Just finished a full playfield restoration of my taxi and got everything back together and running. Everything is working fine but I have one thing that I am not sure is a switch issue or just the program.

When the ball rolls over the right inlane "Bonus w/l" all of the lights go out (including GIs) for 1/2 sec and then flash on dramatically with a call out that has Gorby saying "Watchout". I don't remember this from before and the left inlane doesn't do it. Is this a feature or a bug? In a dark room you literally can't see the ball when it happens and the ball is on top of the flipper so it is hard to play, that seems like something I would remember. I am wondering if this isn't a switch matrix issues triggering something else but I can't seem to replicate another switch making this same light display and call out. When you get a ball lock it does something similar but not quite the same.

Ha ha, just figured it out. I had swapped the right outlane and inlane. That was the outlane "lost ball" sequence. Simple fix. Here are some pics if anyone is interested.

Before:

High Wear Around Bumpers

Clean with New White but Otherwise Untouched

I had a lot of wear around the pops and big color difference on the "road" across the playfield. Plus damage to a lot of inserts.

Post Touchup and Clear

Closeup

Installed with 1SMD Warm LEDS

Thanks MoSeS, no it is not a hardtop. It is a full repaint, new inserts, decals and clearcoat.

How many hours...maybe 100? I sort of dragged it out. Also I had a weird issue with my clearcoat and decals that kept wrinkling so I had to sand and redecal a couple of times. It took a while to depopulate but I was very careful with labeling and it went back together quick. It is my second full restore and this went a lot better than the first.

Labeling

Yeah it's a process.

Step 1 - Remove everything from the playfield
Step 2 - Clean
Step 3 - Replace and flatten inserts
Step 4 - Mask and paint areas for touch up
Step 5 - Print and apply decals for text
Step 6 - Clearcoat, sand flat and polish

None of the steps are that hard (except maybe the clear coat) but you just repeat them over and over. Takes a lot of time and patients but not necessarily much artistic talent.

So you start with something like this:

1108201848b (resized).jpg

Take a picture of the text and then paint over with white:
1111201723_HDR (resized).jpg

Then create a decal of the text in photoshop and apply it on top:

1213202010a_HDR (resized).jpg

To apply the paint you use a clear mask and then cut out the inside with an xacto. I don't have a picture from Taxi but here was my previous:

Original

Masking and Paint

After

I am just an amatuer but there are folks that are much more experienced than me. I just enjoy doing it and learning a new skill.

A hardtop is definitely easier. However I had to learn to do it on my Dr. Dude because no one makes a new playfield or hardtop.

I don't really have any artistic ability either. I learned that if I get a small enough brush and magnifier it doesn't really matter. It is more like paint by number.

I didn't have any mylar left on my machine, someone before me pulled it. The problem was that it aged differently and there was a clear line where it used to be.

Mylar Line

How are you pop bumper area? Mine was trashed. I don't know why they didn't mylar back there.

It was gauged to bare wood an 1/8" deep.
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Yeah, yours are not as bad as mine but it sucks to know that every time you play they are getting worse. That was why I redid mine. Sorry, not to plant a seed...

Well you are right. If you are going to hardtop it then you can treat it like a farm truck because you are just going to sand it off anyway.

Welcome. That one looks good. Is it restored?

Enjoy, it is a house favorite for us. It is simple but addictive.

I restored my Taxi and had pretty severe color difference under the mylar . I fixed it by repainting it and then clear-coating but that is not for everyone but I don't think there is any other way.

Before - Cleaned

After Painting - Before Clear

After Clear

Sorry about that, I needed one too.

My old one is okay but is missing some screw holes so it moves slightly and makes the skill shot inconsistent. However it does work, I can get two whole cycles on a full plunge. I am happy to send it to you if you pay for shipping.

When I do it I try to change them all. Typically I order a full kit from Marco:

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/RK1773-1

and then just match them to the kit as I take them off.

So the first thing to ask is what is different? Where you doing something under the playfield? Transported it with head down?

After that, check your fuses first and if one is blown then assume something is shorted. Fuses blow for reason, just changing it probably won't fix it unless you shorted with a tool or something. I would check each lamp socket and make sure there is no obvious short.

If the fuse isn't shorted then wiggle the GI connectors on the board and make sure they are well connected. After that follow the GI chain and see if there isn't something weird.

If you don't find anything then you probably have a bad transistor. In my experience I have blown them when I have crushed a socket or shorted with a tool when trying to do something when the lights were on. If you haven't done it before changing a transistor is a little intimidating but not bad after you do it once. I have had a lot of GI issues on old Bally/Williams but the circuits are not that complicated.

It can be frustrating but it is likely something simple. If you have any question just ask.

I would first check fuse 2. I would actually pull it and check it out of the machine to make sure it is fine. If it is okay then I would check voltage on pin 7 and 6 on the interconnect board (J9). Compare them to 1 and 5 (your working side) with the game on. If you are getting the same voltage then the issue is on the playfield side. If not, it is a voltage issue on the interconnect board I would guess.

I broke out the schematics and you are right that the GI doesn't seem to go through a transistor but straight from power supply through the interconnect board. I am not sure of this but I suspect the relay on the playfield is normally on and they cycle it off for GI effects. You should do a "Coil Test" and on Item 11 it will flash the playfield lights. See if the left (working) side flashes. If so the relay probably works since it does both circuits together.

The bell is SUPER LOUD! I turned it off day one.

Awesome game, just played it today. Doesn't do a lot but it does it really well. I recommend setting the jackpots to the highest minimum (500k) and lowest maximum (1.5m) and the fastest advance. This makes it less jackpot focused and incentivizes doing other things. Just my home-use advice.

Recommend the Silverball Chronicals podcast (TPN network) about Python Anghelo for context on its design.

For the second one, it is probably a switch matrix fault. I would guess a bad diode but you should go into switch test and play with all the switches and see if any register two or more when it should only be one. Note any that are funky and check the switch matrix in the manual and see if they are all related by column or row.

Also, just look at the switches and see if there is any obvious fault such as a missing diode or diode installed backwards.

This might help as well:

https://homepinballrepair.com/pinball-switch-lamp-matrix-troubleshooting/

Screenshot 2021-11-08 082009 (resized).png

I redid my Taxi with all 2smd warm bulbs and it has a very pleasant amount of light. I like a bright game but IMHO Taxi is kind of a dark theme so it still has some shadows but has plenty to play by in a fully dark room. I don't think you need the spotlights. I tried them in my LotR and they really didn't add much light and I have had issues with the bulbs falling out and them moving around. I would recommend trying it with just the bulbs and then adding if you think you need them. To be honest if you really want more light a light bar (i.e. pinstadium type) is the way to go. You can make one yourself without too much trouble. That is what I ended up doing on my LotR.

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Yeah, I thought it might.

There is not much to it, just a metal flap that gives under the weight of the ball. Might check your spinout ramp is center on it.

1108201040_HDR (resized).jpg

Maybe your flipper cracked and is loose?