Keep Flintstones, keep looking for Taxi.

Should I wait to ask for the four wire forms (ramps, chutes) and the metal standoffs that support the ramps, or should I just send a PM , or should I just wait for you to list available parts? See what I did there?

Steve

I have an original Marilyn translite. In many respects it is superior to the CPR backglass I picked up when they did their first run (as discussed earlier in this thread, and elsewhere).

And their new Meteors PFs are much better than the original silk screened Meteor PF I bought from them (missing an entire set of score values!), and Mircos Taxi PFs are superior to the CPR PF I picked up (also in the silk screened first run). My timing with CPR products has not been good. Still, the products are much better than what I had to begin with. Oh yes, the Seawitch and Taxi plastics I have have fragile backsides, relative to the originals and the PPS version of the Taxi plastics. That said, I am honestly happy the Taxi glass and Meteor PFs were improved for you and others with the switch to digital. I can say that my EBD glass from CPR is excellent!

I'm tempted to limit my financial outlay and just use the Meteor PF as is. I'll call it the "CPR's Folly" Edition, or something like that. In the meantime, I'll keep enjoying Taxi and working on the EBD PF swap.

I hoping someone can help me with the wiring on my pop bumpers, which have never worked since I bought this project. More specifically, which side of the diode do the power(?) wires attach to? I'm referring to the two white-green wires that attach to the lower pop switch stack, the two white-orange wires that attach to the right pop switch stack, and the two white-black wires that attach to the left pop switch stack. Two of mine have the power wires attached to the silver band side of the diode, while the third one is attached to the black side of the diode. I hope this makes sense. For some reason I am unable to upload the pictures I took of my switch wiring. Thanks.

Here's a pic of the inconsistency. Middle/lower pop is wired one way, the right is wired another (the diode related wires only) as mentioned before.

Taxi Pop Switches (resized).jpg

So in the picture above, the right pop is wired correctly, and the center pop is wired incorrectly (as is the left pop). Thank you for that info, Pin-Pilot. Much appreciated.

Thanks for the additional attention, Pin-Pilot. I actually have a thread on this topic (pop and slings problem) in the alpha-numeric forum, but thought I would get the answer to the wiring question above more quickly in this thread. I do have a DMM and I have done some testing. So far, the problem has been isolated to a switch issue that is not on the MPU itself. Also, the pop switches were missing resistors (had diodes in their place) a problem which has now been rectified. Thanks to you, I believe I now have the correct wiring of the switches. All switch parts are new, by the way. Sadly, my main issue with the pops and slings remains. I am now searching for a short in a wire somewhere in the chain and working through Clay's guide regarding switch errors. I'm grateful for your help, but I'm also thinking forum etiquette dictates that I shouldn't take this discussion further in a second thread. That said, if you're in the mood for the challenge of solving a switch matrix issue with a village idiot like me as the go between, I'm happy to add more details.

After two weeks of error free play, a new gremlin has appeared. Soon after a one player game begins, additional players are automatically added to the game. At some point, the game resets. I have yet to open the game up, but my initial thoughts are as follows:

1) A problem with the 12v coming from the power supply (That said, it has a brand new Kohout power supply, so if there is a power drain, it's probably coming from somewhere else.)
2) A problem with the old bridge rectifier upstream of the power supply?
3) A problem with old (dried out caps) on the MPU (C30 and the other three nearby caps); the board has NVRAM installed and no signs of acid damage.
4) Perhaps a mechanical issue with start button is adding new players during the first ball played

If there are other (more) likely culprits, feel free to let me know. Thanks.

Excellent question, and I thank you for it, as I clearly overlooked it. The Switch Edges test offers up "07" which is the Slam Tilt. The problem is intermittent, as far as when it happens during a game, but it happens in every game. The switch gap looks fine, but I'll take a closer look at the wiring and probably replace the diode. Thanks for the response.

That's a nice little experiment. I'll try it.

No, that's why I called it intermittent, even though it happens every game now. Maybe "at random times" would have been a better way to phrase that. In any case, I have yet to identify a specific action that causes the effect. Marilyn simply says "Oooh, Taxi" and adds a player at various times throughout the first ball that is played. Eventually, she'll say "Oooh, Taxi" and the four player game will suddenly revert to a one player game, starting over with a score of zero, even though the current ball has been in play for a few minutes. Prior to this popping up yesterday, it had worked flawlessly for two weeks.

