(Topic ID: 261578)

Bally drop targets occasionally not resetting

By wrd1972

4 years ago


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  • 15 posts
  • 9 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 months ago by pinhead52
  • Topic is favorited by 6 Pinsiders

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#1 4 years ago

Working on a 1976 Bally Freedom that has the conventional drop targets found on machines in that era. Occasionally when the solenoid fires, and they pop up like they should, but one random target will fail to reset. Nothing to do with the mechanics or the solenoid in general. Its just one of those weird things where the target is not "hooked" when it is forced up.

I have replaced the recoil springs, and drilled new holes in the metal arms to locate the spring a bit further away. This will bias the target more into its hooking position.

So now they are working much better than before where they were failing routinely. Now I get a fail to rest of one target maybe 1 in 30 resets. Again much better. Any ideas on how to further make the resetting of these drop targets closer to fail proof?

Thanks

#2 4 years ago

New targets? If so, where did you get them? I prefer Pinball Resource.

Is the whole mechanism clean? And I mean all parts and pieces.

#3 4 years ago

Yes brand new targets from PBR. Everything is very clean.

#4 4 years ago

Here are the switches that control the drop target reset solenoid.

For a switch to work 3 things are necessary:
1) When open, there should be a small space between the contact points (duh)
2) When closing, the long blade's contact point should push the short blade's contact point enough to move the short blade
3) The contact points should be clean, which they usually will be if #2 is happening

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#5 4 years ago

i have the same issue with my freedom. i replaced all targets and it still does it. still have not figured it out. When it happens it also does not score or make a chime sound so its nothing to do with a switch being too close. Random targets do it, its not always the same target. Sometimes its one, sometimes its to, other times all 5 come up and stay up as they are supposed to.

#6 4 years ago

A friend suggested this was a common issue with Ballys. I have a EK EM that does it too. On a Night Rider doner pin somebody hacked on a second solenoid. I was tempted to try this bank.

#7 4 years ago

Let me guess, the troublesome targets are the ones farthest from the reset coil? If so, it's caused by slop in the reset linkages.

#8 4 years ago
Quoted from KenLayton:

Let me guess, the troublesome targets are the ones farthest from the reset coil? If so, it's caused by slop in the reset linkages.

I adjusted the reset linkages on the drop target unit itself in many ways and nothing helped. I moved the entire unit as a whole closer to right play field, then backwards towards left play field with no change. I have replaced coil sleeves, springs, etc. still does the same thing. Also swapped out drop target springs. I have seen others post the same issue with this same game.

#9 4 years ago
Quoted from KenLayton:

Let me guess, the troublesome targets are the ones farthest from the reset coil? If so, it's caused by slop in the reset linkages.

it is random in my case

#10 4 years ago

I think this is just the nature of the mechanics. If we were gently raising the targets up uniformly , holding in the uppermost position until everything moved properly into place and then gently lowered back out of the way as the drop target locked in, they would always reset fine.

But what we have is a bar slamming the targets up, then quickly jerking back as the springs pull the targets down and forward. Odds are - sooner or later - one is going to miss catching on that ledge. It happens.

Tweaking, messing with the spring tension and what not, can reduce it to a point, but eventually you reach a point of diminishing returns. A target not catching once in awhile is much better than a target getting stuck halfway down.

One target not catching on every 30 resets, I could probably live with.

#11 4 years ago
Quoted from edednedy:

I think this is just the nature of the mechanics. If we were gently raising the targets up uniformly , holding in the uppermost position until everything moved properly into place and then gently lowered back out of the way as the drop target locked in, they would always reset fine.
But what we have is a bar slamming the targets up, then quickly jerking back as the springs pull the targets down and forward. Odds are - sooner or later - one is going to miss catching on that ledge. It happens.
Tweaking, messing with the spring tension and what not, can reduce it to a point, but eventually you reach a point of diminishing returns. A target not catching once in awhile is much better than a target getting stuck halfway down.
One target not catching on every 30 resets, I could probably live with.

i think you are on point. i've put spacers under the unit leaning it forward as well, leaning backwards, all sorts of stuff. its intermittent and in my case as well its random targets. could be any one of them.

1 week later
#12 4 years ago

My Freedom used to have this issue as well. On mine anyway, like Ken said above, it was due to slop in the linkages. Or at least what I assume are linkages. The holes going through the bakelite looking strips for the pins would get wallowed out causing slop. This kept the reset bar from rising just high enough to cause the targets to not always reset. I just affixed a thin metal strip along that bar as a shim of sorts to give it the extra height needed. One of these days it will get fixed proper but I haven't had a problem with them not resetting since.

1 month later
#13 3 years ago

What I have found over the years is the drop target reset spacer block (as Bally calls it) # S-2162 wears out where the flat metal plate sits in it

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/S-2162

The wear contributes to the slop in the linkages.

3 years later
#14 7 months ago

I had this same annoying issue in my Mata Hari. Both drop assemblies, cleaned, rebuilt, new targets, and they STILL dropped at random on occasion. I noticed where the metal reset bar met the individual target arms, there were slight, (but definitely noticeable) indented wear marks on the lift bar. I superglued a thin metal strip to the surface of each lift bar, allowing the targets a slightly higher boost when reset, and I haven’t had a single spontaneous drop when reset ever since!! The targets now “catch” the lip every time!

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