Drop Target help please

[Andydn]

Does anyone have any tips on what to do with a drop target that sometimes stays up when hit with a clean, straight shot?
I’ve tightened the spring which definitely helped but it’s not perfect (also this pulls the target to one side slightly)
I tried washers behind the ledge that the target sits on but that didn’t help.
Any other ideas at all?
I’m guessing I can add washers to the actual target/bracket but wasn’t sure where or how many?
Cheers
Andy

 

[ronsplooter]

Looking at your games list @Andydn I'm assuming this is for a modern Stern? It's pretty common to see this happen on old Bally games (they're known for this) and I've also seen it on Gottlieb EM's but not so common on modern games from what I understand.

Not sure there's much else you can do outside of tightening the spring as this is one of those physical "it's pinball" things. Does the plastic notch on the target rest on the drop target mech frame like on older games?

 

[Andydn]

Looking at your games list @Andydn I'm assuming this is for a modern Stern? It's pretty common to see this happen on old Bally games (they're known for this) and I've also seen it on Gottlieb EM's but not so common on modern games from what I understand.

Not sure there's much else you can do outside of tightening the spring as this is one of those physical "it's pinball" things. Does the plastic notch on the target rest on the drop target mech frame like on older games?

Yeah sits on a tiny ledge, I’m not surely exactly how it stays up - does the ball knock it off & it springs straight back onto the ledge? This only happens occasionally but thought I’d tinker anyway.

 

[ronsplooter]

Ah ok, I have seen this type before but it's different to older games. So the notch on the target isn't fully clearing the black plastic ledge in time to drop the target which could be due to the angle the target is hit at or maybe the tension/spacing in the small springs that push the target back against the frame. You could try spacing the target back from the ledge a bit more with washers (although is this what you've already tried?) or try and take some of the tension out of top small spring. You don't want to go too far with this though as you don't want it dropping randomly on it's own.

Tbh though mate, if it's only happening now and again I'd be tempted to live with it as drop targets just do that sort of thing

 

[Andydn]

Tried washers but they just cause it to jam.
I think I’ve sussed it by altering the main spring tension again, may have tightened it a bit too much so now I’m somewhere inbetween - seems ok now
Cheers for ya help mate

 

[ronsplooter]

Nice one, they can be right fiddly b*stards some times

 

[Wayne J]

How to fix drop targets that don't drop on a hard hit?

I’ve looked on Pinball Help on YT, and I didn’t find anything that matched the description, so I’m curious what I can start trying to make the drop targets on a Stars go down more reliably on hard hits. To be clear, an indirect hit, or a direct hit split between two targets works pretty...

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