Thanks,
Steve

I'll go check...

Started a game and left the ball idle in the trough. No players added. Nothing. Nada.

Softly hit the plunger shot so the ball rolled a few inches and then returned to its starting point in the shooter lane. Three players were immediately added.

Next test game: Couldn't reproduce the player add with a similar plunger shot. Started playing and it seemed as if the left flipper button was adding players.

Third test game: Could not reproduce the left plunger connection, but three players were added during play. Seemingly in between switch contacts, but I could be wrong.

Turned off Freeplay.

Three more games started. The only difference was that only one player is added mid game in each of the three games, not four as it was during Freeplay.

Well, it turned out (it seems) to be a mechanical issue with the start button, along the lines of ChrisPINk25's issue. I just needed to put on my glasses to see it properly (I'm new to glasses and not quite ready to admit I need them in certain situations). I've only played two games since replacing the nearly nonexistent fish paper and cleaning the contacts and regapping the blades, but both games were error free. Not sure if it was a short issue or a gapping issue or some of both, but both elements have been addressed. We'll see if it lasts. Thanks, everyone.

Yes, it does, and that was my next stop on the repair tour. No visible damage to any of the diodes in that part of the matrix, but you never know.

Thanks.

I am ashamed to admit this, but when the problem first appeared and the game reset, my son was very close to overtaking my spot atop the high score list. I was sympathetic to his frustration, but a little piece of me was silently happy to remain in the top spot. Now he is back at it.

This happens with some regularity?

Your DTs location in the slot looks identical to mine and I can't replicate your your problem, even with the glass off. Perhaps the posts holding the rubber ring, or the ring itself, have come loose and no longer prevent this from happening (as they seem to do on mine)? The only place I've ever had a ball get stuck was above and to the left of the "C" drop in lane at the to of the PF. As in your case, a gentle shake dislodges it.

I'd be tempted to double check U41 for some corrosion with a magnifying glass. Might as well replace C30 while you've got the board out, too, IMO.

More importantly, welcome back into the club. Enjoy!

Took another look at my Taxi and realized that my Pinbot DTs are proud of the playfield by maybe an 1/8". There is no discernible difference in their wear relative to the Marilyn DTs which are flush with the playfield surface when dropped. Both sets were installed at the same time, several years ago. I did not intentionally adjust the mechs when I replaced the targets, so I assume they were that way when on route.

It might just be 1/16th; I wasn't wearing my glasses.

Marco and (I think) PP have all of the ramps. However, you can get a repro Spin Out ramp in blue on eBay for $30. These blue ramps seem to be overstock from the original Twisted Pins production run of blue and red ramps, but that is a semi-educated guess on my part. I can tell that I have the $30 blue from ebay, and it is identical to the red Twisted Pin repro I bought years ago, minus the metal flap. These repros are identical to the even older NOS Spinout ramp I have on hand. In short, all three ramps are available, but you can save some money if you get a blue Spinout off eBay.

The condition of the MPU is worth investigating (the familiar battery corrosion/acid leakage) as a replacement is likely to be expensive. The power supply board, aux power board, and interconnect board can be repaired or replaced. Marcos has replacement mechanical parts (VUK, etc).

And I agree with Ron, the Marilyn surcharge is a thing of the past.

And just to add proof of concept:

IMG_6880[1] (resized).jpg

This was my problem as well, but with the top left pop. The game improved significantly once this problem was solved.

It's almost time to restore or replace my Taxi cab. Once upon a time PPS had 2nd Gen Taxi cabinet decals for sale. They are no longer there. I see decals from ClassicArcades and RadCals from Mirco are available. I'd prefer a decal to a RadCal, but I have my doubts about the product from classicarcades as his products didn't have the greatest reputation back in the day when I was paying attention to such things. Does anyone know if the classicarcade decals are identical to the 2nd gen. decals that PPS used to sell? Or, does anyone know of some other supplier of the 2nd gen. decals? Thanks.

-Steve

Do these help?

Carry Passengers Lamp (resized).JPG

Joy Ride Lamp (resized).JPG

I have the XPin displays and they are excellent.

I guess this would be me. It's a disappointing backglass when it comes to the details (Marilyn's hair in particular). Of course, I have one of the first batch of BGs sold, so pinballinreno's comment accounts for my opinion. I can say it is much better than the Meteor PF I received.