Need Help Fixing IGT Games

[Me!]

I have 4 IGT machines that all have previously worked and now are not working.  They have all been plugged in since I received them about a year ago.  I am new to this technical stuff on these machines so please go easy on me with your answers! I do have the key that goes in the machines and that has not reset them.  At this point I am positive that I have all possible doors and latches closed. 
My machines and the errors are:

Shooting Gallery -
In a red screen it says screen doesn't detect all components
Then in display it says: Closure M & Bill Validator Jam

Five Times Pay -
Door Open M
Closure B
Bill Validator Jam

Bonus Spin Red White & Blue -
Where the coins are shown it says No Disp.  Where the Dot Matrix screen is there are no lights at all.

Wild Cherry Bonus Pie
Closure MB
Restart

Thank you so much for all of your help!
T

[rickhunter]

Are all these vision machines?

What does the Wild Cherry Bonus Pie do.  The messages you post are consistent with a recently powered on machine that had the bill validator door and main door opened and then closed.  The machine should work.

Bonus Supin RW&B, I would replace the player display panel, and if the error persists, then your MPU.

Five Times Pay.  Main door open, check your optics to make sure they line up, otherwise, bad optics.  Take some optics from another machine that does not give you the door open "M".  Pull out and re-insert cash can and examine bill validator for any bills or junk stuck in the transport mechanism.

Shooting Gallery, same as above, although it does say Closure M, I would check the validator and cash can.

[therockinelvis]

4 machines at once. Bad luck. Did you have them all on a good Surge Suppressor? Many think a power strip is the same. I would suspect leakage at the Green Varta battery but, 4 at a time seems crazy. Lets start with one machine at a time. Post pictures of the red screen of death and VFD message. Sure we can get you going.

[Me!]

They've been going out one by one.  I've just been preoccupied with other things to look at them.  Now I'm ready to get them working!
On the shooting gallery; I can hear the bill acceptor doing its test so I assume this means it's working and I do not see any jams in it.  Maybe I am not checking the right spots though.  Here are the pictures.  Thanks so much!

[Thegambler327]

Like elvis said,with the machines off take a look at that green varta battery on the main board to make sure they didn't leak. If your machines have them they are notorious for causing strange errors when they leak.

[therockinelvis]

Great pictures. Can you post a short video very close to bill validator so we can hear the sound. We know the proper sound they make. I am guessing you have a WBA validator. Do you know how to remove it from the machine and open the head and transport? Also check to make sure there is not a problem in cash can or even swap one with another machine. I am still suspecting the board and that varta battery. You can put the cherry pie board in this machine and see if it boots. It will not go all the way because of the data card in monitor, but will show if it is your board.

[Me!]

Hey Guys!  I took out the board on the shooting gallery game and I am attaching pictures.  It does appear that the green battery is leaking.  What is the correct way to clean this up?  Does everything else appear correct? 
Thanks again for everyone's help! 
Traci

[therockinelvis]

Definitely the corrosion problem. Some with really GOOD eyesight and steady hands and GREAT soldering skills have repaired the traces. Most (like me) just replace the board. DO NOT buy one of those crazy priced ones from Ebay. Place a WTB in our classified section to get a tested and reasonable priced board. Look at your other boards too. Could be same on some of them.

[rokgpsman]

A lot of folks add a remote battery pack and get the battery off the top of the board to prevent this from happening. It isn't too hard to do but there is sometimes some soldering involved if you can't clip the two battery holder wires to the old battery connection points. It can take years but most types of batteries will leak if given enough time. Going by the date codes on some of the soldered-in chips that battery is possibly about 12-13 years old.

Just my opinion, from what I can see in the photos the damage doesn't look too terrible, there's been a lot worse out there and when you look closely at it you may find there are no board traces eaten away. Only you can decide if you have the patience and if it is worth your time give it a try. If not, there are people here & there that do board repair for things like this, you could ask if anyone can recommend somebody to take it on. I'd check on the cost of a replacement board before deciding to have someone do a repair.

