Service a Gottlieb AS relay without taking it apart

Steps

• Do the least possible: these units are hard to reassemble without bending something.
• Sand the fixed copper contact plate (both, if double-sided) with 600 grit without removing anything, then lightly lube it with Teflon gel.
• Press the armature down with a thumb and let go quickly; it ought to advance a single position.
• Otherwise look at the switches on top: too much blade pressure on the ratchet binds it, and tiny adjustments help a lot.
• Still sluggish: take off the return spring, cut two loops off and bend the last loop up 90 degrees.
• Still sluggish: bend the tension arm slightly away from the fixed plate.
• Still sluggish: replace the nylon armature plate and ratchet, which warp with heat and age. The ratchet is directional, so fit its teeth facing the same way as the old one.

Systems

• Electro-mechanical

Related tips

• Gottlieb relay return springs
• Gottlieb AS relay (miniature match stepper)
• Gottlieb Ax/Bx/Dx relays, coin unit and player unit: what each does
• What the Gottlieb reset bank does and which relays to clean
• Gottlieb relay coil equivalents and resistance
• Gottlieb hold relay runs the whole time the game is on
• Gottlieb relay and general-purpose coil windings
• Gottlieb reset bank solenoid and S start relay run on 120 V

Source: Repairing Electro-Mechanical (EM) Coin Operated Games to 1978, Part One, Clay Harrell (pinrepair.com)