IGT S-PLUS Red, White & Blue Tilt 3100 issue

[MONTI'S SLOTS]

Hello to the Forum!
I have an IGT S-Plus Red, White and Blue machine which when it came into the shop it had a bad battery and I replaced it, performed all the tasks required as to the Game chip and then replaced the hopper optic sensor with a new one as the sensor was bad, I think?

I then proceeded to play the machine in both the coin payout and credit mode, thought all the issues were taken care of after playing it for a while so while working on another machine I was just letting it run and burn in and playing it every now and then to continue testing of the machine.

While working across the shop I thought I heard an audible click, not very loud, barely audible and when I looked at the machine it had the tilt code "3100" showing in the Winner Paid window and one credit had been removed.

Referring to the manual I read where the 3100 code designates "hopper coin out sensor detected a coin was dispersed contrary to program instruction".

So while I am standing in front of the machine it clicks again without my touching it in any way and another credit is taken off.
While I am having random thoughts going thru my head, none good, it repeats the click/credit loss sequence not rapid fire but over a short period of time 40-45 seconds apart.

OK, so I then open and close the door to perform a reset, which it did, played it a few times, everything looked good so I thought I haddodged a bullet and went back across the shop to my other project.

Well, about 4 to 5 minutes later the process repeats itself with a click/credit removal and then another click/credit removal, well suffering from high anxiety I then performed a mechanical test, you know, slapped the side of the machine right side below the handle where I thought the click was coming from and on each slap the click/credit removal occurred so then I assumed it was not a software issue but a mechanical connection issue so I gently opened the door and on opening the door of course the process again repeated itself.

So after trying to find an area where this make and break connection situation could occur I could not find the issue and as I have every manual you could possibly have on the S-Plus, which if you have them you know they are very intense, I could not locate any trouble shooting information on this problem.

I thought it may be the door switch which designates door open but how would that tie in with the 3100 tilt code "coin payout detected" right? and I thought maybe the new optic sensor had issues, I Dunno!

So I am asking for any help here on this situation from someone who may have heard of this same issue.

Please don't tell me I am on the "Cutting edge" here and you have never heard of this before!!!!

HELP!!!!

[rokgpsman]

Did you examine the mpu board thoroughly for any battery leakage or other contamination, that can cause strange things to happen. When you say it had a bad battery do you mean it was dead, or was it leaking?

Also, since you replaced the hopper optic sensor and the error you got later refers to the hopper area I'd double-check the work you did on the hopper sensor and around that area. What caused you to replace the hopper optic at the beginning of your service to the machine?

[MONTI'S SLOTS]

Thanks for your reply!
I did examine the mpu board and did not find any issues but will pull it and recheck it and check that all chips are fully seated as now that you have mentioned it a chip leg not making full contact or dirty could possibly cause a mechanical or contact issue but on first check it looked good.
The battery was replaced due to low voltage output and there was no leakage, a lot of times when these machines come thru I will replace the battery for general principle as in home usage they are not constantly on as in a casino environment to maintain battery voltage.
The optic sensor was replaced as originally the machine was getting tilt 3200 codes, hopper would start and kick out 1 to 3 coins and then stop and show the 3200 code designating coin payouts were not being detected in the time allowed for correct operation.
Did this repeatedly so after cleaning the optic sensor I decided to replace it and in doing so it was positioned as it was before removal but now I have thought of another long shot and will check and see if the optic sensor is close to a make and break condition that is movement sensitive, long shot but worth a look!
I do appreciate your response and if you have any other suggestions, please let me know because diagnosing this puppy has been very time consuming!

[MONTI'S SLOTS]

Just thought I would post this follow up on the issue at hand, for information to possible new members as the older members would probably already know this information!

Well to solve the problem bypassing the door sensor helped a lot as instead of opening and closing the door every time to do a reset while testing was a pain in the behind and also time consuming and being able to do touch and tap tests for possible mechanical connection issues with the door remaining open helped also.
Found many little issues that could have caused the initial problem but since I did everything as to the correction process at one time unfortunately I did not isolate the problem but I have a few good guess'.

Rechecked all grounding points for connectivity with my meter looking for more resistance than could be considered allowable, wire brushed base where hopper body slide in to make better grounding contact and tightened the tabs that the hopper base slide into to maintain a stronger more stable mounting, removed and inspected the plug harness that the hopper assembly connects to when slid in, found one contact in the plug that appeared to be not as tight as the others when inserting a small spade tool similar in thickness to the connector on the hopper assembly, tightened that connection with a little tweaking with a small awl tool and also gave a little twist to that particular connector on the hopper base to accomplish a tighter connection when inserted, took a small thin fine file and cleaned the inside of the connections on the plug located on the base where the hopper plugs in in case there was corrosion not visible on visual inspection, checked all plugs and harness' in the path of connectivity to the hopper from the mpu, power supply, Etc., crimped a few spade connectors that were snug but crimped them anyway to make a better tighter connection.

Did all this after localizing the mechanical connection problem to the hopper area by tapping on the mpu board housing, checking all mpu connections and other connections while voltage was present to make sure proper connectivity was occurring and found that hitting the hopper assembly was causing the problem to occur as the tilt error 3100 would occur and a coin credit subtraction would take place as well and the coin out counter stepping , oh and I hate to admit this but the click I had heard originally that I thought was a mechanical short of some type was actually the coin out counter on the inside of the cabinet in front of the handle assembly stepping, BIG DUH on my part but with the door closed it was more muffled and not as audible, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Anyway, long story short, I know, too late, I feel the issue was either proper grounding was not present or the one connector at the plug on the base where the hopper assembly plugged in and possibly a tighter mounting of the hopper assembly to the base where it slid in that provided a more stable mounting and grounding.

Don't know for sure but as I usually work on antique purely mechanical slot machines or early electro/mechanical Bally slot machines once again after 40 years of doing this another learning experience has taken place!

Apparently my being an "Old Dog" I was able to learn a "New Trick"!

But I must say the door open bypass was a great improvement in the diagnostic process, thanks to Poppo's post that was found in the NLG Archive forum, some great information tucked away there.
Anyway,
Take Care,
MONTI