20 replies to this topic

[voipboy]

Hi there

 

I have Gridrunner - full sized machine.  Its not been used for a while and I know last time it was used the hopper was empty and triggered the alarm.

 

When turned on now there are no lights or anything, no alarm - though the alarm light on the front is flashing.

 

I have all the keys and turned the alarm key hoping it would reset but there is nothing.  None of the hopper buttons or anything work.

 

Im guessing there is a procedure to reset the unit fully so that I can start the process again and top it up etc....but how? All the lights on the PSU are green.

 

Ive sadly lost my manual so Im at a complete loss!

 

Any help much appreciated!

 

Thanks

[nails]

resetting wont do anything, something is dead.

[stanmarsh14]

I've got one of these at mine..... what is the betting the battery on the MPU has shat itself all over the board, especially knowing you have not ran the machine for awhile?

You need to look at the main MPU board located behind the reeldeck, and on the board, you will spot a small green thing with two legs on it..... this is the battery..... check to see if there are ANY signs of leakage coming from this battery, even if it's slight.

Edited by stanmarsh14, 25 May 2015 - 10:03 PM.

[voipboy]

So I checked the batteries on the mainboard and there is no leakage - in fact all the boards are clean as a whistle.  Ive taken the board out to inspect also....so question is do I need to maybe just replace the cells?  There are 3 x lights lit on the board - 12V + and -, and VLOGIC.  The three that are not lit are the alarm, reset and VDISP.

 

There is even the hiss coming from the speakers.

 

The board next to the hopper has no green light.

 

Any more ideas - what would the reset procedure even be for this following an alarm trigger?

[cardie]

So I checked the batteries on the mainboard and there is no leakage - in fact all the boards are clean as a whistle.  Ive taken the board out to inspect also....so question is do I need to maybe just replace the cells?  There are 3 x lights lit on the board - 12V + and -, and VLOGIC.  The three that are not lit are the alarm, reset and VDISP.

 

There is even the hiss coming from the speakers.

 

The board next to the hopper has no green light.

 

Any more ideas - what would the reset procedure even be for this following an alarm trigger?

Check all the links to the boards, if one of them is loose or damaged the machine will not run.

 

The hiss from the speakers is a good sign and shows the program is running as the sound chip (badly) amplifies data transferr across the board.

[voipboy]

So playing around with it and suddenly the reset light came on on the main board - I didnt know what to do next so pressed and held the button on the mainboard and the speaked made a click sound and the reset button went out....no idea what or how I did it but cant seem to repeat it.

 

Anyone any ideas?

[voipboy]

Anyone have an instruction manual for one of these maybe?

[voipboy]

OK so playing around a bit and notice that there is only 1 of the mainboards that has no power light - its the one that seems to be connected to all the reels etc which is vertically mounted. Could this be my problem?

[Mavroz]

Try a replacement mpu... 90% of the time it is those that need replacing.

 

Take a good picture of the battery area front and back and put it up here.

[stanmarsh14]

OK...... other major issues on Epoch, can be it's PSU, so idealy you could use with one to borrow to see if it is the case or not, and you may as well get the epoch systemboard checked at the same time too...... I'm pretty sure it will be one of these two that will be at fault.

[stanmarsh14]

As for an Epoch User Guide, got one here.... it's aimed at the Elegance range of cabs, but for the running gear, it's applicable for the entire Epoch range.

http://homepage.ntlw...aygay Epoch.zip

[voipboy]

Ok so I removed the battery from the Epoch board just in case - though looking at the battery its immaculate and no sign of any corrosion or anything - same with the mobo itself.  I hooked it back up just to try and sure enough with the alarm key inserted and turned the reset light now comes on but still nothing more...

 

Im on the lookout for another Epoch MPU as I dont have any way of testing this unfortunately.

 

With regards the PSU it is quite noisy - but from recollection it always has been - ll lights are lit up green.

Album: Gridrunner

3 images

0 comments

[voipboy]

...just a note on the noisy psu - this was simply vibration from the psu against the cabinet!

[Mavroz]

All psu led's lit?Psu should be fine.. They are noisy..

 

Looking at the pictures the battery has leaked.... or a previously installed battery has leaked... 

 

Lots of greening on the pins of the main processor along with the pins on u11/u12/rp2

 

Source guaranteed working mpu as this one won't.... Note, a working one will not be cheap.

[voipboy]

Anyone know where to get an MPU at reasonable price? Cheapest I can find shipped is around £50- not sure if thats expensive or not tbh!

[aaamusements]

Can't really tell from that photo if it's battery leakage damage or just filth... Its certainly not the worst I've seen.

Do you have a pic of the other side? Taken with a camera on "MACRO" setting if possible?
Those are quite fuzzy.

Edited by aaamusements, 27 May 2015 - 06:52 PM.
spelling

[voipboy]

OK apologies Ill try again with the pics should be a little better this time.  I noted the comments about the 'green' pins but to be honest they are no more discoloured than any others on the board and ertainly there were no signs of another battery being soldered to the board so Im sure it was still the original - which by the way is completely unmarked.

Album: Epoch MPU

14 images

0 comments

[cardie]

With epoch, soon as a battery leaks its simply a matter of time before you get issues, usually processing based issues so every machine will usually have a unique problem.

 

My geronimo had FIVE boards in it and not one of them worked, all because they all had very very faint battery damage, every board gave a different problem.

 

2 Didnt boot, one booted and locked up, another booted then alarmed any alarm it wanted and another boooted fine, but after 10 mins or so the reels would go out of alignment and eventually it would lock up.

 

The rest of the boards are fairly reliable, apart from MK1 lamp boards. Still, with the reels board not having a LED lit on yours id be checking power first. Solid green light means its powered up, a flashing green light means its reciving instructions from the main board. If this board is faulty the machine will not boot as its the 3rd in line board.

[Mavroz]

Simple fact, Green pins = battery leak.... Battery doesn't leak liquid as so, but it is the gasses that attack the pins/lead and copper... Have seen it hundreds of times from jpm impact to scorp 5.

 

If you are adamant it hasn't leaked mate, then set about finding why the machine doesn't work. Change all the daughter boards and psu card, then check for breaks in the loom etc etc etc, that is what most others do that know there has been no battery leak.

 

If you change the mpu, (yes £50 delivered for a guaranteed working one is about the going rate [have 5 or 6 here that i wont sell due to the rising cost]) you still "may" have problems with the lampboard, hopper board, stake board etc... You just don't know until the mpu boots up.

 

Have given this advice so many times over the years to people who come along who have bought an Epoch based machine (most unreliable tech around) and in the end advise them to bin it and get an mpu5 machine as they won't have it that the mpu is shagged.

[voipboy]

Thanks for the advice - Ill give it a go as long as the price seems ok as I suspect Ill be able to sell it on anyway even if I end up binning the machine....