The flipper is sluggish and a worn arc is appearing in the playfield paint.
Flipper bat drags on the playfield
Cause: The bat sits too low and rubs through its swing, or another moving part binds.
Checks
- Swing the bat by hand and watch for rubbing anywhere in its arc.
Fix
- Loosen the shaft set screws, raise the bat just clear of the playfield, and retighten.
Systems
- Williams System 3
- Williams System 4
- Williams System 6 / 6A
- Williams System 7
- Williams System 9
- Williams System 11
- Williams System 11A
- Williams System 11B
- Williams System 11C
- WPC Alpha-Numeric
- WPC Dot Matrix
- WPC Fliptronics
- WPC DCS
- WPC-Security (WPC-S)
- WPC-95
- Bally MPU AS-2518-17
- Bally MPU AS-2518-35
- Stern MPU-100
- Stern MPU-200
- Bally 6803
- Gottlieb System 1
- Gottlieb System 80
- Gottlieb System 80A
- Gottlieb System 80B
- Gottlieb System 3
- Data East CPU Version 1/2
- Data East CPU Version 3
- Data East/Sega CPU Version 3b
- Capcom
- Electro-mechanical
Related tips
- Flipper drag marks on the playfield
- Flipper bat slips on its shaft or wobbles
- Flippers can't get the ball up a steep playfield
- Flipper weak or noisy: worn fibre link
- Flipper weak because the return spring is too strong
- Replacing a flipper coil
- Flipper weak: worn plunger, coil stop or sleeve
Source: Pinball Machine Care & Maintenance, Bernard B. Kamoroff (Bell Springs Pinball Alley)