spot solonoid

[8270kiwi]

hi again we have one lane that will run for around 2-3games before it wont spot pins. the spot solonoid is getting very hot where as the other's run all day and dont even get warm. what is the likely cause? seems to be a new one that is on this lane where as the others are still originals? once it cools down it spots again... any ideas

[LaRue]

Re: spot solonoid

If you use 220 volts in the center check to make sure that you have not put a 120 volt solonoid on by mistake.

[maister]

Re: spot solonoid

could be voltage too high and could be solenoid is not pulling in straight or spring pulling plunger out is too strong and solenoid is fighting to pull in and out at the same time.
Does solenoid buzz or vibrate when energized this is your clue for the latter 2 suggestions.
Good luck.

[TheGMan143]

Re: spot solonoid

LaRue and maister have some good suggestions there... if you rule out a problem with the wrong coil voltage or misalignment, you may want to pull the two wires off of the solenoid and read the resistance across the terminals with a DMM... then check a working machine's coil resistance... if the one getting hot has siginificantly lower resistance, change it out... the coils occasionally burn through the wire varnish internally and bridge across a couple windings... sometimes it'll still work, but as it gets hotter, more windings will burn though, and it'll finally short/burn out and either kick the breaker or just stop working.

[8270kiwi]

Re: spot solonoid

ok i have ruled out putting the wrong voltage on as when i say newer than the rest i mean its been in for a few years.. possibly not pulling in straight as the whole area has recently been pulled apart to replace broken bits. and yes it does buzz and vibrate...

[Andrew]

Re: spot solonoid

If the solenoid armature (the moving bit) isn't closing properly against the core (the not-moving bit) then it will pull more current and therefore get hot (and will buzz too).

So, you need to make sure it's seating properly with no gap.

If it's not seating properly, then either the armature shaft is sticking in the hole and needs cleaning out, or the spot linkage is binding, or the adjustable link connected to the spot lever (the hook thing) needs adjustment.

I've also notice in some centres (namely ours up until a few years ago) that the 'extendable' link under the solenoid (the one with a spring and two steel strips) was replaced with a solid bar. This is bad because the extendable link is there to allow the solenoid armature to move further than the rest of the linkage allowing the solenoid to close properly and not burn out (usually in case of table jam, but also if something's out of adjustment).

Andrew.

[TheGMan143]

Re: spot solonoid

Originally posted by Andrew:
If the solenoid armature (the moving bit) isn't closing properly against the core (the not-moving bit) then it will pull more current and therefore get hot (and will buzz too).

Andrew.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Stop it! You're killing me with all this technical jargon... :p [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img]

[raymond]

Re: spot solonoid

armature is the rotor shaft on a electric motor..
i always called it the plunger..

[triac]

Re: spot solonoid

Originally posted by raymond:
armature is the rotor shaft on a electric motor..
i always called it the plunger..

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Basically, an armature is the rotating or moving component of a magnetic circuit.

The solenoid “plunger” is considered a linear armature. The rotor in a motor is considered a rotating armature.

Triac

[triac]

Re: spot solonoid

Kiwi,

Check your solenoids return spring is not to tight. I have my spring brackets set at 90 degrees.

Also check:

The condition of the solenoid linkage to make sure that it is not worn.

That the solenoid is not to tight and square where it is mounted at the rubber washers.

That the table is not overshooting electrical zero (355 degrees), where the plastic roller on the table drive is under the lever when table is stopped. If this is the case, the solenoid will strain when called upon.

Triac

[8270kiwi]

Re: spot solonoid

triac, spot on as usual however i think the damage may already be done with this one. return spring was tight, the linkage is new but not square, and the table was over shooting 355.

thank you.

[Andrew]

Re: spot solonoid

Originally posted by raymond:
armature is the rotor shaft on a electric motor..
i always called it the plunger..

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yeah I call it the plunger too usually. I just thought I'd use the proper term, though that was probably confusing (that's why I also used the more official term "the moving bit" [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img] ).

Cheers,
Andrew.