To check out the damage and clean it a little I would carefully cut the old battery leads and remove the old battery. You can then use a soldering iron to remove the old battery leads. The corroded areas of the board can be cleaned by hand with a scrub bristle brush and some mild detergent, rinsing the area often. Some guys use baking soda and water as a first wash in an attempt to neutralize the battery acid and the baking soda is a mild abrasive that helps to scrub loose the particles. But I believe I've read it is actually an alkaline residue that leaks out so other guys use vinegar for a first cleaning and to neutralize, they do the baking soda or mild detergent cleaning. Just don't use much vinegar & baking soda at the same time! (remember high school chem class). As long as you do a thorough cleaning it should get that stuff off and then you can do a good inspection for board damage. Watch for corrosion under ic's and other crevices.

As a final cleaning we've put boards vertically in the dishwasher (so both sides get cleaned and drain well) and run it thru the cycle. Or you can let it air dry on a towel with a fan blowing lightly across it. After all that you can inspect closely & replace any corroded parts found.

[CVslots]

Has anyone checked the voltage of the main MPU battery on this machine? A low MAIN battery certainly will give erroneous and illogical errors.

I've never seen or heard of corrosion from the green battery being associated with Bill Validator Jam errors or "wacky" errors? The traces under the green battery are Door traces, and damages as a result of the corrosion will throw "Door Open" errors.

[therockinelvis]

He has the door open M message. This is the first I have heard of anyone putting electronics in water, let alone the high heat of a dishwasher. And the Varta should be removed and not replaced with anything on 502 board. The Green battery does nothing for home use unless on the R board.  Remote mounting for coin battery I approve, but Buzz hates doing this and will say so.

[rokgpsman]

He has the door open M message. This is the first I have heard of anyone putting electronics in water, let alone the high heat of a dishwasher. And the Varta should be removed and not replaced with anything on 502 board. The Green battery does nothing for home use unless on the R board.  Remote mounting for coin battery I approve, but Buzz hates doing this and will say so.

I worked for a fairly large aerospace electronics company for over 30 years, our engineers recommended and we many times did cleaning of electronic assemblies including circuit boards by using water and an industrial detergent known as micro-clean. We did this every week to gear that came in for repair that had everything from coffee and soda spilled into it by the flight crew to goose blood & excrement when one of the aircraft flew into a high-flying flock of geese at high speed and one of the birds would break thru the canopy.  How else can you remove salt spray, fungus, mold and other contaminants from electronic boards that are used in the field in places like Panama, Colombia and onboard a carrier at sea? Many customers do not have the luxury to replace a board costing $25,000 and upward, sometimes they are not even available, so the boards must be cleaned and returned to operational status.

My wife routinely puts soft plastic containers like generic-tupperware into the dishwasher and they do fine with the hot water and drying air if selected. The fiberglass circuit boards are not fazed by it. You are aware that these circuit boards that use parts inserted into pass-thru holes in the board go thru a wave-soldering process in the factory where they literally float on top of a tank filled with molten solder at very high heat to solder the parts? No company builds a board like this by hand soldering every part on the board.

Besides, if you are recommending the OP throw out their board and buy another one then what's the downside to trying a repair (which they asked about), other than the time involved?

[72polara]

He has the door open M message. This is the first I have heard of anyone putting electronics in water, let alone the high heat of a dishwasher. And the Varta should be removed and not replaced with anything on 502 board. The Green battery does nothing for home use unless on the R board.  Remote mounting for coin battery I approve, but Buzz hates doing this and will say so.

In the 1970's, General Electric Mobile Radio had a service bulletin about using a dishwasher for cleaning of circuit boards in two way radios. They listed several models of their dishwasher that were acceptable for use in a radio shop, probably with a dry cycle that was not too hot. I have used mild soap and water many times to clean electronics, especially items that were flood damaged while not powered up.

Josh

[CVslots]

There is no Door Open M error that I can see...a CLOSURE M, yes! Which is only a notification that the door HAS BEEN CLOSED.


OP needs to check the main MPU battery before replacing ANYTHING else.

[Buzz]

  Why is it on this site that every problem with a machine has to be a MAJOR problem ?? I'll swear some of you will make changing a light bulb in a candle a major problem.
 
