I'm looking for tips on how to get a neighbor's TAF kick-out back into tip top shape.
Have you ever tackled a slow-ejecting cellar before?
These are my ideas. If you have any suggestions, fire away...

Current symptom:

Ball fires out slowly and hits the top of the sling, then bounces casually to the left flipper.

-mof

Possible causes:
1. assembly has shifted and no longer aims correctly (how would I view this? seems fine looking vertical from underneath)
2. trough area is very dirty inside, and the drag slows the ball down (fixed it, and it helped just a little)
3. solenoid assembly is very dirty and it doesn't kick well (it had a little drag, now it has a little less drag)
4. solenoid not getting enough power (75 vdc, looks good)
5. solenoid sleeve is old and dragging (nope, it's metal) <=== replaced with plastic sleeve, and it's fixed!
6. check switch (they are all good, I adjusted one)
7. check rubber plug at the end of the plunger stop (looks old but intact)
8. check for correct coil ae-23-800 (it's the wrong coil) <===
9. broken weld on kickout (this is messing up the aim, not the strength of the kick)

I didn't think of that one! there may be a switch getting in the way for a good WHACK. Perhaps the switch needs adjustment. That would be a great first thing to try. Keep it from being involved, and see what happens.

http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=20&picno=9386

-mof

kickout assembly.png

A pic of the assembly.
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=20&picno=9386
-mof

Looking for other similar threads for ideas...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/evil-taf-kick-out-problems

-mof

I spent a rewarding 90 minutes with TAF. A few balls make it past the top of the sling now, but it's not what we are expecting. I was surprised by the metal sleeve!

1. cleaned out the kickout
2. adjusted the switches
3. cleaned out the solenoid components
4. discovered the undone weld on the back of the kickout

Still to do: check the power on the solenoid lugs. If that checks out, next thing to do will be to weld the assembly on a weekend.

I wasn't pleased with the free play in the brackets holding the solenoid in place, I could squeeze em down good, but once I tightened the nuts, it was no longer tight. I tried it twice and moved along.

-mof

BEFORE:

20140717_TAF_before5.jpg20140717-TAF-before3.jpg20140717-TAF-before2.jpg20140717-TAF-before1.jpg

AFTER:

20140717_TAF_after6.jpg20140717_TAF_after5.jpg20140717_TAF_after4.jpg20140717_TAF_after3.jpg20140717_TAF_after2.jpg20140717_TAF_after1.jpg

I'm not sure how to get a good view of "how" it's striking the ball ? It's stainless steel all around it.
-mof

That old coil appears to be a AE-26-1200 coil.
It's supposed to be an AE-23-800, which would have much more power.
http://www.pinballmedic.net/coil_chart.html
-mof

They are not re-welded. I'll need to get it out of there again and welded into place some time.
-mof

Is AE-23-800, per the original user guide -- definitely the part that should be in there?
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/AE-23-800

-mof

It does, eh?
Do you ever get one ball in there, and then you fire a second ball in there really quick? Can yours fire both out?

I'll try holding the weld shut and see what results I get.
-mof

Wait, this machine tries to get them all out in a group of 2 or 3... much like a weak shooter spring that can't handle the load. Is that expected behavior?
-mof

Ran a few tests.

1. Swiveled the plastic out of the way, and use my hand to hold the kickout in place as if it were welded in place.
It helped the direction a LOT. It did not help the strength of the ball

2. I measured power
75 vdc as expected...

3. I put the coil in coil test with the PF vertical, and watched it and it seems to fire ok, I can't really say whether it's strong enough or not from that test.

I'm going to stick with replacing the coil with a larger coil to spec as the current plan, unless someone can think of something I've not considered

-mof

It's weak with one bal.

1. It's weak with one ball.
2. It sometimes gets two balls in there. I think one instance is when multiball starts, and you have one ball in there, and one in the chair, I think the chair fires first, and then you can jam it into the swamp, putting two in there.

I don't get a lot of plays on this machine.

-mof

What is the deal with the metal sleeve in there? I cleaned it out -- should I drop a plastic one in there and see if it improves? I don't feel any resistance in there when I move it manually.

Now the kicker is so weak, it wont feed 1 ball up... =(

-mof

Ok, before I try anything else, I'll drop a plastic sleeve in there and see it makes a difference.

-mof

All fixed!
Thank you, LTG.

Thanks for pointing out the evil of metal sleeves. I had cleaned it out and inspected it and re-inserted it, and I saw no visible issues.

Should they all be changed out at the next tear down shop job on this machine?

-mof