[This re-assembly thread has a few problems that have already been solved in it, game is 100%]

thanks!
-mof

---

Looking for some Taxi owners/restorers to chime in.

I picked up a very very clean Taxi that needs reassembly. Got a nice .zip of 50 pics from the seller to assist reassembly. PF has mylar recently removed, needs some minor touch-up in certain areas where the seller rubbed too hard.

1) Can any Taxi owners point me to any good links on tips 'n' hints on the reassembly of Taxi?

2) Is there anything I should consider doing or replacing beyond having new rubbers and star posts on hand as I go?

3) Playfield was rubbing alcohol + magic erasered, and it looks great and it's very flat (8/10), unfortunately the seller rubbed off a few spots of the grey background color. Has anyone matched the Taxi colors, and can recommend some PAINT?

4) What is the ideal clean/polish/waxing I should do on this PF before reassembly, considering some touchups with no clearcoat. I'm leaning towards no CC no TC power polish, since there is still paint work to do, and I'm not in a rush to work on that. I think it's more important to know if the machine works well, to honor the seller's promise (see below)

5) Should I not sweat the PF decisions since Taxi is a rather shallow re-assembly, and just put it together and see if it functions well? Also, one touchup place is above the inlane so easy to do by hand with parts on.

...Seller promised to assist with repairs/parts if anything doesn't function as promised. Good guy.

Will be my first reassembly project. Going to have a six pack on hand, and a good friend with me to work in parallel, hoping we can complete it in 3-6 hours. Should be fun, but I am expecting a few snags to pop up, will start early in the day next Saturday.

thanks!
MOF

You are psychic.

The guy snapped off 4 posts and so I had to go and order a few and the corresponding T Nuts -- I think that's why he left a dozen or so posts standing on the PF... Post respect ! I believe he stopped trying to remove em.

thanks!
MOF

So we pulled the trigger and started. I brought over a friend who repairs bicycles, and he was perfect to help us keep pace and choose the right bolts for the right spots. That was the biggest challenge. Had to re-solder a few switches that luckily still work. I would say we got about 60% done in 8 hours working together on it.

I decided NOT to clearcoat, and not to repaint. I will tear it down and reassemble it another day if I ever want to give it a perfect playfield look. The amount of grey that was applied was minimal. Chose this path, really to honor the sale, so I can report back to the seller any issues now and not 3 months from now.

Only medium sized problem we found so far is the spin out ramp has 3-4 busted out screw in holes, and there is one ball guide piece broken off inside the cup where the ball spins. The actually ramp strength and cup integrity is very good. (I've seen worse). So it will just be a question of it there are other ways to install it in place and hold it down -- we'll see when we get there.

Another issue is I don't know how the pop bumpers should be installed. I see that there are 2 thin leaf leads that come out of each one -- they were removed to replace the white plastics that had burned a hole in the side of each one due to a bulb I presume. I see what I presume is a stapled ground braid under the PF, and so I have a few questions:

1) Can someone post a link that shows how to reinstall pop bumpers on a system 11 ?

I prefer reading rather than asking anyone to type a tutorial... but if you have tons of time on your hands today...

A) If you know how, can you post some steps. I am wondering if I *have* to buy a staple gun to reattach? I have one, but as you already know it's not designed to get in between gaps.

B) Is there a specific positive and negative lead or are they interchangeable on the pop bumper?

C) If the ground braid is for the negative, where do the positives go? I see the three solenoids that form a triangle under the PF, but not sure precisely where the leads would end up.

If someone wants to toss a picture of the underside of their taxi, and point to the solder points that would be cool. I have three other pins to look and get a "sense" of where they will go, but being 100% sure is always nice.

D) Anything else I should know about re-soldering the pop bumpers into place would be good to know. I read about a lot of people having pop bumper issues, and naturally, I'd hate to introduce a problem out of ignorance.

OVERALL
Visually, all three sets of plastic and the leads look good, and the machine is otherwise performing well to the switch tests -- we were able to pick up 5 passengers, and score the jackpot. Music plays, and the game just looks lovely. A real gem as far as I can tell so far.

Off to home depot and Orchard Hardware to hunt down some long machine screws for the star posts. The seller was short by at least 5 of them. I MUST see this game play, and today is the day !!!

thanks!
MOF

Taxi at 60% completion about 16 man-hours in. Slow I know, but it was our first time reassembling a PF. Nothing but non-stop fun for a Nub...

taxi_60%.jpg

Damn, thanks...

Oh, and btw @pinwillie you have a *very* nice selection of games for your collection. HAHA. You are only 1 pin away from a having a perfect collection of top system 11 games...

GRAND f****g LIZARD !!!
(I think there's one for sale right now in LA on Mr. Pin, but way over-priced)

you'll thank me, later!
-MOF

If you have a Taxi, can you please check your Taxi, and tell me what kind of Switch Wire is just in front of the Spinout Kickbig (the thing that launches the ball after the skill shot spin out drops the ball down to the PF.) I think my Switch Wire is shorter and malformed, and I would like to see how this wire is normally shaped/formed.

thanks!
MOF

switch_spinbig1.jpg switch_spinbig2.jpg

Can anyone who owns a Taxi help identify the correct part shown above? This is under the spinout, so you might get a better view under the PF.

thanks!
MOF

[3 MYSTERY PIECES SOLVED]

Other than re-attaching the three pop bumpers, this reassembly project is almost done. It is playing properly without the pop bumpers.

