The outhole kicker fires with plenty of force, but the ball goes up the little ramp and falls back into the outhole instead of making it over the hump to the shooter lane.

Outhole kicker hits hard but the ball rolls back: lower the bracket, shorten the spring

Cause: Weak return-spring tension on the kicker lever (the spring had stretched) together with too little plunger travel. Cleaning the mechanism and a new coil sleeve did not cure it on their own.

Checks

• Remove the apron to reach the kicker; clean the plunger and mechanism, and check the coil sleeve and the kicker fork and fulcrum for wear.
• Look at the lever spring: a stretched spring with gaps between its coils gives weak tension.
• See how far the plunger travels when the coil fires.

Fix

• Shim the coil's angle mounting bracket down about 1/8 inch where it screws to the playfield (leather washers were used) to give the plunger more travel.
• Shorten the stretched lever spring by one loop and refit it.

EM games run some circuits at line voltage: unplug the game before working near the coil and switches.

Systems

• Electro-mechanical

Games

• Sky Jump

Related tips

• Ball only rolls halfway up the shooter lane from the outhole
• Gottlieb hook-type outhole kicker fails to feed
• Ball rolls back to the outhole instead of reaching the shooter lane

Source: Pinball Repair help group!! (Facebook group)