Photos of mechanism would help a lot. Above and below playfield if you can.

A picture of the unit would be helpful. I'm assuming it has never worked correctly since you owned it? If everything is original (coil, mount, etc), then the angle should be fine. It's it missing or glancing the ball when it hits? Or is it weak and just not using enough force? I'm assuming the bracket that holds the unit to the play-field is secured and not loose? The coil sits snug in the bracket?

Without having all the information, I would look at the following: Test the coil, and make sure it's resistance is correct (look on Pinside on how to test). You could have a weak coil. The plunger tip could also be worn down, or not moving well (binding) in the coil sleeve. Or the whole mech could be loose, causing you to loose energy when hitting the ball......

I would start there...............

Also check to see if the welds have broken on your scoop. Mine did (curved part above the playfield!). Provided enough "slop" that the ball rattled coming out of the scoop and did exactly what yours is.

Before modifying holds...check to make sure the scoop is sitting tight (not wobbling) and that the sides and main part of the scoop's welds are all still holding. You shouldn't be able to move it or any part of it, so that the coils power goes directly in the ball.

That is why some very experienced techs were asking you to post pictures. At least then they know what they are looking at and you would be very surprised what some of these guys can figure out from a few pictures.

The alignment on the plunger is incorrect. Relative to the photo it is too far to the right. It should be centered in the notch and coming out at about a 45% angle if you move the lever by hand.

Loosen the mounting screws and try to get a better alignment on the hole. I would also check the solenoid mechanism for slop. Push the lever up with your finger so you can imagine where it is hitting the pinball. Or just put a pinball in the hole and then manually move the lever.

I don't have access to my TAF at the moment, but the plunger doesn't look right. I thought it was a piece of metal with a right angle bend at the end. Someone else can jump in on this I'm sure.

I looked at my TAF both pre and post restore. From the pictures, it does not look like yours is mounted incorrectly. Mine looks the same, and works every time. You really can't move it further forward or it will impact the switch. I'm thinking it's possibly good.

Again, back to what i stated before:
- Check to ensure it is snug. Look for excessive play. is the mount loose? Or the coil not tight in the mech?
- I don't rule out a weak coil. Check it. Takes 5 minutes. Inside has guides on how to measure resistance of a coil
- Or the tip of the mech (ball shooter) is worn or broken. It's made of nylon. It's possible a piece broke off.

I'm leaning away from a mounting angle problem. This used to work, and would not stop suddenly due to it's angle. Has to be something above.

This is my guess. Replacing the plunger is always my last resort, but somehow always seems to be the correct fix.

Sounds like the tip of your plunger has been wearing down, and you've been keeping it alive with small adjustments, but now it's too short to hit the ball hard enough.

You just need to buy the whole plunger: http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-15371

(That is assuming that I read the manual correctly...which I believe labels this area as the "eject assembly" on page 2-38, and then has a diagram of it on page 2-22.)

Let us know how it turns out.

Had the exact problem with my TAF. Check the coil number. Manual says its a A-15368 "pink". When I got mine it had a stronger coil in it probably because the previous owner had the same problem. After replacing it for the correct size some months later it stopped popping out. Adjusted the mechanism many times and got it to work. After that I found it would not pop out if the flippers were up. This clued me on. After much checking I finally changed the solenoid IDC plug and header pins on the driver board and haven't had a problem since. A high resistance joint in the connector causing less voltage to get to coil when fired. The coil voltage was fine when it was at rest.

From my experience the manual states that it's a 30-2000 but the game had a 27-1200. I replaced it to a 30-2000 (as per the manual) and it wasn't nearly strong enough to kick the ball out. I replaced it back to the 27-1200 and everything worked correctly.

Yes, sounds like this could be right. Sorry, I stated mechanism number. Mine had the 27-1200 as well which is white. The one pictured above is blue. I wonder what strength it is? If it is stronger than both of these then I think you may have a problem elsewhere.

Only OEM flipper coils had a real color scheme - you can't base other coils types based on color, unfortunately.

I've always seen an 27-1200. At least on the 3 machines I have seen. My manual showed a 27-1200 (maybe there was a past miss-print)

I cant make out in the picture, but it looks like an original Williams label. Blue on Addams like this was a 26-1500. Believed that coil is normally used on the ramp gate.

Op maybe get us a better pic of the coil? I would have thought a 26-1500 would have had enough zip.

Interesting, my manual defiantly states the 30-2000. Maybe they changed it in the factory but didn't get to updating the manual for a while.

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I think this is a critical piece of info:

Don C.

I am going to weigh in here, but I am no expert. I'm going to get a lot of the details wrong. I recall from Clay's guide that the older Williams' systems used a different signal source for game and test. I'm thinking this may be the case with WPC. In other words, the signal to energize the coil in the game mode (kinda) starts at the switch, then to the row and column drivers, probably some buffering and then a PIA to put a signal on the address bus, then that gets read by the game software as a call for a solenoid kick. Then a signal goes to the solenoid PIA, then buffers, predriver and driver. The test path signal comes from software in the ROMs and probably gets on to the bus near the ROMs. So the OP's comment about the difference in kick strength means that the difference the two paths is more on the switch side of the circuitry. I suspect that the ROMs might be dicey; with the test path working OK, but the strength (actually, the "On" time) of the signal may be corrupted and too short.

Could you borrow some games ROMs from another Pinsider or maybe get new ones burned?

Could someone who really understands the working of the WPC system take a look at my idea and see if there is any sense to it, or maybe it will trigger someone to find the real solution.

Maybe start a new thread or rename this one as "Need Help From a WPC Expert - AF Issue"

Anyway, good luck, I'm sure you'll get this fixed.

Strange. If this were a flipper, I'd be suggesting that the coil is only firing to the "hold" circuit and not the full power circuit. It's certainly acting that way.

Reading back through, I see you've tested the coil's resistance, but have you put a volt meter on it to see how many volts it's actually getting?

Let's look in other places that are connected to that circuit, too. Trace the wire, with the help of the manual, to where ever it also goes and make sure that it's properly and fully soldered. Also check to make sure that those locations are properly grounded(earthed). A flasher circuit(which is what powers that coil) typically uses a ground trigger for the "on" signal.

It's time to start thinking outside the box….

If I am correct the strength of that coil is somewhere in between the 30-2000 in the manual and the 27-1200 which appears to be normally installed in the machine.

First I would change the coil to the stronger 27-1200 to get it back to factory. This may solve the issue but the problem is the 28-1500 coil worked previously. If you have the correct voltage at the coil at rest I think it is potentially a bad joint in a connector on the driver board. If this is the case you will get the correct voltage at rest but a dip in voltage to the coil when fired. Very hard to check this because it happens so quickly. Check for tarnishing on the driver board pins where the solenoids plug in. Reseating the connector may also help temporarily.

Bad joints tend to get worse over time!