looking at the ratchet side of the unit ...

the step-up pawl's job is to push the ratchet one tooth clockwise.

the reset pawl's job is to prevent the ratchet moving (much) in the counter-clockwise direction when the step-up plunger is pulling in.

if the black escapement pawl is not there, when the reset plunger pulls into the coil, both the reset and step-up pawls are lifted off the ratchet teeth and the torsion spring on the ratchet causes the ratchet to whizz counter-clockwise back to the reset stop/zero position quickly.

when you want the unit to step down instead of resetting completely, you toss on the escapement pawl. Its job is to grab a tooth when the reset plunger pulls in and acts like a second reset pawl.

it's normal for the escapement pawl to be floating above the teeth until the reset plunger pulls in. It needs to let one tooth get past it when the plunger is pulling in or the ratchet won't decrement.

between the escapement pawl and the reset pawl, the ratchet can only spin one tooth counter-clockwise instead of spinning all the way to the reset stop (google for "clock escapement")

you won't see the behavior of the escapement pawl if you are pushing in the reset plunger when the unit is already reset. You need to step up the unit then push in/release the reset plunger to see how the escapement pawl works.

if your problem is the unit is getting to zero/reset position but the reset plunger is still pulsing (bonus scoring didn't finish), check the switches the white peg on the ratchet is pushing. Usually one of them ends the bonus scoring.

unfortunately, my trio schem is nearly as bad as the one on ipdb. If you have a good one and can take highest possible resolution pictures of it (overlap the pics ... too many is fine), please email them to [email protected] and I'll use them to fix what I have and get it onto ipdb.

those would be a different problem.

is your credit unit working? ... it's the same mechanism.

the spring on the reset pawl should be pulling the reset plunger out of the coil and as the reset pawl rotates counter-clockwise it pushes the escapement pawl away from the ratchet to disengage the tooth.

if the unit is stuck in the position shown in the post #9 pic, grab the reset pawl spring and pull it left to apply more force. If that works, then one of the following is the problem:

1] wrong reset pawl spring. Swap with another one and see if that helps

2] too much or not enough ratchet torsion spring force. When the unit is reset, the torsion spring should have 2 turns of tension on it +/- 1/4 turn.

3] the end of the escapement pawl has a burr and is digging into the ratchet teeth. Make sure it's smooth so it can slide off the tooth easily.

4] things are gummed up with dried lubricant (ratchet shaft, wipers, contact plate, pawl pivot points). This is the most common, but yours looks like it's been cleaned.

5] the reset plunger is binding in the coil. Could be a mushroomed plunger end with a burr, a ridged/distorted sleeve, or an overheated coil has reduced the sleeve diameter.

I not remembering if there is a little torsion spring on the post the escapement pawl is mounted that helps rotate the escapement pawl away from the ratchet. If there is, make sure it's not broken and is mounted correctly.

something doesn't sound right.

nothing pushes the ratchet in the reset/counter-clockwise direction. It is ONLY the tension of the torsion spring wound around the hub that spins the ratchet counter-clockwise.

if you hold the reset plunger down all the way into the reset coil so the step-up and top reset pawls are lifted above the ratchet teeth, then push the extra pawl away from the ratchet, the ratchet and wipers should whizz back to the reset stop without dragging.

the extra pawl just limits the counter-clockwise rotation to one tooth instead of the unit completely resetting.

if your contact plate is cruddy, the ratchet shaft is sticky, there's too much wiper pressure on the contact plate, or the torsion spring doesn't have two turns of tension when the unit is reset, then the ratchet won't be able to rotate counter-clockwise easily enough.

also keep in mind the coil will yank the plunger in harder than you can manually. If your issue is the pawls are slowing down the ratchet, push in the reset plunger more firmly. It should work reliably when operating it manually.