Lethal Weapon 3
Data East, 1992My Lethal Weapon 3 centre drop target bank doesn’t always drop when hit with the ball. I have tried lots of different adjustments to get this fixed but have run out of ideas
I am sure it is just a simple setup issue but I am not able to work it out. If anyone has any pointers or has resolved this in the past please let me know.
DFF42DAF-EFA2-431D-A241-D17CDF0C226B (resized).jpegBump - is there anyone who has had a similar issue to this one. Was not sure if the switch needed to apply some pressure to the drop target when it is in the up position to ensure it doesn’t bounce back. Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
Check underneath and see if any of the neighbouring bulb socket wires are resting against the targets. I had one wire pushing against one of my targets and it was just enough to keep it from freely moving with the spring.
Open the playfield. Make sure you can reach both sides of the playfield. Now you can easily check the non-working center drop targets against the working side drop targets. You say they don't go down - you don't give great detail so you may want to provide more detail. All 3 of them? 1 of them?
Also - check the springs while you're underneath it.
My center drop targets aren't working and I've narrowed the problem to a sticking solenoid. In my case, I theorize that the solenoid got hot at some point and caused some microscopic warping on the solenoid cavity or pin (armature). I cleaned it really good with mineral spirits, which helped a little but not enough. My company manufactures solenoids so in a couple of weeks when I return to the home office, I'll be talking to an engineer or two about it. My current solution is to ask the engineers if I can machine off 0.005 from the pin to see if it goes in and out any better.
Our problems may be different, but please let us know how your observations go.
I have just had another look at the centre playfield drop target bank assembly and there are no bulb socket wires or anything rubbing against the targets.
The problem I am having is on most occasions they will go down and this has now improved after installing new springs. The right drop target is the one with the most issues and it tends to be when the target gets hit hard. On these occasions the ball just bounces off and the target remains up.
I did wonder if the solenoid was sticking but I have seen this issue occur when the other targets were down. On some occasions I have the same problem with the left drop target.
Just to close this one out. I still had the issue with the drop targets not always dropping when hit. I had tried everything and then decided to take out the targets and grind down the ridge that holds them in place when they are up. I removed approxximately 1/3 of the material and then reinstalled them.
As a result this has fixed the issue. The targets still lock in as they should although drop every time no matter which angle or speen the target was struck, so all sorted.
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Beavercreek, OH
Collingwood, ON