S2000 Coins get stuck

[mrbeal]

Please, please, PLEASE tell me there's an easy way to prevent coins getting stuck!!!

[Stayouttadabunker]

The coin knife has weakened....get a new knife.
What machine model do you have?

[mrbeal]

It’s a brand new knife. It did that straight out of the package as did the one that came with the machine when I got it.   Machine is IGT S2000.

[Stayouttadabunker]

The very tip of the knife was resting on top of the coin shelf as you tightened the screws?
Did you put the knife stiffener on as well?
The stiffener is a flat piece of metal plate that goes on TOP over the body of the knife.
The back of the knife MUST be flat up against the coin wheel so there's no gap between the knife and the wheel.
Disassemble and check the wheel for warpness....it needs to be flat.

[Stayouttadabunker]

Oh...I forgot to mention...back around 15 years ago, one of our members ( Gordy) had the same problem.
He found out his hopper was going backwards because the 24volt motor wires fell off and he mistakenly and unknowingly put them back onto the motor backwards! 

Another thing, the hopper optics can be adjusted so that it's further away from the wheel.
Sometimes the optics are tightened incorrectly and sticking out an 1/8th of an inch making the knife slightly stick out as the warped wheel is turning and coins get stuck under it.

[mrbeal]

Ahhhh… the optic. I’ll have to check that. Everything else is as it should be. It’ll feed coins like it’s supposed to (it had probably paid out a couple hundred with no issue last night before this happened) but then it’ll jam randomly. The knife, when tightened in place, will tend to come off the wheel a little and I’ve used a cardboard shim to press it back into place… that’s how I finally got it to pay out. So, the optic it is. I’ll hopefully check that out this afternoon.

[dailey]

I used to have the same problem with coin jams. In my case it all came down to the quality and adjustment of the knife. Once I learned how to set it to near perfection, I no longer experienced coin jams. I'm running coins in 9 machines. Nickel, quarter, half dollar and dollar size tokens, and I can't remember the last time I had a coin jam.

As previously mentioned, the knife tip must be touching the shelf wheel and be flat against the pin wheel without any gap. You should not be able to get a piece of paper between the knife and the pin wheel. The knife tip needs to be sharp without chips, burrs or radius. The coin needs to ride smoothly onto the knife tip without bumps. I sometimes dress the top side tip of the knife using 600 grit sandpaper. Keep your hopper clean. Small bits of paper, such as from coin wrappers, can lead to a jam.

I bench test my hopper before installing it in the machine. First, I turn the motor by hand to observe the coin feeding at slow speed. I then connect 24vdc to the motor and feed a few hundred coins. If coin jams persist, be sure you have the correct size shelf and pin wheel for the coin.

With a little hands-on experience at servicing the coin knife, this should become easy. Hope this helps.

[dailey]

There is a wealth of information in Slot Tech Magazine. They did a series on the repair and maintenance of coin hoppers starting in the May-2001 issue.

https://web.archive.org/web/20191028195210/https://slot-techs.com/magazine/backissues.htm

[mrbeal]

I’ll take a look at the article and see if there’s something I need to do. Also, I’ll give the hopper a really good cleaning. Looks like the optic is fine, there’s absolutely no way it can interfere with the knife or coin movement. I’ll come back and report my findings.

[Stayouttadabunker]

Put the hopper on a bench.
Take the bowl off, put some coins on the wheel shelf between 12 and 3 o'clock, and turn it by hand slowly.
Watch the coins travel up and over the top onto the knife.
You will see exactly what's wrong with it.