Lets address this bad board your telling this Young Lady about. There is no way I'm saying she has a good or bad board, but I'll bet the farm if the board is bad it isn't bad because of that Green battery. LOOK at the picture, sure it's leaking BUT it's not leaking all that bad, very little corrosion that I can see. Matter of fact I'll bet I've removed 200 of those battery's in the last few years and I don't think I've ever seen one that the battery corrosion caused a bad trace. I have seen a few with bad traces caused by a human trying to remove the battery. ( I did a couple myself, but I fixed them  )
 
Elvis You say you have never heard of water around a board, then I guess you would crap your pants if you saw me at my Kitchen sink with a sponge with Scotch Brite on one side, a can of Comet and a hand full of Simms under running water.

[therockinelvis]

I stand corrected. I apologize to all. Water and electronics never made sense to me. Cell phone in water gone for good. I have used vinegar but, would have never guessed dishwasher safe. I've got 6 boards not working so in the dishwasher they go. Maybe work again. Thanks to all for more education. 

[Buzz]

Me  You do need to remove that Green battery before it does cause a problem. That battery is not needed for home use so do not replace on this type of board 502/504 boards. If by chance one of your other machines has a enhanced board the Green battery must stay. As a rule of thumb, if the handle on the tray like the one you just pulled out is a fixed handle it will be a 502 or a 504 board, if the handle is a swivel handle it will be a enhanced board.
 
The way I remove a battery is I use a tool pictured below, same tool I use to remove eproms. I'm sure you don't have a tool like that so I suggest using a small screw driver, start at the neg post of the battery ( the end that has only one tab.)  work the screw driver in between the tab and the battery, the tab is spot welded to the battery so get the screw driver in a little ways then give it a twist and the welds will break, keep on until the tab is free from the battery. Now just move the battery back and forth and the two Pos tabs will break flush with the board, now wiggle the Neg tab back and forth and it will also break flush. Now is the time to look the board over below where the battery was, I don't think your going to see any damages. It won't hurt to take your Boyfriend or Husbands tooth brush and some dish soap and clean off the corrosion. You can clean it at a later time if you want to test the board right away. It does need to be dry before you put it in the machine.
 
So for by removing the battery we have done nothing to fix your problem, so this is what I would like for you to do, with the board installed and power on I want you to clear all errors. Errors on a S 2000 machine are cleared by opening and closing the main door. Now there is no need to swing the door, just lift the door latch all the way up, wait a second or two then lower the latch all the way down. Do this 3 or 4 times and see what happens.

[rokgpsman]

I stand corrected. I apologize to all. Water and electronics never made sense to me. Cell phone in water gone for good. I have used vinegar but, would have never guessed dishwasher safe. I've got 6 boards not working so in the dishwasher they go. Maybe work again. Thanks to all for more education.

Not a problem and no need to apologize, not everyone has the same work experiences and are sometimes not familiar with some of the different ways to do things. In general you do want to avoid water on electronics but sometimes for serious contamination and to stop further corrosion the cleanup needs it. It isn't something that is done unless it is needed. And you have to be sure everything is dry before applying power later. For a smaller area on a board we manually wash just the affected area with a brush and cleaning liquid and don't immerse the entire board. No need to take any extra risks of making the problem worse.

When using a dishwasher for cleaning circuit boards it is better if you have a low or no-heat drying cycle or you can simply remove the boards after the last rinse and then let them dry on a towel. A small fan blowing gently across the board will help to dry underneath the parts. Turn the board over now & then to dry both sides. Cleaning like this will help get rid foreign material on the board and stop further corrosion but of course it won't magically repair circuit parts already damaged. The main reason for this type of cleaning is to prevent further damage to the board from whatever contaminant is on it and to allow you to inspect & evaluate the condition of the board better.

We've taken cell phones that were dunked in water like from a lake, washing machine and toilet accidents and restored them to operation. This happened to one of my phones last year, it is back working again. You have to take them apart as much as possible, clean with distilled water if the liquid that got into the device is harmful (coffee, soda etc) and then dry slowly using low heat, sometimes overnight, with the battery not connected. It isn't 100%, like a lot of repair efforts it doesn't always work out.

[rokgpsman]

... It won't hurt to take your Boyfriend or Husbands tooth brush and some dish soap and clean off the corrosion...

Ha!
should she tell him what she did with his toothbrush?!!

[Buzz]

I guess I could explane where a Doctor put a flashlite in me yesterday, but I'm betting some would think it to be funny.