New Life Games Tech Forums

This is the only EM I own. Iit sat for some time until I recently started to tune it up. It has been playing fine until last night when it just died. The game was in a small payout mode when this occurred. The only thing I see getting power is a small light on the floor behind the hopper. I checked the three fuses behind the hopper and they tested fine. I need to source a manual for this game as it seems I will be removing the reel mechs and the rest to poke around. Are there additional fuses besides the three behind the hopper?  I may be in over my head but I do have a decent amount of em experience with pinballs. I want to at least make the effort to give this one a makeover. Any help with diagnosis or a source for the manual would be appreciated.  :99- Thanks

If it quit during a payout, It may be the safety timer.
To reset it, they have a bar on the base by the hopper (Left Side)
Push it in towards the back and that resets the timer.

It's just a flat metal bar the reaches into the back of the machine and pushes the times reset.

Post back and let us know.

Make sure you have enough coins in the hopper.  :71-

It's not a fuse, it's the hopper safety cutout. That's the "small light on the floor", which is an indicator for the hopper cutout. It must have run low on coins and let the hopper run a few seconds without paying out, and the safety timer ran out and cut power to the game. There's a reset, probably a sliding metal strip on the bottom of the case to the left of the hopper, otherwise pull the hopper and examine the assembly at back left of the cabinet for a reset button.

There's a good book that covers these old EMs available from Mead Publishing Co (http://www.meadpublishinglasvegas.com/slot_machine_repair.htm) - Owner's Pictorial Guide, 1963 to 1981, sixth item down on that page.

That did the trick. Thanks a lot. There are plenty of coins in the hopper though I found some piled up on the floor of the machine. Must need an adjustment somewhere. That book looks like a great title so I ordered it. Thanks for the recommendation. Any clue where to find a hard copy of the manual? Thanks again!

That book is the best manual you'll find anywhere. It covers the 809 in detail - also the 873.

There are also some useful books available from Liberty Belle Books (http://www.libertybellereno.com/) - the "complete service manual for Bally electromechanicals 1964-1980" for example. This is less comprehensive in its treatment (and less accurate) than the Mead book but it goes into finer detail about individual adjustments. It covers some different models, for example the Continental, though not fully.