Taxi
Williams, 1988Quoted from Sciddleybop1980:I personally think Taxi looks really good with black legs, rails and lockdown bar. I’m not normally one for powder coat but like that combo
I agree. I’m usually not a fan of powder coat but I’m doing all black powder coat armor on my Taxi restoration. I really like chrome, but black just looks like it belongs on this game.
I've still got work to do on the whole assembly too. Switching out the old crummy barrel spring for a shiny new one made it crap again. Seems to work well if I pull the ball closer before I let go. I think I'll mess with the switch and see if that's making it pull forward some.
Still weird I have to prop up the bottom of the shooter rod housing like that but whatever.
That’s a pretty good improvement eh? Again don’t know why it works but it does improve performance significantly!
Quoted from Jmckune:That’s a pretty good improvement eh? Again don’t know why it works but it does improve performance significantly!
It's still very hit or miss. A million rotations or 2. Haha. What a frustrating thing.
I put in a MRS. install was easy. But, other issues still caused lack of spins. Raising up the wire form helped the most.
Check to see if your playfield can move side to side on the hangers at where they sit in the lock down assembly. On mine the playfield naturally works its way to the right and when it does I lose 2-3 turns in the up. If I slide it left, I get them back. I figure I better find a way to keep it in place.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/taxi-club-members-only/page/43#post-5772230
Just a reminder that we offer a set of MRS's for the Taxi ramps - PM if interested!
Matt
Quoted from shlockdoc:Just set up a taxi and I noticed the three jet bumpers, center targets and left sling are not lighting up. I checked all the connections and all seems good. I did not see the jet bumpers in the light matrix. Are these considered GI? Any advice which connector to focus on? TIA.
I had a lot of GI issues to track down and fix. Basically, everything playfield GI related is the yellow, purple, wht/pur and wht/yel wires. They run between J7 and J9 on the interconnect board, lamps near Drac and “B” lane, and the relay board in the lower right corner of the pf.
I would start by checking the pins at J7 and J9 on the interconnect board and the IDC connectors coming from the playfield as both commonly have heat damage. I’d also check voltage on the board’s pins to make sure power is correct.
If all is good there, I’d check continuity from the IDC connectors through the connections mentioned above to verify that there are no broken wires.
Good luck in the hunt, it can be very frustrating!
Quoted from Bellagio:I had a lot of GI issues to track down and fix. Basically, everything playfield GI related is the yellow, purple, wht/pur and wht/yel wires. They run between J7 and J9 on the interconnect board, lamps near Drac and “B” lane, and the relay board in the lower right corner of the pf.
I would start by checking the pins at J7 and J9 on the interconnect board and the IDC connectors coming from the playfield as both commonly have heat damage. I’d also check voltage on the board’s pins to make sure power is correct.
If all is good there, I’d check continuity from the IDC connectors through the connections mentioned above to verify that there are no broken wires.
Good luck in the hunt, it can be very frustrating!
After tracing and dealing and your advice turns out it was “just a fuse” ha. Happy it was simple, should have checked that first. Fixed and thanks for the advice.
Quoted from shlockdoc:After tracing and dealing and your advice turns out it was “just a fuse” ha. Happy it was simple, should have checked that first. Fixed and thanks for the advice.
That’s funny! I guess that’s why they say when fixing pins always start with the simplest possible solution first!
Quoted from thewool:I came across this random piece of metal
It goes here under this plastic.
IMG_6284 (resized).jpgIMG_6288 (resized).jpgQuoted from thewool:No matter hiw many tear down photos I take, I never take enough
I've been there and done that! You're welcome and good luck!
Quoted from ChrisPINk25:sonic The MRS I installed fell off. If I decide to reinstall, what kind of adhesive should I use?
There are several options available on Amazon - I use a 2-sided, 6mm wide, tape that is used to attached phone/tablet glass in said devices......the thinner the better - but you want something high quality and thin....and always be sure to clean the bowl with alcohol really well....to get maximum adhesion - the best you can to clean and stick once (in a reasonable temp - if it's <60 F degs, it's harder to stick) the better.....
Question: the kick out above Santa constantly pushes the ball straight down the middle with no chance at it unless you nudge the machine. The playfield is leveled perfectly and the pitch is correct as well per the manual. What is the first adjustment I should make to attempt to correct this issue? I know sometimes the scoops can be moved or sometimes the parts behind the scoop but before I take the ramp off and look I thought I would check with the experts since this game is new to me.
