Leaderboard

Meter on pin 5 and the other probe on pin 15

As all electro machines have many motors, timers, switches, relays and solenoids, from the start of the game until finish they make nothing else but noise. Some manufacturers built their game having the variator run from switch on rather than game start so you will here that constant clicking noise as long as the machine is switched on. The noise only increases as the game is played with the many components running to give the player a game on each press of the start button. this is a sign that all is well and every click of a switch and noise of a motor running means that they are doing what they were meant to do, As Brigham said you get used to every sound and eventually you will know if something is not right but more usual because the machine relies on all the components to run together it just won't work and in most cases probably won't work again until the fault is found and rectified. Not only does the game running makes noise but then once a win is payed out the noise is ramped up considerably. Bell Fruit especially and a couple of other manufacturers fitted payslides that operated on mains 240vac so when one of those pays out it makes quite a racket then add the great sound of many coins dropping into the pay cup you know you are playing an electro machine. To add with Fruit 58s statement, these machines were designed for commercial work only and sited in pubs and clubs back in that era, the noise was much reduced that is until a payout when everyone could hear if a player just had a good win. In a home surround then they become a noise box so those that like peace and quiet then I don't think an electro is the type of machine to collect. These old machines were designed and built for a very short working life and really should not still be around but some have escaped the land fill and so lucky to be here with more and some quite rare examples still surfacing today. Not everyone's cuppa I agree but many with me like these old machines and pleased to find a few not only still around but collected and loved by so many.

I've never come across a quiet electromechanical machine! You can always hear them 'thinking', it's one of the things I like about them. As you grow more familiar with them (and with machinery in general) you will start to know which sounds are 'right', and which are caused by faults. The sound you describe is probably dry bushes on the variator. A drop of 3-in-one on the motor rear bronze bush often fixes it.

Basically,The Variator is a timer motor controlled cam which basically stops the reels from running in a sequence. Variator or scrambler described on some schematics cam is made in raised steps of unequal size, It these steps that the cam switch rolls over and in turn causes the switch to make and break a circuit. This circuit is connected to the main game control timer. The main game control timer has a 3 second revolution so without the variator it would normally take it 3 seconds to complete it's 360 degree in every game cycle. Once the start button is pressed and the main control timer sets off on it's cycle and the game begins,Just before the reel solenoids lift to let the reels spin the switch running on the variator cam takes control of the circuit to the main control tmer motor. Because of the make and break action or the variator cam switch, the circuit to the control timer motor is now switched with an on/off action as the variator cam turns. It's during the reel spin and while the variator has control of the circuit that the control timer motor cycle is increased anywhere between 3&5 seconds. It is this difference in the rotation time of the main control timer that in turn makes the difference in the release point of the reel solenoids.This is measured in m/sec but enough to stop the reels running in sequence. The variator returns control of the main control timer to finish it's cycle once all three reels have stopped......... The variator timer does not always have red cam or wheel looking thing it can be any colour depending on which components the manufacturer used. the example above is from a Bell Fruit Timer It may have more than one cam fitted but nearly always a small single motor unit separate from the larger units. If you have a timer that runs constantly when machine is switched on before credit then that should be your variator.

I do like electromechanical fruit machines because they look awesome and also there hassle free of motherboards and the worry of boards getting damaged

Sorry for asking the obvious Andrew but does that mean that you would probe between 2 pins rather than 1 pin and ground?