no pay out

[toyotaoutlaw]

my slot machine does not pay out unless it hits the jackpot. its a 1971 bally model 809-zt its been sitting for who knows how long. anyone know anything about this machine that could help me get this to pay out? even if it hits (bar) on all three reals it wont pay out, only when it hits 7s across all three it will pay out. any suggestions on what the problem is? its a nickel slot machine and like i said before its been sitting for years!! please please help!!

[frenchmarky]

I'm not exactly an expert as I've only had two Bally slots, but the first one I fixed up was an 809.  Since your 7's are working then I'd guess your reel wipers are not stuck or misaligned, since *nothing* else pays but 7s do.  First I would eyeball the three reel wipers (pull out the reel assembly) and see that all the fingers are riding on the contacts.  Same with the fingers on the coin counter unit.  Make sure none are bent upwards and not riding on the contacts.  Does the feature unit coin up and light up correctly when multiple coins dropped in?  Does Insert Coin light go out after final coin?  Check all the relays for switches by manually operating them with the power off, for opening when should be and when closing they should have a bit of extra wiping action after the contacts close.  Check relays for missing springs, my 873 had a couple missing and played havoc on everything.  If the relays have the brown bakelight switch activators, see that they are not broken where they pivot up and down with the metal armature.
I highly suggest you get one of the several books available for repairing/maintaining Bally slots too.  Good luck.

[arfulruf]

what symbols does your machine have on its reels?