Bally 809 occasionally fails to count the 2nd through 5th nickels

[1inxs]

Issues from my first post have been corrected. This Bally 809 has been sitting in the game room for quite some time. I have an owners manual with service intervals and procedures, but will go through that process thoroughly at a later date. The slot plays 1 to 5 nickels per pull. The issue I'm having with it is, when I insert nickels, it occasionally fails to count after the first nickel is inserted. It only counts the first nickel. I have found if I slightly shake the lever after inserting the first nickel and before inserting the next four nickels it works without a problem. Is there an adjustment that would possibly correct this?

[Neonkiss]

Sounds like the trip wire on the micro-switch is a little out of adjustment.
With the door open if you manually flick the coin in switch does it cont all the coins correctly?

[1inxs]

I'm going with the assumption, the coin in switch is the fine wire where the coins are inserted. If I open the door and flick the wire it only counts the first coin. Then after I wiggle the lever, it counts each time I flick the wire..

[Neonkiss]

Then after I wiggle the lever, it counts each time I flick the wire..

What LEVER?? are you wiggling?

[StatFreak]

I'm going with the assumption, the coin in switch is the fine wire where the coins are inserted. If I open the door and flick the wire it only counts the first coin. Then after I wiggle the lever, it counts each time I flick the wire..

When you say lever, do you mean the slot handle? If so, it sounds like the handle mech is not returning all the way to the home position.

You can check the mechanical action of the handle mech with the door open to see if the mechanism is returning home as it should. There is a laminated pointy metal lever that sticks up through a rectangular hole at the top of the handle mech box. If you pull this towards you and hold it, you can pull the handle with no coins played.

If the reel mech is sticky, you might want to check and clean the white (yellowed) tube and plunger piston on the right side of the reel assy that is part of the handle pull mech. The piston inside the tube was manufactured with a rubber ring intended to create a seal in the tube. These rings eventually degrade into gummy rubber. If this is the case, you will need to clean out the tube and all of the gummy residue. The plunger will work fine with no ring so it doesn't need to be replaced - just remove all of the bad rubber.

You might also want to check, clean and adjust the contact switches on the left side of the reel mech. These are the stacked, long flat pieces of metal with carbon contacts on the ends separated by paper. I will leave it to our experts to walk you through this as these switches are delicate and any cleaning and adjustments must be done carefully to avoid damaging the switches.

[1inxs]

What LEVER?? are you wiggling?

The lever on the right side of the machine.

When you say lever, do you mean the slot handle? If so, it sounds like the handle mech is not returning all the way to the home position.

You can check the mechanical action of the handle mech with the door open to see if the mechanism is returning home as it should. There is a laminated pointy metal lever that sticks up through a rectangular hole at the top of the handle mech box. If you pull this towards you and hold it, you can pull the handle with no coins played.

If the reel mech is sticky, you might want to check and clean the white (yellowed) tube and plunger piston on the right side of the reel assy that is part of the handle pull mech. The piston inside the tube was manufactured with a rubber ring intended to create a seal in the tube. These rings eventually degrade into gummy rubber. If this is the case, you will need to clean out the tube and all of the gummy residue. The plunger will work fine with no ring so it doesn't need to be replaced - just remove all of the bad rubber.

You might also want to check, clean and adjust the contact switches on the left side of the reel mech. These are the stacked, long flat pieces of metal with carbon contacts on the ends separated by paper. I will leave it to our experts to walk you through this as these switches are delicate and any cleaning and adjustments must be done carefully to avoid damaging the switches.

I will open up the slot and look to see if this is the issue.

[1inxs]

I opened the door and pulled the little lever sticking up through the rectangular hole. This allowed me to pull the slot handle without inserting a nickel. The handle mechanism seems to be returning to the proper location? I flicked the coin in switch, but it still required a jiggle of the slot handle before it would register more than the 1st nickel. With the door open I did see a relay which seems to stick. When I wiggle the slot lever, it arcs a small spark and then the relay releases. It then allows the nickels to register.
I have included a picture of the relay for reference.

