Intermittant respot issue

[BowlingNut]

Question...I'm seeing a few instances where the deck comes down for detection, fingers close on pins, does not pick up pins, rake sweeps them off, machine goes to 2nd ball with no pins on lane. I originally thought a slight detector adjustment, but upon further investigation, 7-pin side geneva cam follower is missing on the pulley, causing moving deck to be loose. Could that be part of my issue? Could that be throwing off the detector rod slightly? Thoughts??
Thank you

[Roscoe]

More than likley you have one of the sissors with a loose rivet on the drag links, this prevents the sissors from fully closing.

[SoCalTom]

If the scissors close when detecting standing pins, that rules out the detector. As Roscoe mentioned, I would look for loose, broken or missing rivits on the drag links. There could, also, be a broken scissor, weak scissor spring, or cracked scissor bell crank. Here's an idea that, unfortunately, didn't work.......



This relieved the stress on the spring mounting holes; however, after a day or two in use, the scissors weakened to the point where the scissors released the pins to the lane at about 180 degrees. Not good.

[Mechanick]

Tom, I am currently testing this idea out too. Except I am using a s-hook which is not adjustable. The first one I tried was too big of an s-hook, so there was not enough tension in the scissor spring and it would drop pins. I then switched it with a smaller length s-hook and have not had a problem yet.....I will have to take a look at this deck soon to make sure all is good.

My idea behind doing this it to reduce some stress on the 1:1 shaft/ moving deck scossor cam......you see less flexing in the 1:1 steel plate and detector which is mounted to it. also might help with the 3 screws coming loose on that 1:1 plate. My hands are my scissor spring removal tool....this makes it much easier to remove the scissor cable/spring.


It could jsut be a detector rod adjustment...are you sure that you are not mistaking the bit of movement that you see when the scissor cam follower gets blocked out, for the scissors closing?

[SoCalTom]

Tom, I am currently testing this idea out too. Except I am using a s-hook which is not adjustable. The first one I tried was too big of an s-hook, so there was not enough tension in the scissor spring and it would drop pins. I then switched it with a smaller length s-hook and have not had a problem yet.....I will have to take a look at this deck soon to make sure all is good.

Nick, I'm beginning to believe that the "S" hook is a better solution than the turnbuckle idea. A smaller turnbuckle would not have the strength to keep enough tension on the spring. I believe that a short, but heavy duty "S" hook could keep enough tension on the spring; but cut down on the wear on the spring's mounting hole.

Another idea would be to press a short bushing into the mounting hole. When the bushing wears down, it would be a lot easier to replace the bushing than replacing the deck, or rigging a repair kit.

I believe that I retired too early to see some of these ideas at work.

[BowlingNut]

Mechanick, yes the scissors are closing on the pins, I watched it from the top. Just slip through and rake sweeps them away. Again, I does not set new pins, but acts like it is re-spotting with 2nd ball light on.

[SoCalTom]

OK, if you're seeing the scissors close, that means that the detector is detecting standing pins. So, the problem is that the scissors are not completely closing.

Since the scissors are closing, that rules out the cam follower and linkage to the scissor cable. That leaves a bind in the scissors themselves. That can be caused by a broken rivet, drag link, and what has already explained above.

Let us know what you find.

[Mechanick]

Ok not a detector problem then....something is binding to cause the scissors to not close fully. Look at all the scissors and toggle levers.....maybe a toggel lever has a broken bolt through it which has it crooked and binding

[Steve Stafford (JBEES)]

Move a pin off spot...to create an OOR. Cycle machine and begin the clearing process of the OOR. Allow machine to approach 180 degrees and then shut machine off. LOTO. You will now be able to move each of the scissors independently. Find the one that is bound and will not move. Caution should be taken at this point so as not to force the scissor to move. Just find the one that is bound up. Finish the OOR cycle and then remove that scissor and replace/repair. You should be good at that point.

As far as the missing roller bearing casuing this issue...I would doubt it. But go ahead and replace the missing bearing...if you haven't already.

[BowlingNut]

I found it...bolt connecting the 5-pin scissor to the stationary deck was turned out and ready to fall out. tightened up, ran 2 full leagues with no issues. Steve, I didn't think the roller missing was the prob either, happened to run across that in looking around. Had to order as there were none on hand (don't have a clue why we don't have any). Thanks guys as always.

[Popeye]

BowlingNut,
Thanks for telling us what you found. I see many posts of a problem and never find out what the solution was.

[Steve Stafford (JBEES)]

Great to hear you found it!!!

Every time we post back with the end result...others have the chance to learn from the entire experience.