Fish Tales - eject hole, not enough strength to kick out all the time

[Grojohn]

Hi All,

Ok, so I was working on a Fish Tales for a friend. The eject hole on the top right , when the ball lands in it , its very weak. It may take a kick or two to get it out and its very weak.

But, in diagonstics, when I test that eject hole, it works great, Its super strong. I have the test repeating that solenoid, and I will even throw the ball in there and it kicks it out strong!

Question: What is my problem?

John

[Lloyd Olson]

Post by Grojohn
Hi All,
Ok, so I was working on a Fish Tales for a friend. The eject hole on the top right , when the ball lands in it , its very weak. It may take a kick or two to get it out and its very weak.
But, in diagonstics, when I test that eject hole, it works great, Its super strong. I have the test repeating that solenoid, and I will even throw the ball in there and it kicks it out strong!
Question: What is my problem?
John

In test nothing else is going so it gets more power. Does it move freely ? Might need a good cleaning and new coil sleeve, check plunger for a mushroomed bottom or sharp edge, dragging in the coil sleeve. The part that kicks the ball does it hit the center of the ball or a glancing blow ?

LTG : )

[Grojohn]

Post by Lloyd Olson

Post by Grojohn
Hi All,
Ok, so I was working on a Fish Tales for a friend. The eject hole on the top right , when the ball lands in it , its very weak. It may take a kick or two to get it out and its very weak.
But, in diagonstics, when I test that eject hole, it works great, Its super strong. I have the test repeating that solenoid, and I will even throw the ball in there and it kicks it out strong!
Question: What is my problem?
John

In test nothing else is going so it gets more power. Does it move freely ? Might need a good cleaning and new coil sleeve, check plunger for a mushroomed bottom or sharp edge, dragging in the coil sleeve. The part that kicks the ball does it hit the center of the ball or a glancing blow ?
LTG : )

[Grojohn]

Post by Lloyd Olson

Post by Grojohn
Hi All,
Ok, so I was working on a Fish Tales for a friend. The eject hole on the top right , when the ball lands in it , its very weak. It may take a kick or two to get it out and its very weak.
But, in diagonstics, when I test that eject hole, it works great, Its super strong. I have the test repeating that solenoid, and I will even throw the ball in there and it kicks it out strong!
Question: What is my problem?
John

In test nothing else is going so it gets more power. Does it move freely ? Might need a good cleaning and new coil sleeve, check plunger for a mushroomed bottom or sharp edge, dragging in the coil sleeve. The part that kicks the ball does it hit the center of the ball or a glancing blow ?
LTG : )

Moves great, parts are fine. Solenoid test kicks that muther out fine. Its just when the game is played, its like a shorter burst of energy for some reason.

[Gabriel Koen]

I had a similar problem with the shooter lane upkick on my TAF recently, and I did a couple things:
- I found a couple of leaf switches were stuck closed, I adjusted them and the upkick worked better, but still not perfect. (Seems weird and could have been completely unrelated.)
- Even though it seemed to be freely moving, I took it out and cleaned it anyway. I didn't think this was the issue because, like you, it would seem to work fine during tests. However after a thorough cleaning and degreasing, it started working perfectly, so can't argue with results.

Hope that helps some.

Gabriel

[Grojohn]

Post by Gabriel Koen
- I found a couple of leaf switches were stuck closed, I adjusted them and the upkick worked better, but still not perfect. (Seems weird and could have been completely unrelated.)
- Even though it seemed to be freely moving, I took it out and cleaned it anyway. I didn't think this was the issue because, like you, it would seem to work fine during tests. However after a thorough cleaning and degreasing, it started working perfectly, so can't argue with results.
Hope that helps some.
Gabriel

I did not clean, but I will try it.

[Joseph 'Tony' Dziedzic]

Post by Gabriel Koen
- I found a couple of leaf switches were stuck closed, I adjusted them and the upkick worked better, but still not perfect. (Seems weird and could have been completely unrelated.)
- Even though it seemed to be freely moving, I took it out and cleaned it anyway. I didn't think this was the issue because, like you, it would seem to work fine during tests. However after a thorough cleaning and degreasing, it started working perfectly, so can't argue with results.
Hope that helps some.
Gabriel

I did not clean, but I will try it.

Long shot, but are you running the latest game software (L5)? Sometimes they tweak the "on" time of certain solenoids. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a change log provided with the latest ROM I found, so it's hard to know if this might be the issue.

[John Robertson]

Post by Grojohn

Post by Gabriel Koen
- I found a couple of leaf switches were stuck closed, I adjusted them and the upkick worked better, but still not perfect. (Seems weird and could have been completely unrelated.)
- Even though it seemed to be freely moving, I took it out and cleaned it anyway. I didn't think this was the issue because, like you, it would seem to work fine during tests. However after a thorough cleaning and degreasing, it started working perfectly, so can't argue with results.
Hope that helps some.
Gabriel

I did not clean, but I will try it.

Don't just spray something (WD-40? Gah!!!!). Take the coil off and clean
the plunger and sleeve with mild solvent - Varsol, etc.

Chances are someone lubed it in the past and this has started to gum up.

The metal pivot needs a drop or two of 20W non-detergent motor oil -
3-in-one Blue motor oil (not the red can!), Zoom Spout Turbine oil (very
handy applicator tube!) or sewing machine oil are best.

John :-#)#

[LexingtonVAPin]

Post by John Robertson

On Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 4:09:49 PM UTC-6,

Post by Gabriel Koen
I had a similar problem with the shooter lane upkick on my TAF
- I found a couple of leaf switches were stuck closed, I adjusted
them and the upkick worked better, but still not perfect. (Seems
weird and could have been completely unrelated.)
- Even though it seemed to be freely moving, I took it out and
cleaned it anyway. I didn't think this was the issue because, like
you, it would seem to work fine during tests. However after a
thorough cleaning and degreasing, it started working perfectly, so
can't argue with results.
Hope that helps some.
Gabriel

I did not clean,  but I will try it.

Don't just spray something (WD-40? Gah!!!!). Take the coil off and clean
the plunger and sleeve with mild solvent - Varsol, etc.
Chances are someone lubed it in the past and this has started to gum up.
The metal pivot needs a drop or two of 20W non-detergent motor oil -
3-in-one Blue motor oil (not the red can!), Zoom Spout Turbine oil (very
handy applicator tube!) or sewing machine oil are best.
John :-#)#

I have run into this, too, on occasion. But usually, I find the kickout
to be too strong, after I disassemble and clean the mech including the
coil sleeve.

We had a Funhouse in the museum where the ball would not kick out, but
did during the solenoid test. It turned out that the plunger was the
wrong length - which I found from the manual. The replacement sent by
Marco was also wrong (too long, I think). We put in a shorter one from
another pin (Stern Mustang, I think) and it has been fine ever since.