Any win empties my Bally 956 jackpot machine

[arfulruf]

Anyone's input will be helpful. I have the names of all the parts of the reel mech. and the hopper unit. I feel i can follow good advice and help. My first slot has got to be the best looking slot machine bally ever came up with. A bit of luck on craig's list got me a reel gem in the rough. as of yet nothing ive done to it has hurt it. Poking at its inner workings has only got me minimal results. After printing out the technical specs and pics for the 956 from the MY Slot Notes page (Thanx) , I just don"t know enough to began. I do know a bit about EM workings as i own two Seeburg JL100 jukeboxes. After at least 5 years of ownership the guts of the jukeboxes work fine now but their termite eaten wood cases have yet to be rebuilt. Be that as it may I don't want to make this slot project any harder to finish than those godforsaken jukeboxes were. And another thing that puzzles me about this new slot is the lights are not cooperating. I"ve got the "coin accepted" light to burn. But its very dim for a NOS 47. Is that even the right bulb? The rest won't glow at all. Without a good color-coded wire schematic im lost. Fox slots only seems to have the 956-2 956-3 and another 956 chart. Mine is a 956-16 or so the nameplate states. I just hate to choose the wrong chart. I have to open up the 956 door every time it hits a 3 reel win combo. If not, the safety timer will trip but not before it spits all the contents of the hopper. Opening the door has no effect but to give me access to manually overide the handle lockout and set the reels in motion. I don't want my errant adjustments to cause it to act any worse. So i will let this my first post here be both a hello to all at NLG and any readers therein. If i must, i will have the work done by someone here in the San Diego area but not until after i read and follow the advice i receive at this forum. I will try to post here as long as my wine bottles don't all dry out. Well bye for now. Arfulruf

[Amachanic]

Hello and welcome to Newlifegames... I have bought from this person on Ebay, he sells Bally Slot Machine Wiring Diagrams from '64-'80 Many Models.. I'm including a link to his auction. I think you have a ground issue with the bulbs socket. That also could be the cause for the run away hopper during payout, check for a wire grounding it's self to the inside of the door or around the hopper or reels..

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bally-Slot-Machine-Wiring-Diagrams-64-80-Many-Models-/190498091770?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a9232fa

[slotsteve]

coin,s might be going under roller on top of hopper with out making it count, is the hopper  for the right coin your using? light seems l a bad ground  has nothing to do with pays

[arfulruf]

Thanx for the wiring lead. I have not contacted him yet but i have tried fox slots. he has a couple of 956 diagrams. However i need a 956-16 diagram. he doesn't have that one. ive also found a loose ground on the large transformer on the bottom of the slot case however after tightening the screw, the result is the same. I tried some residue free electric terminal cleaner and manila folder strips to clean the contacts. The slot made a few 5 and 10 coin payouts then it hits again with another 10 coin payout but it empties the hopper. Now the payout counter won't always count the coins won. sometimes it does then it pays out without any coins registering as won. I also have trouble with the contacts at the rear of the hopper not seating completely. after some wins, i need to repeatedly partially remove and replace it before any coins payout. the paperwork i have doesn't cover this and i don't know what to do next . well, thanx again for the two post ive received.

[Amachanic]

Do you have a Bally slot machine Manual? I have one I wouldn't be without, it by Robert N. Geddes, & Daniel R. Mead.. The books title is, Owner's Pictorial Guide for the Care and Understanding of Bally Slot Machine. I have included a link to the book at Amazon.com.. This book even has a trouble shooting section to common problem. Good luck with your project..

http://www.amazon.com/Owners-Pictorial-Understanding-Electromechanical-Machine/dp/0934422052/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1297653162&sr=8-5

[Op-Bell]

In all probability the payout step-up counter isn't being stepped. This is an electrically stepped hopper - the roller closes a contact through the various multiplier circuits to the payout step-up unit. You can make some tests to narrow down the likely position of the problem. Does it behave the same with 1 - 2- 3 - 4 and 5 coins played? Each of these completes the circuit through a different multiplier and if the problem is on only one of these, we can locate it fairly precisely. If it empties on every payout, then the problem is at the payout counter. Either the circuit to the step-up solenoid is broken, or (more likely) the step-up ratchet is badly adjusted and skipping over the teeth on the counter wheel. This could be as easy as it's gummed up with dried oil and grease, and a good cleanup will do it. Or there could be a spring jumped off or missing. Of course first you need to locate the step-up counter, but it's probably on the hopper itself, the 5 inch metal plate with the circuit board on it. Removing a couple of screws from the base will let the whole assembly lay down so that you can examine the back. There are two coils, the step-up coil and the reset coil. Operate each of them by hand and make sure they do the job. You should be able to understand from watching it how the step-up ratchet works.

This may come in useful for you -