Quoted from bowtech:Can anyone post a shot of the ball plunger please? Mine does not feel smooth and makes a metal on metal noise when plunging. I feel there is a bushing missing. Here's mine.
[quoted image]
With the plunger in its resting position look at your shooter rod tip. Rotate the shooter rod and see if there is noticeable movement. Mine is significantly bent because the rod/tip is too long. I assume it got bent from too many people putting the playfield down and hitting it.
Anyone else have trouble with the shooter lane / skill shot after a CPR playfield swap? Everything else I was able to adjust, but having a real hard time getting the shooter to make a hard shot up the skill shot. It looks like the CPR shooter groove is not nearly as deep as the original, and I'm thinking of sanding it down. Am I crazy?
Here is a photo - there is clearly something in my plunger that is not in yours. I looked in the manual for a parts breakdown but did not see one.
According to Funhouse manual (which I have handy) it requires shooter sleeve part #03-7357 however I have NO IDEA if this is a similar part for Taxi or not and given they are not the same system I would not assume without verifying somehow...
IMG_1016 (resized).JPGQuoted from brainmegaphone:Here is a photo - there is clearly something in my plunger that is not in yours. I looked in the manual for a parts breakdown but did not see one.
According to Funhouse manual (which I have handy) it requires shooter sleeve part #03-7357 however I have NO IDEA if this is a similar part for Taxi or not and given they are not the same system I would not assume without verifying somehow...
[quoted image]
Thanks for the help. I'll see what I can find.
Quoted from andre060:Anyone else have trouble with the shooter lane / skill shot after a CPR playfield swap? Everything else I was able to adjust, but having a real hard time getting the shooter to make a hard shot up the skill shot. It looks like the CPR shooter groove is not nearly as deep as the original, and I'm thinking of sanding it down. Am I crazy?
I had the same problem when I did my CPR Elvira swap. It took me forever to dial it in. Take a slow motion video to see what is giving you the problem. It could be several things but the video will you tell you what to address.
Quoted from brainmegaphone:Question: the kick out above Santa constantly pushes the ball straight down the middle with no chance at it unless you nudge the machine. The playfield is leveled perfectly and the pitch is correct as well per the manual. What is the first adjustment I should make to attempt to correct this issue? I know sometimes the scoops can be moved or sometimes the parts behind the scoop but before I take the ramp off and look I thought I would check with the experts since this game is new to me.
What I've done before is physically bend the kickout "fin" that knocks the ball out of the hole. Just a little bend to the right or left and the ball should come out a little differently. You can do this from the bottom of the playfield so no removing ramps, etc.
Quoted from bowtech:Thanks for the help. I'll see what I can find.
I believe you need one of these.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:I had the same problem when I did my CPR Elvira swap. It took me forever to dial it in. Take a slow motion video to see what is giving you the problem. It could be several things but the video will you tell you what to address.
Thanks, yeah the slow motion video shows the ball jumping out of the shooter lane and hitting the top forks of the entrance to the skill shot wire form, hence me thinking the shooter lane groove isn't deep enough. I've adjusted the shooter knob every which way but no matter what a hard shot causes the ball to jump up no matter what.
Quoted from andre060:Thanks, yeah the slow motion video shows the ball jumping out of the shooter lane and hitting the top forks of the entrance to the skill shot wire form, hence me thinking the shooter lane groove isn't deep enough. I've adjusted the shooter knob every which way but no matter what a hard shot causes the ball to jump up no matter what.
The depth of the groove is not really important, it just holds the ball in a consistent place so the shooter can hit it. Check out my videos a couple pages earlier in this thread for examples.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/taxi-club-members-only/page/43#post-5807869
Make sure you actually have enough adjustment room in the cabinet hole for the shooter rod casting to do what you need. After I shot my videos I also found my playfield would always plop down in one place and as I played it would creep to the right enough to really change the skill shot.
New club member with a new-to-me project. My second System 11 and first Taxi. I have the usual GI hacks and exploded special solenoid section on the CPU. There are a number of things I do not know about and will be sharing pics and asking questions. I have always loved this game and finally got a project for the right price.
#1 - Back of the main display PCB. The four blue jumper wires. Standard hack? Indicative of a problem? Bulletproofing?
20201011_164515 (resized).jpg
#2 - I would assume this will track back to a bad solenoid somewhere. The components were replaced but that doesn't mean the problem is gone. Hints on where to look? This seems to be a common thing on Sys 11 machines.
