. If you do have a JCM bill validator you can often just replace the "head" to a newer model head that will accept newer software updates so you can insert newer style bills. A popular JCM model head is the JCM DBV-200, it is still old enough that it doesn't accept the newest designs but does work with most bills and it can replace many previous model JCM heads, so you won't have to replace the rest of the bill validator mechanism. If you do want to replace the head or the entire thing there are several people here that have them available for reasonable cost. The head is the front part where you insert the bill. Just behind it is the transport, it takes the bill from the head and does some scanning to it, then places it into the money box (which often is missing/not used on home machines).

The US $1 bill is the only bill that hasn't changed in many years, all other US bills are a different design now. That's why the $1 bill still works in even the older bill validators. The bill validator contains a small scanner and magnetic sensor, it checks certain parameters on the bill to see if it is legit and what denomination it is. Since the newer bills got different image designs the software in the bill validators had to be updated or they wouldn't accept the new bills.

The bill validator is updated by reprogramming newer software into an eprom in the head. Instead of reprogramming their old eprom many people just buy a replacement eprom, remove the old eprom and put in the new one. You have to be careful to get the correct eprom, it is specific both to the machine model/mfr and to the model of bill validator in your machine.

If you remove the head and look on the bottom side you should see the eprom. Some people send in the head to a company that will software update it for them. It's just a matter of what you are comfortable with. It is not difficult to remove the old eprom and insert the new one, but there are many legs on that ic and you can bend one if not careful. Whatever way you do the update to the bill validator make sure you understand which bills it will and will not work with after the update so there are no surprises. Jim at BlueRidge Slots is known for being extra-knowledgable on bill validators and their software, you can't go wrong getting what you need from him.

Report back what bill validator you have and folks here can give you recommendations. If you have trouble identifying it just take a picture or two of it close up on the front and from above. You can post up to 2 pictures per message post.

[chuck300x11]

The other option is to get as many of the older bills as you would need for your purpose and keep them around (as long as they are all green and don't have any "orange juice" spilled on them like the $10 bill). Might be cheaper than upgrading or buying a new validator.