E2270 Handle stuck

[Newb]

Hello all,

I purchased a used (and complete) 3-reel unit for my E2270 on eBay.  I did this because the strip on one of the reels in the current reel unit was cracking and coming off.  Other than that, the slot machine was working flawlessly... So now for the exciting part... I removed the working unit, and connected the newly purchased unit, made the connections, started up the machine, put in 3 quarters, pulled the handle (which by the way was difficult to pull down -- and the unit froze -- it did not complete the spin -- nothing happened.  Now the arm is partially engaged, so it will not let me pull the unit out of the machine.  Any ideas as to how to "unscrew" what I just did?  You can see the u-shaped part (from the arm mechanism) that connects to the "axle" on the sprockets of the reel unit (lower right hand side) in the picture I posted.  Thank you for your insight and ideas on this... Jerry A. 

[slcjeeper]

Behind and closer to the bottom of the handle mechanism is a paddle lever. Push this down to unlock the handle and it should return to the up position. 
To make it clearer, did you swap out the entire reel mechanism or just the reels with the axle they ride on? If you did, put the original reel mech back in with the new reels. There are many things that need to be adjusted correctly on the reel mechanism in order for it to work. There could be harness differences that aren't necessarily immediately noticeable on the new unit as well as items that need to be adjusted to your machine. Rather than introducing a foreign part into a working machine,  stay with what worked.

[slcjeeper]

The paddle lever is in this area.

[GOS]

 sounds like the air piston is stuck - the piston is on the right side of the mechanism - there is a "U" shaped piece extending towards the front - if you spray WD-40 or similar oil into the piston - it should finally free up. There should be other threads regarding "stuck handle"" on NLG

[Newb]

To make it clearer, did you swap out the entire reel mechanism or just the reels with the axle they ride on?

I swapped out the entire reel unit.  You know that funny feeling you get when you know you're about to possibly do something very wrong?  Well, I got that feeling -- precisely because of what you say.  Nonetheless, I went against my better judgement, and here I am. 

Behind and closer to the bottom of the handle mechanism is a paddle lever. Push this down to unlock the handle and it should return to the up position.

Thanks for this info.  It took me a bit to find it -- It's hidden behind a flexible metal face plate. I just pushed down on the "pawl" with a long heavy flat-head, and it released the arm. Many thanks to you, Sir!

I replaced the old trusty unit, fired it up, put a quarter in it, pulled the handle and got my first 3 cherries 

Sincerely,
Jerry A. 

[Newb]

Also, a question for you old hands... Why do my pictures post sideways?

[slcjeeper]

There is information in the pictures data that a program reads to auto-rotate. Not all programs read this EXIF tag. For posting to this site an easy way to get around it is simply taking a screen shot of the photo in its correct orientation and upload that screen shot. This will also reduce the file size incase you go over the Max resolution allowed by the site.