Bally 1088 $.05 Handle Trouble Shooting

[DrewMcAvon]

I rescued a 1982 Bally 1088.  It is a three wheel, center line only nickel machine, it has two tower lights, one yellow and one red, three coin/nickel max. It worked for a few days, but I am now having issues.  The coin is accepted, but nothing is registering and I can't pull the handle.  All the lights work.  The Paid light is on and the first coin panel is lit on the top (as if I put in 1 coin).  When I put in another coin, nothing changes, but the coin goes into the hopper.  The tilt light is off and I reset using the button behind the hopper.  I checked the fuses, none are blown, but the second from right does not seem to lock into place.  This may be the issue, but wanted to check here first for other options.  I downloaded the Bally EM Troubleshooting guide and that points to perhaps dirty contacts in various places on the wheel or hopper.  I can't find an operations guide for this machine. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Stayouttadabunker]

Sounds like it's accepting one coin but not any other coins.

What is the MAX bet ( in coins ) for this game?

[DrewMcAvon]

it is a 3 coin machine, but it will take more.  In fact I think i put in more than 3 by mistake and then this latest issue started.  not sure if related.

[Stayouttadabunker]

There's a few members on here that know a lot more than I about these old Bally's...I'm sure they will chime in and give you a hand! 

[slcjeeper]

Can you post a couple pictures of your machine? The 1088 is a “Buy A Pay” machine. With each added coin until 3, the feature light will advance. Sounds like your dash pot switch might not be setting right. It’s located just above the rear white piston tube on the right side of the reel mechanism. Inside that tube is a plunger that the “U” link attaches to. Often the inside piston seal gets gummed up and gooey and prevents the link to travel back far enough to engage with the dash pot switch. That switch will prevent the handle from unlocking. The same thing happens  if you pull the handle forward slightly and insert a coin, the coin will get returned to you. It’s only when the handle returns fully that a coin will be accepted. Share a picture of the piston tube if you can and let us know how it moves.

[DrewMcAvon]

Attached are some pictures.  The last one is the solenoid on the right side.  To get the handle to move I have to manually flip this.  But it only works once.  I am not sure the solenoid is faulty.  I want to replace the fuse holder that is second to right as it does not turn completely.  I don’t have a schematics, so don’t know if that fuse has anything to do with the solenoid.  I cleaned the solenoid on the left side of the wheel and the one pictured.  There was some gunk, but not much.  I found the ground wire was detected from the frame at the back of machine where the power cord comes in.  I fixed that as well.  I will get a new fuse holder tomorrow and replace to see what that does.  If same issue, I will figure out how to test the solenoid or just replace. Thanks for looking.

[slcjeeper]

Don’t get too far ahead, were you able to very the functionality of the piston tube and dash pot switch?
 The coil will most likely not be an issue.

[DrewMcAvon]

I will take apart the tube and clean before doing anything else.  Thanks for advise. I have never done that, so any suggestions? 

[slcjeeper]

If the piston seal is bad and gooey, let it soak in hot water with Dawn kitchen soap for about 30 mins. It will fall right off. For home play the seal isn't needed. It's there to absorb the shock from players slamming the handle forward.

[DrewMcAvon]

I cleaned the tube and replaced.  The handle still does not pull unless I manually reach in and flip the plate up to the Solenoid on the right side near the handle.  When I pull the handle and win, it dispenses coins but the bell does not stop ringing. The rotator in the hopper stops, but the bell does not.  I have to manually flip the same solenoid to get it to stop.  I am going to replace the fuse holder that I mentioned where the cap comes off.  I think the fuse is still pushed down and turned, but I am not sure.  I think I am dealing with multiple issues, so eliminating variables is my first approach.  How can I test the solenoid?  I have a multimeter.  thanks.


Update: I don't think it is the fuse holder since upon further inspection, the white wire from power cord is attached to the fuse in question.  If it was bad, I would not be getting any power to the machine, which is not the case.