Can relays lose their umph?

rcranetx

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This '53 pitch and bat I'm working on is almost there but I can't get the game to start from the start switch. I need to give the lock relay a little nudge and then it snaps in to place and the game is ready to play. So, can a relay still work just without enough power to pull all the way in? Springs are normal as others...
 
This '53 pitch and bat I'm working on is almost there but I can't get the game to start from the start switch. I need to give the lock relay a little nudge and then it snaps in to place and the game is ready to play. So, can a relay still work just without enough power to pull all the way in? Springs are normal as others...

It's more likely that there's just not enough current flowing through the relay coil due to something like dirty switch contacts somewhere.
 
The "LOCK" relay is a hard worker and the coil will fatigue over time. Replace the coil with a brand new one from Pinball Resource.
 
Also make sure that the contacts for the hold switch on the lock relay itself are clean and making good contact. (Use a biz card or new dollar bill to clean them; press the contacts together while you pull the card/bill between them.)
 
The "LOCK" relay is a hard worker and the coil will fatigue over time. Replace the coil with a brand new one from Pinball Resource.

What do you mean by 'fatigue'? Either the coil will have a short somewhere, or it will work fine if the windings are intact. There is no gradual 'fatigue' process that would impair the coil itself. (If there is a short, which can happen because this coil is almost always on and thus will get hot, replacing it may help.)
 
The coil will gradually develop shorted turns from being on all the time. Sometimes the coil bobbin will warp/distort. Sometimes the coil's metal core will corrode/oxidate thus imparing the armature plate from fully seating properly or it could develop residual magnetism.
 
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