S2000 Pull Handle

[Glasact]

I acquired a 3-reel "White Stars" S2000 game several years ago for my collection.  It works fine except..........the pull handle is always locked and has always been that way.  How do I get it to function correctly?

[rokgpsman]

Usually there is a solenoid coil near the pull handle mechanism inside the machine that activates after you bet one or more credits. This solenoid coil moves a locking lever out of the way so that the handle can be pulled. You can take a look to see if your machine has that solenoid coil, if so there should be a couple of wires connected to it for power. A meter can measure the coil to see if it is good. Someone may have unplugged the cable wiring that goes to the handle solenoid for some reason.

[Shaggy]

It may as be as easy as cleaning the plunger (lock out lever). I had one stick one time, and pulling it out and wiping the dried grease off fixed it. 3 years ago and still working good.

Dave

[Glasact]

I can see two attached wires, so I am assuming there is a locking solenoid somewhere in there.  How do I remove and re-lubricate the lock mechanism and check for power?


Thanks

[Harvs]

There's a spring attached to that soleniod, if it's broken it will lock the handle.

Bottom spring.

[Glasact]

There's a spring attached to that soleniod, if it's broken it will lock the handle.

Bottom spring.

I am able to manually lift the solenoid plunger and the handle releases.  How do I proceed  from here?

[Harvs]

There's a spring attached to that soleniod, if it's broken it will lock the handle.

Bottom spring.

I am able to manually lift the solenoid plunger and the handle releases.  How do I proceed  from here?

Sure, but it would only allow 1 pull of the handle. The spring attaches to a latch (thingy) that you can see in the picture. The solenoid pulls up on that.

Did you take a look yet to see if the spring is broken?

[rokgpsman]

Post a photo of the pull handle's solenoid area on your machine, that will make it easier for your problem to be solved.

[Glasact]

I took a couple of pics of (what I think) is the right area.  Do the springs look like they are intact?
Thanks, Mark

[Harvs]

Yep, looks like the spring is fine.

[rokgpsman]

That round object covered with the light yellow or tan wrapping is the coil for the solenoid. Inside it is a long length of wire wrapped in a circle on a round plastic spool. There is a round metal plunger rod that is positioned so that it passes thru the spool loosely. The 2 wires that connect to this coil send electricity thru it (when the solenoid is turned on) and that makes a strong magnetic field. The magnetic field pulls in that round metal plunger and that is what moves a lever or metal arm to unlock the pull handle. The spring is there so that when the solenoid is turned off the plunger will move back the other way and lock the handle.

Does the yellow/tan wrapping on the coil look overheated, darkened? If you have a meter you can measure the coil to see if it is good. Where the 2 wires connect to the coil you can put your meter leads and look for continuity, which is a really low resistance reading. Do this with the machine powered off. Also, with the machine powered on and after pressing the button to bet one credit you should be able to measure the voltage on the coil wires to see if it is getting voltage to activate it.

Or you can check that the wires are connected to the coil and follow the wires back to make sure neither one is cut or damaged.

Of course, if you are not able to repair this problem the game can still be played by pressing the Spin button on the machine. Or you could remove the solenoid locking mechanism and the handle could be pulled at any time. I don't think that would cause a problem for home users.

It looks like there is a larger spring around the plunger. And there is a smaller spring that is connected between the end of the plunger and the lever that the solenoid wants to move to unlock the handle. But that's a guess, I don't have one of these machines here to look at myself. With the machine powered off can you press on the plunger and get it to move easily? If so then the problem is probably electrical (bad coil, wiring, solenoid driver on circuit board, etc).

[Glasact]

I moved the plunger up & down through the coil a few times and it moved freely.  I moved the wires around a little looking for somewhere to attach a meter.  I tried it again and it is now working.  I'm now a super qualified repairman  I must have jiggled a loose connection or freed up a sticking solenoid. I'm happy to finally have it working after many years.
Thanks for all of the help!!


Retirement is Great! On to the next project!


Mark

[rokgpsman]

Ha!  We'll put your name and number out there, you can start doing service calls and get lots more experience in this exciting field of work! Make lots of extra income for your golden years.   

If it was just something mechanical then it might just need the plunger cleaned or a little dab of grease on the lever arm that moves. Don't put any oil or grease on the plunger. If moving the wires got it to working then you might have a flaky solder connection or something intermittent with the wires that attach to the coil. Those wire connectors are often just crimped (mashed together) onto the wires, one of them might be loose.