I have been working on this mech on and off for what seems like 1000 hours. I scoured the web for all info I could find on it.

The common issue is the ball eater mech does not drop down when it should.

One of the 1st things I did was to adjust the ball eater mech spring as suggested. That itself did not work but I do agree that looser is better. I also cleaned the mech and the ledge where the eater rests when latched.

Next thing I did was to upgrade the mini drop down coil to the more powerful 090-5010-00 which actually solved my issue (for a while).

20200127_211617 (resized).jpg

After a good number of games the ball eater would not drop down anymore.

Next thing I tried was to do the 12 step service bulletin.

This was a pain in the ass and yielded no results except to put the ball eater switch 1 and ball eater switch 2 out of alignment and took much finagling to get them adjusted just right again.

I recommend avoiding this step if possible.

20200127_211531 (resized).jpg

My next idea was to build up the ball eater groove so that it would not latch quite so much so that it could be knocked off easier.

I was starting to do this with little strips of green painters tape.

Not sure this strategy would have ended up working or not but when I was working in the area and still racking my brain I discovered another issue.

An issue I had not seen anywhere on the internet and for this reason I am making this post.

20200127_214156 (resized).jpg

New issue discovered: The aha moment!!

What I discovered is that the plunger that hammers the pin that knocks the eater mech down was worn.

Over the years a little indent was created and I was pretty sure this was catching the pin rather than knocking it down.

20200127_205352 (resized).jpg

20200127_211833 (resized).jpg

20200127_211856 (resized).jpg

So yet again I remove the assembly from the game to remove the plunger.

I cut a small circle of thin metal and super glue it over top of the worn area.

20200127_213017 (resized).jpg

20200127_213243 (resized).jpg

Another thing I noticed while having the plunger out is that the little plastic square that they put on the end of the plunger is not actually on square.

So I decided that is best to have the angle slant away from the pin rather than towards it when reassembling it so that the pin has less resistance when hit.

20200127_212142 (resized).jpg

20200127_212200 (resized).jpg

20200128_154640 (resized).jpg

I have tested the mech several times now and its dropping like a charm.

Not sure if the crazy glue will hold or if the thin metal I used will start to dent over time but if needed next time I may Dremel the head off a roofing nail which should not dent and try a construction adhesive or something else if needed.

After endless hours of research and tinkering I think I am finally good to go.

Hopefully you save yourself some time by finding this info when needed!

P.s. I put a little arrow on the plunger so that I know the correct orientation. The plunger can spin over time so this is an easy way to know where to orient it if needed.

20200127_214232 (resized).jpg

I have read that tightening and loosening the spring has worked in different cases. Its a bit confusing why but hey, whatever works!

I tend to think that tightening the spring pulls the ball eater down onto the ledge even tighter so that it would be harder to unlatch it.

Glad it was helpful. Twas quite the pain!

Thanks! It is a pretty cool game for DEs 2nd game ever!