809 and a sticky odds wheel(?) and a slightly off #2 reel.

[TheOtherBob]

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by.

I have a co-worker who gave me an 809 they found at a rummage sale to fix for their game room.

In the head there is a wheel with multiple contacts and multiple wipers (looking straight forward it is on the left side).  Is this the odds wheel?  Anyways it is sticking.  It'll advance about 5 or 6 steps and then when the reset solenoid fires it won't return to the first position.  It just sort of sticks somewhere between 4-5.  Is this one of those pull the assembly apart and give it a good cleaning or is there something else I should be looking at?  If I need to pull the assembly is there anything I should be careful with prior to?  Like the wound spring flying through the air and nailing the cat in the flank?  Any tips would be appreciated.

Finally this is more of a minor thing but the center reel is just slightly off (maybe an 1/8" of an inch).  Is there a fine adjustment for bringing the fruit back in line?  The reels are all snug and there is no play in them that I see when I give them a slight tug.  I guess I'd just like it to look nice...

Thanks!!

ps.  Dang there is a lot of nicotine juice in this thing.

[David B Fowler]

First thing is to make sure the spring has its tension and the wheel can move freely in both directions. Also make sure it is not being hung up by old grease on its shaft and the linkage the causes it to advance. The linkage that advances it can also be hanging up as well and even if the shaft moves freely, if the linkage doesnt, it can cause it not to advance.  It should advance easily when the coil is activated and reset when its coil is triggered. Lubrication issues is usually the problem with this type of wheels. You have a center wheel strip that seems to be just a tad bit off. I would check to make sure that the actual wheel strip hasn't slid a little. You can readjust it to the correct position and make sure that it is secure after you slide the strip. Dont add glue or tape to it to hold it. That will be causing more problems later down the road. Back to the odds disk, as you drop a coin, this should advance 1 place for each coin until it maxes out at 5 coins. After you pull the handle and payout is done ( if you got one) the next time you drop a coin, the reset coil should activate allowing the disk to spin back to its starting position and advance for each coin deposited again. I am pretty sure you have a gummed up shaft for it and it could use some cleaning and re lubing. I hope this helps .... I am sure OldReno can add more info to your problem and I would consider his input  ... GOLD... best I have found here with the EM machines.
The Fatman   ... ( 67 lbs smaller)

[David B Fowler]

PS .... nicotine can also gum up a shaft and or its coil linkage. Plus it STINKS .... 409 spray helps taking it off the cabinet and glass but a couple applications is needed. Be careful of the paint.

[TheOtherBob]

First thing is to make sure the spring has its tension and the wheel can move freely in both directions. Also make sure it is not being hung up by old grease on its shaft and the linkage the causes it to advance. The linkage that advances it can also be hanging up as well and even if the shaft moves freely, if the linkage doesnt, it can cause it not to advance.  It should advance easily when the coil is activated and reset when its coil is triggered. Lubrication issues is usually the problem with this type of wheels. You have a center wheel strip that seems to be just a tad bit off. I would check to make sure that the actual wheel strip hasn't slid a little. You can readjust it to the correct position and make sure that it is secure after you slide the strip. Dont add glue or tape to it to hold it. That will be causing more problems later down the road. Back to the odds disk, as you drop a coin, this should advance 1 place for each coin until it maxes out at 5 coins. After you pull the handle and payout is done ( if you got one) the next time you drop a coin, the reset coil should activate allowing the disk to spin back to its starting position and advance for each coin deposited again. I am pretty sure you have a gummed up shaft for it and it could use some cleaning and re lubing. I hope this helps .... I am sure OldReno can add more info to your problem and I would consider his input  ... GOLD... best I have found here with the EM machines.
The Fatman   ... ( 67 lbs smaller)

Thanks for the advice.  I appreciate it.  I'll double check those things.  I seem to recall OldReno mentioning a very light oil job on the wipers but I'll have to search for that info to be sure.  I come from more of a solid state pinball background where oil was frowned upon.  Opening this 809 it appeared that whomever worked on it was very liberal with their grease cannon!

Congrats on the weight loss!  

[OldReno]

Very light oil works great for most stuff, especially for any wipers.  You don't even need grease in the machine, actually if you pay attention to lubing often enough. (excluding the handle box, of course)
I've used mineral oil, and even veggie oil in a pinch for sticky parts.
Always wanted to try coconut oil, as it does solidify around room temp, but probably not on wipers...?