Owning a vintage slot machine is one of those fun yet daunting ideas. Many old school one-armed bandits are beautifully designed and instant conversation pieces. Plus slot fans who own a machine don’t ever have to worry about losing money to the house.
Lever that trips the switch. This could cause a coin door shock. The fish paper should be between the trip lever and the contact blade, insulating the contact blade from the trip wire (which is metal and touches the metal coin door).
You will find, among other things, the slot machines shown in the picture. The first slot machine allows you to take part in large battles with hordes of opponents. The second slot machine (unlocked after the first game has been played) allows you to repeat the battles against bosses from the original story campaign. Error Code 3100 (Extra Coin Out Tilt) normally signifies either a jammed/stuck coin or token in the coin-out chute on the hopper, or the hopper coin-out sensor has detected the hopper may have paid out an extra coin. Open the main slot machine door. Remove the coin tray by lifting up and pulling out the tray.
Charles August Fey, a Bavaria-born inventor, was living in San Francisco when he invented his first gambling machine in 1984. His games grew to be so popular at local bars, he quit his day job and opened a factory to start mass producing them, most notably the Liberty Bell machines in 1899. A lot of the functionality from that early game remained in place through much of the 20th century. Watch this video to see the seven mechanical actions set into motion when you pull back the bandit’s arm. The inner workings are probably a little more complex than you expect.
Given that a lot of old slot machines are hand built, it isn’t surprising that coins can get jammed on their way through the mechanism. Big warning: If your machine jams, don’t force the arm or you can break, twist or damage a part inside. Different models and makes tend to have common jam points. The Mills model shown in the above video can have coins stuck in the “elevator” section that displays the last five coins dropped into the machine. Getting the slot working again can be as simple as cleaning the gunk off of an old part. You just need to be smart when you’re disassembling and reassembling the machinery.
Okay, there are plenty of more places where a coin can get stuck and the above video demonstrates how to fix a variety of jams. It also explains how to disassemble the major parts of the machine and where common problem areas are.
Curious how an antique slot machine knows how much money a winner gets? This video shows the punch-card like communication that trips payouts and how. If you ever need to replace the reel symbols or calibrate the machine you’ll need to understand how these work. Even if you don’t ever plan on owning a machine, the metallic “circuitry” is interesting to see.
Want to own a modern slot machine? New ones have plenty more bells, whistles and dings, and also a lot more advanced parts. If you plan on getting one, you may want to have an idea of what’s inside. In addition to the classic reels, there are speakers, motherboards filled with programming chips and plenty of wires. Unless you have a way with a soldering iron you probably won’t try and fix it. But in case you do, here’s a clip from Discovery showing what’s inside.
Did you know newer slot machines are smart enough to test themselves when a problem happens? This video shows you the procedure for having the machine check its own system. The host’s desert dry delivery is also enough to make this vid worth a watch.
The laundry industry is as big today as it’s ever been and nothing is likely to change that in the foreseeable future. There are around 30,000 coin-operated commercial laundries in the US that generate an annual gross revenue of $5 billion. These figures don’t include communal laundry facilities provided in apartment buildings and other multi-family housing buildings and rental homes. Simply put, the laundromat business is steady, strong, and vibrant. So there are plenty of coins going through plenty of machines and occasionally one gets stuck.
When the mechanism is new and the coin undamaged it’s rare to see any jams. Everything slides through perfectly well and nobody has to get frustrated. However, the washers get used heavily and parts wear also the coins are rarely the perfect shape they were when they were made. All this means coins get stuck from time to time.
In an ideal world, the stuck coin may fall out of the chute by just pressing the coin return button but you’re reading this so we guess that didn’t work.
Sometimes the coin is not the problem or the coin is bent or is still stubbornly clinging on.
Stuck coin slides may be caused by factors other than coins, such as a loose screw jammed between the coins and the ramp. If the above fixes don’t work, and you still don’t want to call a service technician, you might need to open the coin box or extract the entire coin assembly.
If you’re not the owner of the machine, there’s nothing you can do about it. Report the problem to the owner or building proprietor. If you have the keys for the access panel, opening the coin box can often dislodge a stuck coin. Removing the entire coin assembly can be tricky and it depends on the type of machine you have.
There are a few types of coin acceptor the main ones are; the upright, the flat sliding mechanism, and the dial types.
In general, the coin slot mechanism is housed to one side on the top of the washer and is either the upright type or the sliding type, the dial type being more common on dryers.
If the problem continues the coin slot mechanism may need replacing. Since you now know how to remove it, you also know how to replace it. Call your local parts distributor and order a new one appropriate for your model or give us a call.