Hey All,
I recently picked up a Monte Carlo and have been doing fixes across the board. I only have 2 issues left. 1) The display is not working, but I know it is good as I tested it in another machine, and 2) The Roulette wheel didn't spin.
I checked everything up and down with the "spin-a-ball" circuit and found that when I pushed in the relay I could hear a hum on the roulette motor. I decided to pull the wheel and found I could spin the wheel by hand, but it was really tight. Per the manual it says to only oil the 1 cloth spot on the mechanism and nothing else. I did this, let it soak, and actually lubed a couple of other areas despite Gottlieb's "best practice." When you lock the first ball it will barely spin the wheel. Not even enough to get the small ball to dislodge and start spinning. Next lock and the wheel will spin with enough force that the ball spins a little. Third lock it seems like the wheel spins as it should and works.
However, after sitting overnight the wheel returns to the operation as described above, providing a lackluster experience. I can also hear the mechanism provide and audible squeak. I've looked around the good ole' internet and find a lot of troubleshooting information, and even how to clean the contacts, but nothing about the mechanism gear/transmission maintenance.
I know this is not the only Gottlieb machine who used this setup over the years, and I also have a Gottlieb Genesis that does. My question is more around if anyone has any tips on how to smooth out the mechanism so it will spin like butter. Are there any points that need to be sanded? Greased? Lubed? Wasn't sure if anyone had best practices around the gears.
-Matt