Hollywood Crane - Inoperable

Tom Sawyer

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Hey guys, so glad to have found this forum! I bought this Hollywood crane for my garage knowing it was inoperable. Everything powers up but the claw doesn't move and it displays what I assume to be an error message. Some pictures to help below. Also, where can I buy a smaller claw? The one that came with the machine is enormous for the size of plush that will fit in this machine. Thanks a ton in advance for your help!

cranen.jpg


crane1.jpg


crane2.jpg


Tom
 
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Does the bridge or claw ever move? What happens if you move it to the front left corner above the prize chute and power it up? Have you checked the power supply voltages? I think that there should be either 48 or 24 volts to drive the motors. (Its been a long time since I worked on a Hollywood and I forget which it uses for the motors).

If you have the voltage for the motors, check that the switches are working, there are a few that detect when the bridge and trolley are at the end of the rods.
 
Like ENCOM said... Is it just the claw that doesn't move or is it the whole trolly? I think the motors run off 120. the actual guts are no more than relays and such. No PCB to deal with. I have yet to find a wiring diagram and I just haven't had time to make one. I do have a Hollywood also and can help you to a certain degree, I will be away from it for about a month. One thing I did was to change the motor/gearbox for the claw to a slower one.

I will have to look threw my spares but I think I have smaller claws.
 
I have 2 Hollywood cranes like that sitting here I'd be happy to sell the parts out of. One has that "Crane Kit" that features new curcuit board and such.
 
Open up the machine and look at the relay panel on the back wall for a blown fuse. If I remember correctly, the Hollywoods we had operated the claw coil at 48 volts DC.

You should be able to buy a smaller claw assembly either from Smart (http://www.smartind.com/ ) or from Betson. Just reuse the Hollywood's coil.

At the operator I worked 25 years for, we had 4 of the single wide Hollywood cranes. All had a relay panel in them. One time it blew a bridge rectifier and I replaced that one with a bigger one. We even had full schematics!

After we went out of business, I lost track of what happened to the Hollywood manuals and schematics. I don't know if my old boss saved them or not.

Some Hollywood parts are sold here:

http://www.moneymachines.com/cranemachineparts.html
 

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First of all, great thread. Great information. I looked searched thru all the Hollywood crane threads I could find here and this was helpful.

I bought a used Hollywood crane with different decals, but looks almost identical.
When it arrived, I found out it was missing parts for the claw mechanism and there was no visible seconds timer from what I saw.
Also the rails had some really thick grease which slowed the movement of the claw, but still was playable. The cabling above the rails seem to be tangled and sometimes would dangle in the way of the rails & carriage and impede the movement of the claw.

The claw was not hooked up, it is resting on a table right now. From comparing mine to the OP's machine, looks like I'm missing just the coil from the carriage to the claw, and also the some kind of screw or clip to connect the neck/top of the claw to the carriage. I'm unfamiliar with cranes, but starting to learn lots for sure!!


I hope to get more detailed pictures, but here is what it looks like. Also a picture from the manual in which I highlighted the areas of the part I think I am missing.
 

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Is there anyway I can get a copy of that manual? Do you also have the schematics?

I think I have those parts your looking for. The coiled wire can be cb wire or any other coiled wire. I will try to get to the box and look.
 
Is there anyway I can get a copy of that manual? Do you also have the schematics?

I think I have those parts your looking for. The coiled wire can be cb wire or any other coiled wire. I will try to get to the box and look.


Sure! I can scan it when I get home. I'll get some more detailed pics of my missing parts tonight. Can't wait to get this baby going! :)
 
DaughterDad, PM me your email address when you get a chance. I can send as attachment pdf after i scan. If you can supply pictures to your claw mechanism, I'd be grateful. I need to see what direction I am heading. Right now all I know is that I am missing parts, but I'm not sure what they are.

Thanks.
 
Does anyone know if the crane coil (#CS-992 part) is the thing I need to get my claw to grip?
I think once I get that, and just reposition the tubing for the carriage to move smoother, this machine will be usable. Thanks for any help.
 
I have some pics of my carriage as I took it apart to replace the motor/gearbox that drops/retracts the claw. I will post them later today.
 
Sent.

Thanks for the picture. I'm also interested in a picture with the lid of the claw off and an inside look of the claw. But may not need be important.
 
crane claw coil wire

does anyone know where I can get spare coil coiled power cables that connect from the motor to the claw for the gripping action?
Are they just any old coil wire? daughterdad mentioned it's just CB wire but I'm unsure where to get that. And if the end connectors would be a little different.

Thanks!


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here is a picture of the coiled wire piece I am looking for (I used Tom Sawyer's image and highlighted in RED the piece, since I don't have it. It's missing from my machine.)
 

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First of all, great thread. Great information. I looked searched thru all the Hollywood crane threads I could find here and this was helpful.

I bought a used Hollywood crane with different decals, but looks almost identical.
When it arrived, I found out it was missing parts for the claw mechanism and there was no visible seconds timer from what I saw.
Also the rails had some really thick grease which slowed the movement of the claw, but still was playable. The cabling above the rails seem to be tangled and sometimes would dangle in the way of the rails & carriage and impede the movement of the claw.

The claw was not hooked up, it is resting on a table right now. From comparing mine to the OP's machine, looks like I'm missing just the coil from the carriage to the claw, and also the some kind of screw or clip to connect the neck/top of the claw to the carriage. I'm unfamiliar with cranes, but starting to learn lots for sure!!


I hope to get more detailed pictures, but here is what it looks like. Also a picture from the manual in which I highlighted the areas of the part I think I am missing.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CS-992-Hollywood-Claw-Coil-/330811152095
 
I've purchased that coil. But it doesn't include the coiled power cord, looks like telephone cord.
 
Great stuff. Their parts catalog shows a blow-out view of the claw part. Really neat. Unfortunately I don't see prices. Looks like I'll have to contact them...

thank you!
That coiled cord could be purchased from either Betson.com or from smartind.com
 
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Hollywood crane parts

I have 2 jumbo Hollywood Cranes in the warehosue I'd gladly sell parts out of. One has that "Universal Crane Kit" installed into it. Contact me if interested.
 
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