IMG_2380 (resized).JPG
#3 - Does anyone know how backed up @RobAnthony is? My interconnect is actually in great shape but for J6 and the touch-up is a little beyond my skill set. Oh, and then there's this gem.
IMG_2387 (resized).JPG
#4 - Normal? Not normal? The wiring at the knocker, that is.
20201011_171832 (resized).jpg
#5 - Last one for now. Between the flippers there appears to be two roll pins drilled into the bottom of the play field that don't seem to correspond to anything on the top. No clue what that is about.
20201011_172352 (resized).jpg
Thanks in advance!!
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:New club member with a new-to-me project. My second System 11 and first Taxi. I have the usual GI hacks and exploded special solenoid section on the CPU. There are a number of things I do not know about and will be sharing pics and asking questions. I have always loved this game and finally got a project for the right price.
#1 - Back of the main display PCB. The four blue jumper wires. Standard hack? Indicative of a problem? Bulletproofing?
[quoted image]
#2 - I would assume this will track back to a bad solenoid somewhere. The components were replaced but that doesn't mean the problem is gone. Hints on where to look? This seems to be a common thing on Sys 11 machines.
[quoted image]
#3 - Does anyone know how backed up @RobAnthony is? My interconnect is actually in great shape but for J6 and the touch-up is a little beyond my skill set. Oh, and then there's this gem.
[quoted image]
#4 - Normal? Not normal? The wiring at the knocker, that is.
[quoted image]
#5 - Last one for now. Between the flippers there appears to be two roll pins drilled into the bottom of the play field that don't seem to correspond to anything on the top. No clue what that is about.
[quoted image]
Thanks in advance!!
Ok so number 1. Not sure why those are jumpered like that. Have never seen before. You could always remove the wire on one side of each one and see if anything changes.
2. If those components have been replaced, someone did not take the time to clean the burn off. If Q73 and Q72 (Right Jet bumper) are functional id probably leave it and try and clean it up a little bit.
3.No No No No No. I don’t know why someone would solder direct and use some wire nuts instead of just redoing the connector. They aren’t hard.
4.completely ok. All that is is a quick disconnect for the knocker and makes it easier to remove the playfield if need be.
5. I believe those pins were used for flipper alignment from the factory but are not important for anything today. Nothing to worry about.
As for the cabinet decals I need to do mine as well. My playfield looks phenomenal after putting on a hardtop but the cabinet still looks like a scolded dog. I’m leaning heavily towards Rad Cals due to the firmness making it harder to mess up and the fact that the cabinet underneath does not have to be 100% new wood smooth.
I had the weirdest dream last night that I was playing my taxi and got to a secret level then it started to play adult movie content clips on the back glass .. weird .. anyways time to go to work
Quoted from Jmckune:5. I believe those pins were used for flipper alignment from the factory but are not important for anything today. Nothing to worry about.
My Taxi has those pins (sticking out of the playfield) as well. My Funhouse has them too. They appear to stick out of the playfield as stoppers to assist in the flipper alignment as you stated although they don't seem long enough to actually rest the flipper against to "stop" them so I think it is visual only. I am just guessing here though. On my Funhouse they were punched back down so they were not physically near the flipper. Not sure if someone did that on purpose of if they just "fell down" after 30 years. I used them to line things up during my flipper rebuild but I'm not sure if they are supposed to be positioned above or below the playfield level.
They are suppose to be below. You can put a pin, straw, or other object in them to help align the flippers. I use a T pin.
Quoted from Jmckune:My playfield looks phenomenal after putting on a hardtop but the cabinet still looks like a scolded dog.
Radcals. Like hardtop for your side art. I like it! I will probably also hardtop mine once I get it up and running. And the radcals seem to be a good idea as well. I've done stickers and stencils and have a love for neither.
Quoted from Jmckune:If those components have been replaced, someone did not take the time to clean the burn off.
From the looks of it the old transistor went up in flames so I am certain they replaced it along with the other transistor and resistors. Otherwise they would look as toasty as the SIP up above it all.
Quoted from Jmckune:.No No No No No.
Oh, I didn't even show you the best of it! Lots of wire to be replaced here...
IMG_2376 (resized).JPG
IMG_2385 (resized).JPG
Thanks for all the helpful info. I'll probably have more questions as I get through repairs on top of repairs.
