coin lockout armature jam-up

[frenchmarky]

Is there some tricks to setting up a coin acceptor as per the lockout armature?  My armature was missing and I put in the correct one.  The end of the armature seems to correctly enter the the left end of the oblong hole in the acceptor.  However when the armature is deactivated (coins should be rejected), every quarter ends up getting stuck at that point, and I have to pull in the armature to release it.  

It's like it's getting stuck at the armature on the left side and something else on the right, but I don't really see anything there to get hung up on.  Seems very iffy, if the door is open the coins get rejected fine, but with the door closed they all get stuck, like the angle of the door is affecting it just enough to let it work.  I tried adjusting the magnet out and putting the little adjustable thingee at the bottom at different positions but doesn't seem to help or it makes things worse.  Armature is put in correctly with the side plate and spring and works smoothly.  I also removed the string cutter blade in case it was causing a hang.  Without the armature installed, the acceptor always accepted 100%.  Any ideas?  Thanks!

[Op-Bell]

You may have to do some judicious bending of the metal tab. It's supposed to interfere with the coin as it bounces across from one side of the acceptor to the other and spoil the jump so that it falls into the reject chute instead of making it across to the accept chute. If you messed with the "little adjustable thingee" at the bottom of the acceptor you should probably try and put it back where it was. It's nothing to do with the rejector solenoid, it's a hurdle that the bouncing coin has to clear to be recognized as good. The lockout armature should intercept the top of the coin during that bounce and knock it backward. There needs to be enough space for it to fall back into and clear out of the bottom of the acceptor without getting hung up. So a good position for the armature is (looking at the cradle side) over or slightly to the left of the "thingee", such that when the coin comes up against those two parts its center of gravity is well to the right of the "thingee" and it will fall back on its own.

[frenchmarky]

I put the final 'thingee' or 'bounce' lever (the lowest adjustable one that swivels slightly and looks like it decides which way the coin goes) back to where it was originally, you know, based on the slight outline of where it had been forever.  Still works when door is open but otherwise it still jams between that lever and the armature.  I can't adjust the armature any farther left (looking at the back of the acceptor) or it will start to interfere with the slot it sticks into.  But the end of the lever is straight and I don't want to start bending it around till I'm sure.

So are you saying I need to bend the armature WAY more to the right, so that instead of the coin being able to get perched between these two levers, it will always fall off to the right of the bounce lever?  I.e., the quarter should not be capable of sitting atop these two levers without falling off to the right and being rejected?  I'm wondering if this is even the right armature, or the right acceptor for it, if when straight it is entering the slot at the extreme left like it is (?)  Almost looks like no matter how far I bend the end of the lever, the coin will still be capable of sitting between it and the bounce lever.  Lever looks just like in my Bally manuals though.  Thanks for any more suggestions you have.  : )

[Op-Bell]

May not be the right armature. Some of them had a brass pin sticking out instead of a bent end - that would have been a good 1/4 inch away from where it is now. The quarter should not be capable of resting on or between the two levers, it must always fall off - of course it does this when the door is open and the acceptor is sitting at a slight angle. Try and see if the coil itself is mounted on slots and capable of being moved over. If not it should be possible to drill a couple of new holes to bring the armature closer to the middle.

[frenchmarky]

For the heck of it I tried bending the end of the arm WAY over to the right, seems to be working correctly with the door closed now and coins are not jamming up there anymore.  Maybe now the coin has enough bounce off the armature that it always clears that jam area, it may still be possible for a coin to get hung between those two levers but since it isn't happening now I'll try some of these other suggestions if it does.  Thanks for the tips!      Mark