Set stepper wiper finger tension and alignment

Steps

• Pull each finger back slightly and let go: it should snap back firmly without being stiff.
• Too much tension makes stepping hard; too little gives poor contact.
• To add tension, remove the finger plate and bend the finger gently; to reduce it, bend it back a little in place.
• On Gottlieb units make sure the fingers slide freely in their casings, with no lube.
• Finish by checking the fingers centre on the rivets and nudge the bakelite plate if needed.

Systems

• Electro-mechanical

Related tips

• Stepper cleaning, part 1: mark, check and remove the wipers
• Stepper cleaning, part 3: rivets, wipers and lube
• Repair a broken or worn stepper wiper arm
• What stepper units do in an EM
• Kinds of stepper unit
• Burnt pad on a stepper unit's contact board
• Faults that point to a stepper unit
• Stepper cleaning, part 4: refit and test

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