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cannot get to work, no power on right side of capisitor where wire connects to stationary handle, would think there should be juice there to make a full circuit when you turn other handle to give shock, have juice all the way the other way to where penny drops, ground is good at stationary handle, when I disconnect wire from that handle still no juice to that wire, anyway of fixing that capisitor if bad or where to get another one, this worked a little several times, not a lot of shock, also replaced all wires cleaned everything, using a 9 volt battery should there be juice there just sitting still as it needs to make a full circuit, frustrated and help would be appreciated thanks

Got a photo of your machine and a photo of the capacitor? The problem might be in
The (don't laugh) what I know as the vibrator coil or circuit. 9v DC hooked up straight
Will not charge a capacitor. Think of the old model T wood box coils. They took DC
Current and converted it to ac to boost the voltage to make a spark for the plugs.

Just a thought and all I know about certain kinds of capacitors. See if there is writing
on the capacitor it should be rated in micro ferads or picro ferads. Take a photo of
Any writing it will look like Greek letters and can propably be easily replaced but not
look like what you have now.

thanks, if you google mills shock machine pictures when you have a second, you will see same machines and pick one and see the insides the same as mine, I think its called a capasiter wooden thing in middle, thanks again

This is a penny arcade shocking machine from around 1904. "Electricity Is Life", made by the Mills Novelty Co. You drop in a nickel, grab both handles and slowly turn the handle on the right. As you rotate the handle, an electric shock is delivered to the handles. The voltage starts out low, but increases as you crank the handle. I can only turn it about half way before I have to let go (ouch). I repaired this machine for a customer in Jan. 2007. It's powered by a single 1.5V #6 dry cell battery. The mechanism is very ingenious. The coin (a nickel) actually closes the electrical circuit and allows current to flow. The battery voltage is stepped up to a shocking potential (pun intended) by a "step-up transformer," of which the secondary winding is connected to the handles. The transformer is the skinny rod, which is vertically mounted in the center of the machine, as seen in this picture. There is a brass sleeve that covers the transformer shaft. As you rotate the handle, this sleeve will slide down the shaft and cause the following to occur: At the start of the game when the handle is up-right, the brass sleeve is covering the transformer windings and shunting the magnetic field. Therefore, the output voltage is low. But as the handle is rotated, the sleeve will move down the shaft and uncover the transformer, which allows the magnetic field to grow, which in turn delivers more "life giving electrical stimulus" . Make sure you are using the correct battery!

can you build a new transformer for the mills electricity is life machine? if so how much? or can I simply unwind mine and try to rewind? im thinking this is my problem

Unless you are using the correct input voltage at the right amperage you may
not get the results you are looking for ever. A transistor sized 9 volt battery is probably
not going to cut it.

I could not find any photos of the innards of the machine you have so I don't know
what you are looking at to be able to hazard a guess where to start. Do you have
a voltmeter and can you check resistance and continuity? Put the correct size battery
in it hook it up follow the voltage. Then jump the circuit the coin completes and check
everything again.

Without photos I'm just guessing out loud.

I haven't seen the innards of this machine, but you should be able to rewind a transformer/coil. First ohm it out and see what you measure (with battery and all other electronics disconnected) and I would compare it to another working machines at various throttle positions (at least the two throttle end points), to see if its necessary to rewind. If you measure something 50-5000ohm I would guess your coil is ok (not shorted or broken). While you have your ohmmeter out, might as well ohm out the full circuit from battery all the way to the other end of the battery. Sounds like the circuit is broken somewhere.

If you do rewind you need to be able to measure the gauge of the wire and how many windings are on it.

OK Fellas:
Here is the only pix I have at present, of the insides of a Mills "FireFly" Shocker. (Not Mine). The only major item
that appears to be missing, is the Dry Cell Battery, which goes in the hanging metal loop. The machine screw in
the upper left, with nothing attached, I don't remember what goes there. I would look at one of mine, but can't
get to them at present.
Hopefully the machine in question here, is a Mills, because if it is the later model by Advance, the parts may differ
slightly, especially the coil. If you have to resort to doing a rewind, it is very tedious work, as the wire is very fine,
and has to be mic'd for the right gauge, and has to be the exact amount of windings, to be correct.
Good luck, Bill

Hi -
From reading your original post I think it may be worth while to start back at some basics.
1: can you confirm that when you connect the battery, and you complete the circuit (either with a coin or by holding the latch up in position) that there is a BUZZ of the electrode that is above the field transformer?
2: If there is a buzz, and if you did have a shock coming through the circuit at one time, I'd bet more towards it being a loose wire or a ground issue rather than the field coil going bad. I've repaired/restored a few dozen of these in the past 10 years or so and I've only had 2 of them truly "crap out" at the field coil.
3: As another poster noted, a 9v battery is not really the suitable power source. Ideally, you'd use a 1.5v cell with a lot of "gusto" (modern replacements for the dry cells that originally powered these). As those are a bit expensive and sometimes don't give as much shock as some like, another option is a modern 6v lantern battery - typically available at WalMart or Home Depot. (Note that a 9v should be enough to give you a buzz and test for shock - it's just not a good long-term solution)
4: If you're handy with a volt/ohm meter it won't be difficult to troubleshoot. But I'd suggest starting from simple bits and moving up from there - as it may well be a rather mundane and easily-fixed issue.

Feel free to reply here or via message - it may be easiest to find time to just talk by phone and work this through.
John

thanks tried unwraping wire on transformer as looked like was broken in a few places, now im screwed, is this something you might be interested in fixing,