Ottawa, ON
Quoted from BJM-Maxx:I have a Bally Eight Ball. I have always had trouble with the left outlane kicker being erratic or weak. The coil is strong, the coil sleeve is new. If I roll a ball down it kicks back nicely most of the time. When I look at videos the ball goes flying back up into the pop bumpers where mine might do that 1% of the time. Sometimes the ball gets kicked, just slows down then carries on down to the drain. The coil is the right one. Adjustment is only fiddling with the outlane switch spacing.
Hoping someone else has fought with this before.
Hi fellow Eight Ball owner...and in Ottawa as well, no less!
I have the same issue with my Eight Ball and I have tried the same remedy. I found that adjusting the switch helped a bit, but if I went to far the kicker was susceptible to being triggered by a slingshot or even a nudge. I am now wondering if the issue is that the plastic tip on the kicker has worn down to the point that it is sometimes striking the ball with too much of a glancing blow. I’m sure my coil is fine because when the ball wigwags slowly down the lane the kicker will launch it back towards the pop bumpers with plenty of force. But too fast and the ball can sneak past before the kicker fires (tbh I think this can ALWAYS happen no matter how well adjusted the mech is...that’s pinball) but too slow and I sometimes get the glancing blow with the ball draining back down the outlane).
When I have the apron off next I will take some pics of the mech and post here. Maybe we can compare the location/spacing of the tip. And if a fellow Eight Ball owner with a dialed in kicker can post a pic that would be helpful to compare.
Tehachapi, CA
