Coin Mech Repair or replacement?

[Deadman]

Hello all,

My son recently bought a classic "Monaco GP" off of Craigslist with his own money for $125. It's in good shape but the one thing that doesn't work is the coin mech/start. There is no start button on Monaco, but when the coin drops through the slot it trips a wire of some kind and the credit is registered. The problem is that the coins are just falling straight through - there is no wire or anything for it to trip.

Is this something that is replaceable? Would I replace the entire coin mech? Also, if I do just need to replace it, can I buy any mech or a specific one? I took a pic of the whole coin mech with my phone. Thanks in advance for ANY help.

[FABombjoy]

All you need is a new switch, or perhaps fashion your own wire with a paperclip, depending on how much of the switch is intact. You don't need anything too special, it just needs to trip when a coin drops.

This is what they should look like: http://www.competitiveproducts.com/list.php?id=172

Have you swept the bottom of the cabinet? I wouldn't be surprised if you found the rest of that switch lurking in a corner of the machine or under a transformer.

[InsaneDavid]

If the quarter is actually going through the mech and coming out the bottom (the part at the back next to the switch where the wires are) then the mech itself is fine and there's no need to replace it.

The switch at the bottom should have a flat actuator on the side along with a small wire finger that goes out and bends to rest inside that little curved opening at the bottom of the mech chute. That's what the coin hits, rotating the actuator, and closing the switch. The little fingers tend to fall off or become missing when you buy arcade games (just like power cords or monitor bolts ). However it looks like you're also missing the actuator part as well, so you'll need to replace the microswitch. It should look like this...



...I think that picture explains it better than I can. Should be able to get them at most any arcade parts vendor online. Desolder the old one, replace it with the new, and you should be good to go.

EDIT: FABombjoy beat me to it.

[Deadman]

Yep, that's exactly what I was looking for! I will go home today and go through the machine to see if it is in the bottom somewhere and if not, I'll just order the one from that link!

Thanks guys!