New Life Games Tech Forums

How to fix/check (Y)our new machine  Part 2

After checking out everything briefly, next I usually start with the reels to see if they kick and spin. The first thing to do is slowly pull the handle, noting if at any time the any unit appears to bind up.

Here's how to release the handle to pull.
Pull back the lock pawl, and you're set to go.
Please note, I found out how to post pics, but can only do 2 per post.  Well, that's ok, we'll just have more posts.  Works for me.

If for some reason the unit locks up, then carefully reach in and pull up on the full stroke pawl (or ratchet pawl) which rides on the teeth of the rack lock lever.  Slowly apply pressure on the handle, while lifting it (pawl) off of the gear teeth of the lock lever.  This should release your handle. Don't let it smack you on the ear as it returns to upright position, keep your hand on it.

If you have pulled down the handle too far, and releasing the full stroke pawl does not help, then you must push down on the actuating link assembly as shown in the following photo.

Of course, if your reel mech is in the machine, you cannot reach that, except by reaching waaaaay back up behind the machine and pulling it down that way.

Make sure it's unplugged or powered down.  Once I reached back there and got a big surprise when I contacted against something that wasn't supposed to be there.

If you're lucky, the handle pulled fine and the reels kicked off and spun correctly.
The next thing I do is pull out the reel mech. Flip forward your two reel mech locks, wiggle the mech a little bit and try pulling it out.  If it sticks, do NOT put your hand up to the case above the reels, and use that to brace yourself.  You will find that as the reel mech releases you will have a couple of nice sharp slices in your hand from when the reel tins rub accross your skin on the way out.  If the mech sticks, poke a screwdriver up in between the pan and the front of the reel mech, and use that to pry the unit out.  Use some patience and work at it until it comes out.

After the reels are out, I usually check each reel for proper spin.
Push back on your reel wiper assembly.

With it fully back, you can give a nice firm pull on your reel and see how it spins.  Don't spin it real hard, but give a gentle pull forward.
Listen for any sounds of the reel tin rubbing on anything.  If you do find rubbing, you can carefully bend the reel to get it back into position.  This should be done with the reels removed for best results;  Check all 3 of your reels, or in this case, all 6.
If any of the reels are particularly sluggish, you should get a pinpoint oiler and drop some oil into the little hole you see in the reel hub.  Also, if there is a set screw there you should work the screw in and out a couple of times to get that oil all around inside the needle bearings.  The screw on each reel acts as kind of a clutch, to allow you to titen up the spin if it gets too sloppy.  Most times you may not find a screw there, or the little spring inside, but for home use it's not too important to have them

Next I pull the reels out of the mech so I can inspect the 'innards'
On the left side of your reels is a little locking lever.
Right about there....

Push down on it with your thumb to free it up. Squirt some oil on it if it's frozen or binding.

Once it's free, then use your index finger and your thumb, as shown, to hold the tab down, and get ready to roll the reel shaft up and forward.

And, at the same time, do the same thing for the reel shaft on the right side.

Once you push both tabs down, and press the shaft forward, away from you, then the shaft will start to lift up out of its notch.

If I'm getting too simplified or redundant here, someone please stop me. I'm trying to be as compreshensive as I can for those who have never worked on EM's.

Now, carefully, and with a little bit of wiggling, lift out your reels.
You old timers already know all of this, certainly.
Once the reels are out do NOT set them on a table.  Odds are they will roll off, and fall onto the floor, and give you a nasty set of flattened reels.
I always put them on the floor, preferably on a towel.  Of course you could put them on a table, with a cloth shimmed up to keep them from rolling off, but I'll keep doing it my way, because I have lost a few reels that way.

Most usually I set them on the floor like this, but with 6 reels it's kind of unstable.

Ok, now that we can see the innards, here's why your reels were hard to get out.  Not only must you clear the index arm rollers (Immediate left of my finger), but you must also clear the drive lever assembly and its roller. (finger point)
Also you have to clear these when putting the reels back in.  Be patient and don't force anything.  If they don't go in, something is catching.  You can spread the reels apart to clear the hang up.  Wiggling always helps when removing and installing the reels.

Now we can check our reel wipers, adjust them, and oil the reel boards.  First we need to push back on the pump arm (shown above the half-gears), and then insert a screwdriver in between the half gear teeth to hold the reel mech in a half cocked position. Sometimes it's good to go off half cocked, because this allows us to pull the reel wipers forward to clear the boards.

The wiper fingers should pull out thusly:

As you can see, these fingers need a little adjustment.

To adjust the tension, I try to make them open enough so that they are about the width of the reel board.  They should bend out to the far edge of the board when they clear it.  Inspect all the fingers for damage or excess wear. Check for wear patterns on the buttons, and if they are worn toward the front, then you will have to bend the tips back slightly for better wear.  You want them setting as flat as possible on the board buttons.  Excessive wear would indicate too much pressure, so adjust (bend) for less tension.  Also inspect your board buttons for wear. I usually adjust tension with my fingers, but needlenose pliers can come in handy.  Put a couple of drops of oil on your middle finger, smear it between your thumb and index finger, and give each wiper board a good coating of oil.  My teacher told me to do it lightly but politely, so I'm passing that on.....
You can oil the wiper fingers, too at the same time.

Quick check of the wiper positions. Push back on the assembly until it stops. The wiper fingers should be close to or touching the last set of buttons. These show slightly off, but may line up when the reels are put in. Also the top finger is nearly touching the second row of buttons. Adjustment perhaps unnecessary, except for raising that, possibly.

The second row of buttons has some wear that is below center, so it may be a good thing to adjust this.  Will consider after putting the reels in to see how it indexes.  Note, to the right, the cuts in the wiper assembly itself.  This allows you to separate circuits, and various kinds of pays through the boards.  Also, on the lower part of the board is your wiring for the 6V bell.  Only two rows needed for that. Not a good idea to put the 50V reel feed through the bell, so those cuts isolate the two voltages.  Once cut, they can be soldered back together to rejoin the fingers if you want to modify the reel boards.

These two bolts hold the wiper.  Both holes are ovaled so that you can raise the assembly, or move it forward or backward.  A long handled wrench is helpful, as you'll be loosening them from the back with your reels in for proper placement.  I think it's a 3/8. ?

Looking at the left side of the reel mech, we see the 4 different switch stacks that help run the machine.


At the bottom, in front of the green coil is your coin relay stack.
Above the coil are your A switches.
Just to the right of them (shown horizonatlly) are your B switches.
The last set to the right (just above the coin relay stack) are your C switches.

Here's how to trip your coin relay assembly.  Push on the armature

And you'll see how they move when tripped, or unlatched.

To reset the coin relay, just pull back on the latch as shown.

Shown here is your B switch stack (the horizontal set).  They are normally open switches, and their only purpose is to reset the hopper, when handle is pulled and after a payout.

To close the B switches, just push back on the variator bar, and that will momentarily close them.  This is the way to check pays and repays without having to pull the handle and hold the reels all over again. You can eassily reach it with the mech in and a pay on the center line.

Shown is right side of the reels, including pump, pump arm, half gears, and at the end of the pump are your dashpot switches.

You can push back the pump arm by releasing the little swinging latch at the very bottom back of your kick assembly.

Bump