I have three pieces left. Can a Taxi owner, help me figure out where these last three pieces go?

My guess is that the ball guide and one-way ball wire guide have something to do with the spinout, but I didn't see an obvious place to attach them. Right now, after spinout, the ball drops with a thud to the playfield, then rolls into the spinbig then the ball launches to above the "ABC" lanes. It all works, but I suspect those parts assist in a softer landing and preventing the ball to return into that area on a bounce. Thoughts?

thanks!
MOF

ball_guide.jpg one_way_wire_guide.jpg wtf_is_this_chunk_of_steel.jpg

You know, that's what I thought too, but I sure didn't see a mount point for it. Any ideas?

For the switch, if you can just undo the two screws holding it in, and photograph it out, then slide it back in, that would be the easiest route. Much easier than removing the spinout -- unless u can find a great angle to photograph the switch from above the PF. I just pulled mine out below the PF in 30 seconds and it plays fine without it -- I think it was just a sound-switch, not a score or ball-location switch.

LOL, I think it's a freebie, I don't even think it goes to the Taxi.

I got 4 buckets of pieces with this project, and the nice Taxi. So far it's turned out to be a good project. I learned a lot.

[POP BUMPER WIRING ON HOLD UNTIL 110% DONE WITH RE-ASSEMBLY]

Dear Taxi owner,

Can you please post a few well-lit closeups of the underside of your playfield, so I can see how the pop bumpers lamp wires are wired up?

thanks!
MOF

Thanks man - it sure is tricky to get shots of where the lamp leads attach !

thanks!
MOF

Just heard from the previous owner that the "chunk of steel" is the lockdown for the coin box. This Taxi has a weird weird coin box in it.

Sounds like all the part mysteries for the day have been solved !

Thanks!
MOF

Got the flap installed, thanks for the help on that. Also, mounted the one-way gate as well.

ALL PIECES ACCOUNTED FOR !!!

thanks!
MOF

[IS THIS THE GORBY FLASHER?]

Does anyone know what this lamp is for? I've replaced it, and not sure when it's supposed to come on - wondering if it's just for some special jackpot?

mystery_taxi_lamp.jpg

Can I borrow a Taxi owner for 10 minutes, and ask you to please remove this wire switch on bottom of PF, and take a few close up pics of it's design? Apparently, I am to purchase a 4" switch and bend it in 4-5 spots and try to re-create this switch design myself. It took me 30 seconds to remove it with 2 screws on bottom of PF, much easier than removing the Spinout and viewing from top. Also, we'll get a much better picture with it dangling.

I presume I should make the final two bends to mimic an inlane switch, but I would love confirmation.

thanks!
MOF

switch_spinbig1.jpg

[WIRE SWITCH SOLVED]

Thanks pinwillie, I ended up copying a wire switch from an inlane, and just had to make it considerably TALLER, and it worked !

Thanks for the pic and the help!
MOF

[ALL 6 OPTO TARGETS FAIL SWITCH TEST]

Tonight I learned how to set the leaves properly for the pop bumpers, they kick A$$ now. And I bent and soldered in a new lane switch for the spinout -- success !

Then of course I tried to do ONE more thing, and WHAM. No idea what I did wrong. Both sets of drop targets are not working now.

I wanted to clean out the two sets of drop targets. I started with the pinbot set. I removed the three e-clips, and the two wire couplers, and carefully removed the board. I cleaned the plastics with rubbing alcohol, I put the board back on gently, and the three e-clips. Started up my Taxi, and now BOTH sets of drop targets won't work.

I tried reseating the couplers to the pinbot drop target board and no difference.

I am 100% sure I didn't touch anything else, anyone have an idea what happened?

Is there any chance that a solenoid got stuck and blew a fuse? Is there a fuse just for the drop targets? I visually checked all the fuses and didn't see anything.

I didn't open the backglass at all, in order to clean the drop targets, so I can't imagine that something came loose in the backbox.

Out of ideas. Surely a pin-jedi out there knows exactly what's wrong.

thanks!
MOF

New information.

Ran coil test, this popped both sets back up.

Started up a game with hope, knocked down Lola targets. They don't come back up, so it's not SENSING that they are dropped.

I didn't touch LOLA targets at all when cleaning, only pinbot.

They do not reset when I start up a game, only when I run a coil test.

I am getting 12v coming into both Opto boards.

MOF

[PURPLE WIRE + J9 SOLVED]

Here's a side WTF that I have no answers for. While visually inspecting for bad fuses, I noticed two things missing/unused in the backbox.

Can a Taxi owner, please take a quick peek in the backbox, and see if these two are in use in your machine?

* I have some purple wires with an unused coupler (see it dangling up there)
* J9 has nothing attached. In my Whirlwind it certainly does. This might be machine-specific, no idea.

