First thing I'd do would be clean everything well to make sure that's not your issue.

Then I'd replace the coil sleeve. If that coil has been working hard, it probably heated the sleeve up and possibly melted it slightly. Sleeve should slide fairly easily out of the coil. If it doesn't, it's a sign it's warped in some way - which will impact the travel of the plunger.

You can test a coil with your MM set to ohms - probe on each lug (power off) and it should read > 3 ohms at a minimum (some much higher). Less than 3 ohms should be replaced.

Sounds like a mechanical problem though, not an electrical one. Something is binding, and my money is on the plunger/sleeve.

You need to look in there close and see if the ball is hitting anything on it's way up.

I know I had the same issue on a Bally Elektra.... Make sure the ball trough is set exactly straight. Might take some tweaking....

The other guys make a good point, often it's just an alignment issue.

Me pointing you to the sleeve, etc. was based on the fact that it appears to worsen once the coil heats up. But by all means exhaust the other options first.

Those outhole kickers go bad. Just replace the coil and be done with it. It should come with it's sleeve in it.

solenoid = coil. The words are used interchangeably. I believe the correct technical term is "solenoid coil".

The coil sleeve just slides inside the coil to give the plunger a nice smooth surface to slide on. Old coil sleeves were brass I think - new ones are nylon. If the coil sleeve gets dirty, melted, etc. the plunger doesn't move freely and the whole thing becomes sluggish.

If you do buy a new coil, it will come with the sleeve installed. I don't know the specific part # for just the sleeve - they are pretty standard, just tell them you need a sleeve for that coil and it'll be easy.

I'd also say that if your kicker is that sluggish - and if you've got sleeve/binding issues - you should be able to feel it by manually manipulating the plunger. Should be 100% smooth with no catching or binding.

This - if it moves smoothly, your problem is likely alignment. It's amazing how much of a difference a few-degree angle makes.

If you want a quick fix. the knocker in the back box uses the same coil. Swap em. (it's in the upper right corner of the backbox.

From what you describe it seems your coil is good. Checking/cleaning the trough, plunger, new coil sleeve etc as stated above is a good place to start.

Heres a problem I've encountered on System 11 games before. Check the peg that the mechanisim that strikes the ball pivots on. Sometimes this weld can break and it gets loose.

How are the other coils in the game, are they firing good? Reason I ask is last time I encountered this problem it was low wall voltage.

With all due respect to hawkeye, ( he is right, those things CAN go wrong and can be checked while installing your new coil. ) I have three coils in my spares box that look and feel fine but they are weak. F-14 is 25 years old. I have one, i love it. Replace the coil. theyre 8 dollars! If that fails, work up the chain, but then youll know the coil is good.

No need to debate whether the coil is good or not. Check the ohms and you'll know for sure. The proper ohms can be found in the manual.

debate is fun. Here's my experience. Not as extensive as many, but experience nonetheless -

I've never had a coil go "weak". I've had coils break and quit working, but never go "weak".

I have had coils show weak behavior, and in a moment of laziness I've just swapped out the entire coil and yes, the problem is fixed. Upon inspecting the old coil, the coil sleeve couldn't be removed. Cut it out of there, put a new one in, and viola! The coil is now "strong".

For one coil, $8-10 bucks, why not I guess. But if you are "shopping" an entire machine...well, 55 cents for a sleeve or 8 bucks for a new coil. It adds up after awhile.

Again, just my experience, but if the coil shows proper resistance in the Ohm test, 99.5% of the time you will get the same results by changing the sleeve (55 cents) as you will by changing the coil ($10). Assuming of course no other issues like mushroomed plungers, etc.

Agreed. But in this case we can end the debate with a simple test.

I agree with you hawkeye. From my earlier post....

I just see too many people buying new coils when the old ones are fine....

I just spent a week doing everything under the sun to a weak flipper coil in pinbot. new sleeve, new plunger, new EOS switch. All that time the flipper tested within parameters as examiner stated. No Luck. finally bought a new coil and everything worked.

Part of the fun is shaking out the gremlins in my opinion!

ha! and that's the rub. What *should* work doesn't always work, and sometimes vice versa.

I've been on a lot of threads today because I'm not busy at work.....but I know that everything I throw out there is just my idea and my opinion and by no means do I think it is the definitive last word. I try to base my posts on my experience, but the collective experience here obviously greatly exceeds my own.

And that's the beauty of the place. As in life, the more possible solutions you have, the better the likely outcome!

Thanks for idea about swapping the one in backbox! Coils cheap. Its the main moving part in pin. Replace it.

Just pulled mine apart and the sleeve was cracked. Ordered a new coil (even though I think mine is fine) with a sleeve in it. Also ordered a backup sleeve because it's a cheap part. Funny thing I put it all back together with the broken sleeve and it works fine now. Gonna replace the parts anyway.

There are four main causes of a weak kicker to the shooter lane.
1) dry or rusted pivot. Take off snap ring, disassemble, clean, reassemble with light 3-in-1 machine oil.

2) badly mushroomed end of kicker. After 30 years of smacking a steel ball you would give up and mushroom over too

3) swollen coil causing sleeve to shrink and bind on solenoid plunger. This overheating is usually caused by repeated kicks which itself is caused by #4...

4) broken or missing wire gate in trough. This U shaped wireform is a one way gate allowing the ball to kick out but not roll back into the trough. It's very small diameter and is made from music wire so it's somewhat brittle. Do NOT attempt to replace with a paperclip as it is too soft and will not last. Yes, I've seen people do this

Cliffy, is that on WH2O as well? I have the problem with the ball bouncing back into the trough.

I'm glad you asked Yes! WH20, and a select few other WPC era Williams games use the old style ball trough. Most used the upkicker opto style troughs but not all. Easy way to tell is to look at the kickout end. If it's square it's the upkicker style. If it's a round end it'll be the older above playfield style. All that I've ever seen of the old style use a wire gate to prevent balls rolling back over the hump.

Do you happen to have any images that show the wire gate or a link to where I could buy one?

Thanks!

Do you happen to have any images that show the wire gate or a link to where I could buy one?

What amazing timing you have! I was just thinking... "maybe I should show a picture..."

This is from my Pin*bot restoration. I've labeled the wire gate and critical pivot point. Hopefully all who followed this thread will come back to see

above-pf-trough.jpg

I am having this issue with my space station pinball. Does anyone happen to know the part number for the coil (or where I can find it) and where to buy it? Any help or advice would be appreciated

Also is this a pretty easy repair (replacing coil) that a beginner could do?