San Francisco, CA
My center Fireball II drops are bricking. They are new drops from Jeff.
I'll review what's been discussed on Pinside, and put a set of possible causes together -- then get to work.
-mof
(Topic ID: 219918)
Surely, we'll find the answers here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/why-do-bally-drop-targets-not-go-down-sometimes
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mata-hari-another-bally-drop-target-brick-problem-
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-drop-target-issue
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/drop-target-bricking-and-drops-upon-reset-tips-and-tricks
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-to-protect-your-drop-targets-1
IDEAS:
Quoted from catboxer:new drop springs
Quoted from kguenther6:filmed it with a high speed camera
Quoted from catboxer:They bounce back and re-latch without enough spring tension. But if you hit them gently they won't bounce back and the spring can pull them down.
Quoted from chuckwurt:make sure the rubber behind the drops is very very tight. That fixes the issue for me most of the time.
Quoted from cody_chunn:If you have "hooded" targets where "tombstones" should be, the back of the hood can hang on the rubber ring behind it, keeping it up.
Quoted from mrm_4:good cleaning
Quoted from phillyfan64:left side drop targets are a tiny bit closer
Quoted from BigAl56:Under super slow-mo we discovered the target would bend backwards into the rubber and bounce back into position before the spring could pull it down. The fix is to use thinner rubber behind the target and/or double up on or use stronger springs.
Quoted from cottonm4:Wax the lands on the target and wax the metal strap the target rests on and they will "drop like stones".
PROTECTION:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-do-you-protect-new-bally-drop-targets#post-2829185
Quoted from swampfire:The clear acrylic is the runaway winner, if you want your drops to look arctic white
Quoted from jibmums:run a piece of mylar around the front of the hole for each target
So I put in an hour on this project and here's what I learned:
* The other two banks -- the drops drop almost like butter like in old Sterns.
(My concern is the middle bank)
* The drop target assembly frame is not square with the playfield, nor is it in an ideal position. I can correct this now, or when the NOS playfield goes in.
* I cleaned the top of the assembly with 99% IPA, then waxed it -- just used Q-tips and left everything in place.
* The targets themselves reset in different spots. This part I do not understand -- and want to learn more about. Here's a pic:
Good banks left+right - the drops are in a nice row.
20180624_222754 (resized).jpg20180624_222800 (resized).jpg
Middle bank - wtf - the drops are in very different spots front to back . -- the target on the right has the most problems still. It can full brick and pop out sometimes too, but not often.
And of course it was...
USER_ERROR !!!
I had rebuilt the drops last year putting the thin "axle" in the wrong set of holes... it was always adding a vector towards the player (where the springs were attached to) !!! No wonder they never dropped... LOL !
-mof
Quoted from mof:I had rebuilt the drops last year putting the thin "axle" in the wrong set of holes...
DOH! I did that a few years back with my Meteor... I'm like WTF, it should be better, not worse! Glad you found the issue.
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