Payout issues and wiper board pinout

[The Fatman]

I am working on a 1046(which I havnt seen that model) and it is having payout isses I feel stemming from the wiper board and arms positioning. I have noticed that being a 5 line cross corner paylines, the payouts are not working as they should. Now I do have a 873 that is also the 5 coin play machine that has the same index discs on the reels and I am in the process of comparing the wiper arm positions. Now, in checking the position, is there the definite line to get your first reading lets say for single cherry. Do I place it in the center, top or bottom row to check if the boards connection passes. I have a feeling they all will be linked behind the wiper board anyway but since the single cherry in the center position puts the wiper arm on dirrerent spots of the 2 boards, I was wondering if there is the best position to use. 
Thanks .... I will figure it out eventually, but with yall's help, I get to keep just a few more of my hairs just a bit longer.
Dave F

[OldReno]

Dave, I don't know.  Not sure what your pay problems are, exactly....?
Are all 3 of your reel discs exactly the same as your 873?

[The Fatman]

Thanks for the reply my friend. I have worked on a bunch of the single line and 3 line play and the 809 style single line 5 coin models. But when it comes to the 5 coin 5 line play machines, I am still very new to the repairs on them. I have checked the index disks as you requested and the 873 (which is my working machine) has 684-7 for the #1 disk,684-7 for the second disk and 684-8 for the third. Now the 1046 has 684 (cent symbol) 116, second is 684-7 and third is 684-8. Which might explain why the second reel bar in the bottom position is on a different contact than the first disk or even the other machine. I will try to trace the contacts or even see if Ican find out the configuration in  one of my schematics ,... but everylittle bit helps. Since this is really the first time I have had to do more than just cleaning and adjustment of regular switches on a 5 coin 5 line machine .... I am just learnning this machine. What position is the furthest out grove in the index disk ( meaning cherry) going to line up with? Center, top or bottom line?
Dave F

[OldReno]

Dave,
The 5 line XX is the most complicated reel setup I've encountered.
The best thing I think is for you to go through each of the 5 lines and determine what exactly pays and what does not pay.  It will be tedious to check each kind of pay, on each of the 5 lines, but may give a baseline.
I believe you have 5 or even 6 different segments on your cuts of the back of your reel wiper assemblys, and as I recall, not all of the pays are the same cuts on the discs.  You have what are called above the line and below the line cuts, which are different for each type of symbol.  E.G., an orange with a cherry above it is different than an orange with a bar above it.
Because of the great complexity of these XX machines (XX means criss-cross, or 5 lines), most casinos were unable to do any modifications to the reels. 
It might be of benefit to us here for you to log what the reel strips are, and what each corresponding cut is, just for our records and discussion.  (That is a lot of work, so I won't hold you to it).
The guy who gave me my start on EMs was a master at reel modifications, and I have seen many, but do not remember many or even any mods that he made to criss cross machines.  However, if it were a bars only criss cross, that might be in my realm of experience, as they are not quite so hairy.
Good luck and keep us posted on what you learn.
You might start out on the 3rd reel board, and take note of the grey wires, see how many there are, and record what the trace colors are.  That will give you a start on how the payouts are powered through the reels.
Use the force, man.
Send some pics of the payboard, too, as it is probably not your usual run of the mill payboard.
Also, you can get a quick check to see if the reel wipers are correctly adjusted, by manually pushing them all the way back, and seeing if they land cleanly on the last set of buttons.  Check my troubleshoot tips #1 post for how to do that.