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After loading the hopper with quarters (maybe not enough... about $70 or so) when I cashout it pays correctly but then gives a hopper jam error. Error needs to be cleared to continue game play. Any ideas?

Hey SilverFerret,

Congrats on your new toy!  Assumptions usually sends us in too many directions. So, what kind of machine do you have, such as model or type, and the hopper as there are a few? Have you tried the hopper test? Many problems are with dirty optics. Feed us more information, we're hungry.

Richard

I appreciate your eagerness to help but I have since ran into bigger problems. As embarassed as I am to write this... here goes... I'm locked out of the machine. It's a bartop style Gamemaker 7000 and it was opening and closing without issue then after I closed it the last time, it wouldn't open anymore. The barrel key turns but I think the linkage inside screwed up somehow. So at this point my hopper troubles are on the back burner. I did run a hopper check and it says hopper fail.
Is there another way into the machine? Is the only way in, drilling out the barrel lock?
I will have to get into the machine to fix it further.
Thanks, Jim

I have a lot of used  barrel keys. See if the lock has a number around where the key goes in. I may have a key to fit that I would let you have.

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It doesn't appear to me that either idea with the screwdriver will work. It does have a front panel but the sides are curled (probably to avoid flex) and the lid does lift a little but not to where I think I can pop the lid open. Am I screwed?

If you want PM me with your address and I will send you a #1,#2,#3,#4,#5,#6,#7 barrel key at no charge and see if this may help. If they help you can donate $5.00 to the site.

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Ron,
  Great offer, but his key was working, the nut must have fallen off the back though, he will need to drill it out.

Thanks,
Wayne

Thanks for the key offer but the key turns the lock. I suspect this is a linkage issue. I will try a coat hanger on the lid as a hooking device to grab the linkage from the gap on the lid. Would a Slim Jim be an option? My unit is in an oak cabinet so opening from the front panel may prove to be difficult without removing the unit from the cabinet but if all else fails... that's next.
Thanks for all the suggestions and keep them coming. You guys on this site are very helpful and always willing to help.
Thanks, Jim  

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How is the hinge?
Is it exposed where you could remove the pin?
Or is that hidden inside the machine?

We need pictures......

Hooray!!! I have gotten the lid open and am now on to my hopper trouble. As for the lid, I tapped the barrel lock and somehow it jogged the linkage loose and viola... the lid opened. I have corrected the linkage issue and am now ready to tackle my hopper issues.
I have run the hopper test, and for a few times it kept saying hopper failed so I would run the test again, then it didn't say that anymore and now it just says terminated test due to hopper empty (it's not full, but it's not empty).
A little back ground: after removing the hopper from the unit the first time, I noticed two wires coming from the hopper bowl that were spliced to two other wires coming from under the aggitator.  One of the wires had very obviously come apart so I wire nutted it and did the same to the other for good measure. Before I had taken the hopper out, the error message I got was something like hopper jam error. Now I get the hopper empty message.
P.S. I have pics to post but can't seem to figure out how.  Also is there a PDF file of a gamemaker manual floating around somewhere?
Thanks, Jim

Silverferret, the manual is in the Submit New File tab under the Sponsor links. Also, many hoppers have a bolt on the side of the hopper bowl that is wired to be a sensor. When your coins fill up to that point it will complete the connection and remove the error. For home use many of us hav either moved that bolt farther down the bowl.

 Dan (tacman)

New Development:
Okay the lid is open and I have now cleared a hopper jam (one of those damned dollars that looks like a quater) so I ran the hopper test again and the hopper started to spit out coins, but didn't want to stop dispensing them. I read in a manual that the hopper test is supposed to release 10 coins but this one just keeps them coming. So I closed the lid and it counted down to resuming payout, which is supposed to finish paying $3 but it just empties the hopper into the quarter catcher.
Where do I go from here? I'm making progress but keep creating a new issue along the way.
Thanks, Jim

Got it all figured out.  Thanks everyone foe your help.
Thanks again, Jim

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When you reply to a post, there is a section below the text box where you type your reply that says, "Attach:".  Click the "Browse..." button there and locate a picture on your computer that you want to add to your message.  You can click the "(more attachments)" link next to the Browse button to add a second picture.


What was the solution to your hopper that wouldn't stop dispensing coins?  It sounds like the optics were not seeing coins come out -- what did you do to fix the problem (so that other people in the future who run into this may benefit from you finding a solution to your issue)?

As for the solution to the problem, I had to make an adjustment to the bracket that's attached to the roller that goes up and down as the hopper turns and moves quarters up the track. It wasn't crossing the optics and telling the machine that quarters were being paid out. Because it didn't see this, it just wanted to empty the hopper into the tray.
If I can get this right, here are some pics.
Thanks again, Jim

Here's another with the wood panel front off.
Thanks, Jim

Since I have your attention, I have a question about the top right corner of the lid and what was there that is not anymore? There is a thin plate next to the monitor where something must have been, but I don't know what. Any ideas?

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