Is it the right size coil for outhole kicker? You can try adjusting the leaf switch as well so that it barely makes contact when the ball is in the outhole.

the letter prefix is related to the bobbin the winding is on.

you could try adding a say....3 ohm 5 watt resistor in series to the coil.

so remove the power wire, the one that connects to banded end of the diode lug and add the resistor, maybe using alligator leads in case 3 ohms is little or not enough. You will notice the ball won't kick out as hard, but may still be too hard so you will need to increase the value slightly, or if it doesn't kick out hard enough drop to a 2.2 ohm.

in essence you are creating a voltage drop across the resistor that wont be across the coil.

your welcome,
you can start with a 1.5 ohm, whatever you have on hand, in changing the value of the resistor you will notice a difference in the power of the ball being kicked out, by your description i suggested starting with 3 ohm, if it doesn't kick the ball out at all, then the value is too high.

I’m sure you considered this but is the kicker arm mushroomed? Maybe that is causing the ball to be shot upwards instead of outwards.

Yeah just the tip of the kicker arm. Should have a nice point on it if it’s like any other saucer lockout Williams used for ages. I hat a funhouse where the trough fired the balls into the glass. That sucker was flattened down big time.

Did this ever get resolved? I am currently having the same issue with a Blackout that I recently purchased. Was it the wrong coil, was the kicker arm flattened out? Thanks in advance for any guidance. dyopp21

Put a weaker coil in better than adding resistor which will get really hot

23-1200 would be a good starting point.

I appreciate the reply. What is frustrating is I have the correct coil installed, per the owners manual. I agree that adding resistors isn't ideal, and replacing the current coil with a weaker one would be the better option, but I am just curious what might have caused this. What are the odds that the diode on the coil is burned out or not working properly? Thanks again for the reply my friend!

Odds of diode bad is nil if it's bad it would burn out transistor on activation.

Williams used the same coils as much as possible around this era not necessarily the correct ones. Really the guide that's above the eject hole should help guide it away from the glass you sure it's not bent out of shape?

Yeah I figured a bad diode would be a shot in the dark. I did mess with the guide a little to see if I could make it direct the ball so it wouldn't hit the glass, but I was unsuccessful. I think my best, and probably only option, is to do what you suggested out of the gate and go with the weaker coil. Thank you for your help and guidance! Really appreciate it.

I agree on the 23-1200. But a 4.7 ohm (or maybe 3.3 ohm) 5 watt resistor should also work. It will not get hot since the coil pulse is short and not frequent.

Ball kicking hard:

Remove cushion spring on kicker assembly, Make sure plates 1 and 2 move freely on the hinge pin.

No?
Clean and lubricate

s-l1600 (1) (resized).jpg

Great feedback! I was able to resolve the issue. I removed the spring and the plates moved freely, so it was not gummed up or anything like that. All I did was stretch the spring a little and that did the trick. It now gently pops out of the saucer, as I believe it should.

I was making it harder than it should have been but I had tunnel vision and was convinced it was the coil. I can't thank the community enough for all the help and ideas.