Unruly Mills Payout Slide Push Bar

[WoodrailFanatic]

Gentlemen,

I am currently trying to solve a problem on a Mills 25 cent Golden Nugget slot (remake).

The issue I am having is that the payout slide push bar does not sit flat in the slot it moves through when the machine is cycled. The small notch or slot it rests in at the very back of the machine appears to be too deep and when the bar settles in there at the end of a cycle this leaves the front end of the bar sticking up a bit in the slot up by the master slide. As a result, on occasion the bar will pop out of the slot that it moves through when resetting the slides and it then has to manually be re-positioned back in the slot.

Has anyone ever seen this problem?

Suggestions on what to do to remedy this?

Is there something in the mechanism that needs to be adjusted to address this?

Thanks for your thoughts and help.

[mechanic]

POST A PIC OF THE BACK SIDE WHERE THE RESET PUSH LEVER IS LOCATED.

[WoodrailFanatic]

Mechanic,

Thanks for responding to my post, I appreciate it. My apologies for not replaying sooner I have been out of town.

Here are a couple of photos....I hope this is what you wanted and they help.

Let me know what you think.....

[radiorich123]

I had that problem on a slot that I was repairing. Found out there is 2 different lengths for the push bars. You may need the longer one.

[WoodrailFanatic]

Radiorich123,

Wow! I had no idea about different lengths of push bars! I will check into that.

Would that result from having the wrong era of push bar in the machine? Or could it be a non-Mills push bar? I have very limited experience with non-Mills machines.

Thank you.

[WoodrailFanatic]

Ok, I have taken a deeper dive into this.

I have removed the reel bundle so I can get better access and views into the mechanism.

The payout slide push bar is not jumping out of its slot on the forward or resetting motion but rather when it returns to rest. When it moves forward during mechanism windup it gets pulled completely down into it slot. I have included photos of it out of the slot when at rest, completely in the slot mid wind up and out of the slot when it malfunctions.

Mechanic, as far as the length of the bar, I have a 25 cent Mills Black Cherry (original not repro) that I am using as a point of reference. It has the same length bar in it as the Golden Nugget. Plus this game worked for a long time with out doing this so I guess based on those two facts I am inclined to think I don't need a longer push bar. Plus it does reset the slides correctly and consistently after a payout. However, please counter me on this if you think I have went down the rabbit hole here.

One very strange thing that I am hoping may offer a clue.....with the reel bundle out of the machine the bar jumps out of the slot every time. With the reel bundle in it only does it occasionally. Actually when fully assembled it does it after the machine has been sitting for a bit.....not an extensive period of time but in the range of 1 to 3 days. Once it does that and I correct it, it will then seem to hum along fine until it sits for a while again.

When the machine is a t rest if I grab the back end of the push bar and wiggle it it does not move very freely. If I do that same thing when the machine is in mid windup it moves very freely. On my Black Cherry the push bar will move very freely when the mechanism is at rest. If I push down on the top of the push bar when the Black Cherry is at rest it will go down lower into it rear slot but quickly and easily fall back down completely into the forward slot when I remove my finger. When I take this same action on the Golden Nugget it won't move down in the back slot because it is at the bottom of the slot. It almost seems like something is binding it up when the Golden Nugget is at rest.

Any help or direction you can provide would be very much appreciated.

[mechanic]

I SEE THE PICS AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR MISSING THE GUIDE CAP THAT GOES ABOVE THE BAR. I SEE ONE SCREW JUST TO THE TOP RIGHT THERE SHOULD BE A SECOND SCREW. THE CAP ATTACHES TO THESE SCREWS. IT KEEPS THE BACK OF THE RESET PUSH BAR FROM JUMPING THE CHANNEL.

[WoodrailFanatic]

Mechanic,

As always, I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I think this machine does have the guide cap that you thought I was missing. I have attach two photos. In the first one the blue arrow points to a plate that covers the slot that the rear/back end of the push bar sits in. The second photo shows the screw that I believe you made reference to. I don't see anything to left of this one that would provide a place for a second screw. There is a second screw to the right of this one that is out of the picture....but I don't believe it is involved in securing the guide cap.

You said that this guide cap keeps the back of the push bar from jumping the channel....my machine is not coming out of the channel in the back (adjacent to the back door) but in the front up by the master payout slide.

Please let me know if I have misunderstood or misinterpreted anything about your response.

Keep in mind that this is a reproduction Golden Nugget which could lead to some variations in implementations on certain things.

Thanks for your help.