Mine didn’t go all the way up In flames but had a similar fun time with the pop bumpers. Was not used to bumpers that would lock on and didn’t notice the resistor had broken off the left pop. The result was this. Got it all fixed though it it looks and plays phenomenal now
60B38B75-D891-4C31-9E3C-CFFA869B4DDB (resized).jpegBD5DB40B-4652-4693-B1F5-0A47F4A89854 (resized).jpegF6613165-8231-45BB-AAE3-4293FCDD26DC (resized).jpegAh yes, more shooter woes. Good to see I'm (still? forever? whatever) not alone on that one. I had mine working great for a bit..now it sucks again. Makes me want to a) beat it with a hammer or b) sell it..pretty much every time I play it.
Someday I'll get that damn thing dialed in -- for good (AKA for a bit longer than 1-2 games) -- and I won't feel this way. For now, it's pretty damn maddening.
I am in the midst of a taxi playfield swap. Can someone post a picture of the setup (rubbers, posts, lights) underneath the Marilyn/Lola drop target plastic?
Do the rubbers go around the end posts (that also have rubber on them (?) ) as the mini playfield diagram shows? I see other pictures that do not have them go around the end posts.
Also there is a screw hole on the old playfield (and a new playfield dimple) and I can't figure out what goes there. I don't think anything was there when I broke it down, who knows. See picture. Thanks.
IMG_0379 copy.jpgLola old.jpgQuoted from pmurphe:I am in the midst of a taxi playfield swap. Can someone post a picture of the setup (rubbers, posts, lights) underneath the Marilyn/Lola drop target plastic?
Do the rubbers go around the end posts (that also have rubber on them (?) ) as the mini playfield diagram shows? I see other pictures that do not have them go around the end posts.
Also there is a screw hole on the old playfield (and a new playfield dimple) and I can't figure out what goes there. I don't think anything was there when I broke it down, who knows. See picture. Thanks.
[quoted image][quoted image]
The black arrow is a ramp anchor point. 
Hi. I bought a Taxi a few months ago. It was in bad shape, but I cleaned it inside out and repaired/redid all the mechs and some of the switches. It works pretty good and looks pretty nice too. What bugs me is the translite. It looks ok, but the mirror zone looks like shit. First, there's the scratched translite. No way to remove those scratches. Also I would have to be very careful not to damage the fragile part of the translite. Also, the mirror is heavily scratched. I was thinking about getting a nice CPR backglass. But then I read there's lots of issues. Colors and details not right and the glass too thick. But it seems it's not the same with every game. Does anyone have experience with the Taxi CPR backglass?
Thanks for the help!
Quoted from BriPin:It goes here under this plastic.
I don't even have this piece on mine.
Quoted from philsublime:Hi. I bought a Taxi a few months ago. It was in bad shape, but I cleaned it inside out and repaired/redid all the mechs and some of the switches. It works pretty good and looks pretty nice too. What bugs me is the translite. It looks ok, but the mirror zone looks like shit. First, there's the scratched translite. No way to remove those scratches. Also I would have to be very careful not to damage the fragile part of the translite. Also, the mirror is heavily scratched. I was thinking about getting a nice CPR backglass. But then I read there's lots of issues. Colors and details not right and the glass too thick. But it seems it's not the same with every game. Does anyone have experience with the Taxi CPR backglass?
Thanks for the help!
I have the cpr backglass. I got it purely so the collar matched the cuffs as I only had a Lola translite but a Marylin playfield.
It’s not the best with its soft focus appearance and washed out colours and the mirroring isn’t great. But that said it’s better than nothing and you’d only really notice the difference if you had a original side by side. If your translite is trashed, go for it or try and source a translite. Not sure how easy that is.
Translites available on eBay
ebay.com link: WILLIAMS Taxi Marilyn Pinball Machine Next Gen Translite
Quoted from Sciddleybop1980:I have the cpr backglass. I got it purely so the collar matched the cuffs as I only had a Lola translite but a Marylin playfield.
It’s not the best with its soft focus appearance and washed out colours and the mirroring isn’t great. But that said it’s better than nothing and you’d only really notice the difference if you had a original side by side. If your translite is trashed, go for it or try and source a translite. Not sure how easy that is.
I bought a NOS one from the Pinball Resource a couple years ago for $40. At the time they had a stack of them.
I have what I believe to be an original translite. Does it go in a frame? Sandwiched in acrylic? No idea how it stays in...
Quoted from Mk1Mod0:I have what I believe to be an original translite. Does it go in a frame? Sandwiched in acrylic? No idea how it stays in...
I think it's just a glass in front of the translite.
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