Hopper Stops Turning

[big_e]

I have a Bally Pays a Plenty.  Ive had multiple issues with it, but for now has been pretty good.  I have been running it with only a handful of nickels.  I have been adding more and have had the hopper start paying and then stop.  I reach in and turn the disc in the hopper and it takes off.  I dont know if its a motor issue, or if something on a shaft somewhere is slipping.
Just curious if anyone has ever seen something like this happen.
ThanksE

[wolftalk]

the motor directly drives the pinwheel via three gears.  One is on the back of the pinwheel, one is roll-pinned to the motor shaft, and one sits on a shaft bolt in between.


there's three things that could go wrong assuming the problem is not electrical:


1] something is gunked up.  Could be the pinwheel shaft or the middle gear or there's crud binding the motor rotor in the stator hole.


2] the pinwheel shaft or pinwheel/gear isn't fastened properly and the pinwheel is moving into the bowl far enough to disengage the gear


3] the motor gearbox has stripped gear teeth.  In this case, the rotor will be spinning but the motor output/gear shaft won't.  Turning the pinwheel turns the motor output shaft and gets you back onto working teeth.


the motor gearbox is usually rivetted, but you can drill the rivets and pop the thing open to see what's going on. 


you should be able to grip the motor rotor shaft end and turn it...might need pliers to grip, but it should turn pretty easily and the pinwheel will turn also.  I guess you could spin the shaft with a drill and see if the pinwheel stops or you hear gear teeth grinding.


if you've never taken the pinwheel/shaft and middle gear/shaft out to clean/regrease, you may want to do that anyway.  Crud accumulates between the pinwheel and the back casting.  The easiest thing is to remove the acorn nut holding the pinwheel to the shaft and pull off the pinwheel ... then you can see if the shaft needs to come out because the grease is hardened or there's a lot of caked on stuff.  With the pinwheel off, the shaft should spin easily and slid out the back side.


the pinwheel shaft has nyliners on it, so you decide whether you want grease there or not. 


 

[DavidLee]

Does the hopper start running or is it the agitator disc just spins freely?

[big_e]

  No it does not spin freely when it stops. 

[DavidLee]

So you turn the hopper just a little and it starts running?

[big_e]

Yes I apply pressure in the direction its suppose to turn and it takes off.

[Jim]

I guess we need some more information!  does it do this on all payouts?  or just on bigger payouts?   do you know how to set up payouts holding the fan with one hand and positioning the reels with the other??  sent up a payout, when it stops, can you tap the hopper with a screw driver and will it start paying without turning the pinwheel?  you could have an intermittent switch contacts that power the motor?? 


Jim

[OldReno]

Check your hopper motor brake, if you have one. Sometimes they stick and don’t release.

[DavidLee]

Remove the first three coins out of the elevator wheel. Then advance the hopper as described.
If it doesn't run then advance the hopper until coins reach the exit point.
This might give a clue to where to look next.

[wolftalk]

Check your hopper motor brake, if you have one. Sometimes they stick and don’t release.

if your game is an 1164, then it probably has the new style/snow hopper.  The motor will be mounted directly behind the pinwheel and not off to the side.


if so, ignore my previous post which only applies to old-style hoppers.


the brake is a white nylon c-shaped piece behind the outer bearing on the motor.  It grabs the rotor and stops it from spinning when the motor coil loses power.


also check the rotor isn't binding in the stator hole or bearing.  (stator is the laminated metal plates the rotor goes thru).  If things look cruddy, you can remove the bearing and stator to clean the rotor and hole.  There shouldn't be any grease/dirt in the hole or on the rotor drum.

[Lee Pfeifer]

The hopper in my 1090 had lots of problems , one problem is someone had added a longer screw to attach the black star thing that agitates the coins , and the power of the motor simply bent that screw so it continued to operate , then a nickel fell through and somehow caught itself on the too long and how bent screw.