cbvig wrote:I just acquired a nice-looking Columbia (pale blue with red) that will cycle properly for the most part, but the carousel won't advance unless by hand. Everything else seems to be working properly. Help!
I'd suggest that you study this article from the January 1982 issue of The Coin Slot magazine:
http://coinslot.arcade-museum.com/CoinS ... 1--083/56/There is an adjustment for the coin advance discussed in the article: it involves loosening the two screws holding the little plate located at the upper left rear of the mechanism (viewed from behind), and raising or lowering it to set the distance that the carousel will advance on each cycle. In my experience, this is a very powerful and sensitive adjustment, which can variously cause or remediate annoying coin jams under the escalator. If set too far out of position, it can cause the carousel to not advance at all! (There is a slight chance that this is your problem.) Frankly, I don't recall whether the coin advance action is killed by setting the plate too high or too low, and I'm sure not going to try it on any of my Columbias because I have each of them set just right, and that particular adjustment is precious.