[Neonkiss]

OK, So when you wiggle the handle on the side, everything works good.
Sounds like what Stat said, The handle is not returning all the way by it self.

From the picture it looks like the piston damper is gummed up.
I attached a photo with and arrow to where the rubber has  degraded and is sticking inside the piston housing.
Take that apart and clean out all the gunked up rubber.

[StatFreak]

...With the door open I did see a relay which seems to stick. When I wiggle the slot lever, it arcs a small spark and then the relay releases. It then allows the nickels to register.
I have included a picture of the relay for reference.

I don't see any relays in your picture.
Look at the labels that I've put on your picture.

Are you referring to the green Handle Release Coil? Is it the Latch Arm assy that is sticking (staying up) until you jiggle the slot handle? If this stays up after you insert the first coin and then drops after you jiggle the arm (this would cause the symptom you describe), check the tension on the torsion spring. It is a coil-like spring wound around a shaft and is somewhat hidden underneath the handle release coil. the end of the spring forms an arm that puts pressure on the top of the latch arm assembly and forces it down when the lock is released. It may be weak and need replacing.


PS: Neonkiss has pointed out the piston to which I was referring in my earlier post and which, as we both have stated, should be checked for and cleaned of any melted black gunk inside.

[1inxs]

I will check the torsion spring tension to see if it needs replacing and service the piston. I won't have time to do these items until this Thursday or Friday. I will post back with the results at that time. StatFreak and Neonkiss,  You are awesome! I really appreciate the time you have spent to help me get this Bally working. Thanks Again!!

[Op-Bell]

When the first coin pushes the microswitch wire down, a relay at the back pulls in. When the coin clears the wire and the coin switch opens again, the handle release solenoid should pull in with a loud and characteristic click. That's the solenoid in your picture with the switch stacks above it. The latch arm drops down to block the little lever sticking up through the rectangular hole, so the handle can pull. The solenoid gets current to pull in through one of its own contacts - looks like the top contact in your picture - and after it pulls in, that contact breaks the current so it doesn't overheat and the solenoid stays mechanically latched down. Another contact on the stack closes to allow you to add more coins. This contact makes when the handle releases and breaks when you start to pull, to stop you adding coins once you start the game.

It sounds to me like the contact for the handle release coil is dirty, so the coil isn't getting the current it needs to pull in. Wiggling the handle disturbs it enough to make contact, the solenoid then pulls in, and everything is fine. Clean the contacts. Put a little WD40 or alcohol on a strip of kraft paper (supermarket brown bag paper) and rub it between the closed contacts (don't bend the contact springs unless you want a whole lot more trouble). Black stuff will come off on the paper, and it should work after.

[1inxs]

It sounds to me like the contact for the handle release coil is dirty, so the coil isn't getting the current it needs to pull in. Wiggling the handle disturbs it enough to make contact, the solenoid then pulls in, and everything is fine. Clean the contacts. Put a little WD40 or alcohol on a strip of kraft paper (supermarket brown bag paper) and rub it between the closed contacts (don't bend the contact springs unless you want a whole lot more trouble). Black stuff will come off on the paper, and it should work after.

I'm out of town through Thursday night and I won't be able to check these items until then. This is most likely where my problem is. The contact cleaning idea is appreciated very much. There are a lot of contacts in the slot that need cleaning and I've been wondering how to go about it. I will do what you have recommended as well as the items from the previous posts, later this week. I will post a followup when I can tel you the outcome. Thanks again to all who responded.

[1inxs]

I cleaned the contacts as directed. I also disassembled and cleaned the slot handle damper (yellow cylinder). The rubber boot inside the damper was disintegrating. What a pain to remove. I used a white scuffy pad and WD-40 to clean it. I cleaned the inside of the damper tube with WD-40 and a toothbrush. It's all reassembled now and working great.
Thanks Again to all of you who responded with tips for getting this Slot working correctly.

[Neonkiss]

We knew you could do it.
Thanks for posting back, Glad to here it's working again.

[StatFreak]

Great news!    Enjoy your machine.

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