(see pics)

thanks!
MOF

Taxi_J9_WTF.jpg Taxi_dangling_purple_and_brown.jpg

[6 OPTOS FAILS SWITCH TEST] - [FIXED] !!!

I walked over to my Diner, and got to see "hot dog, hamburger, etc" for each one I knocked down, so I felt confident I ran the test correctly on my TAXI.

(recap)
* Both sets have 12vDC coming in.
* Both sets pop up for coil test.

I can't help but wonder what both sets have in common, that they both failed to sense or perhaps "report" what they see at the same time, when I was just cleaning one set of optos.

---
Regarding the hanging wire, and the Bell -- You are correct on the hanging wire.
* Missing knocker
* Thanks for info on J9, since everything functioned well until yesterday, I was a bit surprised to find an empty J9 (all of a sudden)
* Running the coil test, I learned bell isn't ringing as well. Low priority for me, will address another day.

You are gonna think I'm crazy now.

I tried your idea.

power off > remove opto board (pinbot) > power on > wave business card during switch test. It senses all 3 optos.

Next, thinking we are good, (power off) I put the opto board back on, slip 2 of 3 eclips back on and power on, press start, and try to flick each pinbot target down. Nothing.

If the pinbot optos actually do work, but now for some reason when I mount the board, they never see any change in position of all 3 moving drop targets. I am dumbfounded. I never changed the location of any drop targets, I merely cleaned them with a Qtip. I didn't loosen the screws that anchor the drop targets to the playfield. Just removed e-clips and started cleaning the 3 drop targets. I feel like we are a breath away from a solution here.

Ideas?

I think that tip has led us to the real problem!

I tried the switch test one by one, and nothing happened, then I heard a beep, and realized, it's the 4 wires that pass through the coupler. I felt that when I moved them a little to pull the coupler off the board, that I was likely moving 4 wires that hadn't moved in 25 years. So one of the four wires doesn't have a good connection.

1) How should I proceed, should I redo all 4 or just the one that seems to be broken?
2) Any links on how to do it?
3) Still wondering how the pinbot set failing has anything to do with the Lola set failing, when I never touched Lola ! (haven't cleaned em/removed em yet)

thanks!
MOF

[OPTOS FIXED !!!]

Thanks to all for the help and encouragement. Great community.
Special thanks to HighSpeed1 for really helping me narrow this one down.

It was the green wire on Pinbot. Broken. I soldered it back together, a little shrink tubing to seal it up, and pushed it right back into the loop IDC connector.

Lola AND pinbot work from this single fix to one wire. I wonder how or why they would share it ?

I can play my TAXI 100% for the first time since buying the machine. What a great experience this has been. Such a pretty machine.

MOF

Next on my list is to figure out the Bell. Visual inspection looks like everything is hooked up correctly. Any and all tips appreciated on how to diagnose the cause.

MOF

The bell is fixed. Some previous owner had remounted the Bell hammer around the other side of the leaves... All fixed now it works great... Just had to compare it to my grand lizard...

Thank you for teaching me more about diagnostic mode control.

=) Thanks for the celebrations, basically the game is 98% playable now, and more exciting with all the flasher bulbs and the bell installed. Man o man that thing goes off a lot...

Now, I have a few more HIGH priority bugs to solve on this before it's done:

HIGH
* remove / clean Lola drop targets and re-sticker Lola
* order and install knocker assembly
* remove and inspect all fuses for accurate type
* solve the new left ramp that doesn't seat on playfield (1/16" gap) <-- this will be tricky

LOW (cosmetic)
* touch up playfield (need black and blue paints too)
* tear-down, clearcoat, and reassemble (someday)
* solder pop bumper lamps in place (someday)
* touch up the back box where needed (someday)

Stay tuned!
MOF

[NEW LEFT RAMP WON'T LAY FLUSH WITH PF]

Tonight I will post pics of how the new left ramp, doesn't seem to allow for the tin flap to lay flush on the PF. Has about a 1/16" thankfully parallel, lay above the PF. My concern is that the new plastic is too deep of a mold. The plastic is clearly thicker than on the original right ramp. I will hesitate to carve or sand the PF to accomodate, I'd rather sand down the base of the plastic ramp.

I'll take some pics tonight, and try to show why it's hard to move this thing around, and where the pressure points are right now. It really only penalizes weak shots right now by slowing them, rather than pushing back or bouncing up shots (like my Diner does sometimes with it's bad right ramp entrance.)

Q: What are some ways to get a stiff new ramp to lay flatter and into the PF ?

MOF

From what I can see, the ramp has the ability to seat further, but won't

It can:
1) drop further on the front edge into the recessed groove in the wood (see 2 pics)
2) drop down further from the top edge that (almost) rests on a plastic (see 1 pic)

My concern is that the bottom edge of the ramp is simply too thick to allow the drop. I wish I could see an original ramp and compare the two. I just can't imagine that it's DOUBLE the thickness of the original ramp to allow it to rise this high above the PF.

The good news is that the left ramp works fine for 9/10 shots and so it's not a chronic problem right now. But I'd sure like to mod some aspect of the ramp so that it seats better.

Has anyone gotten past this? What mods did you make?

Thanks!
MOF

top_edge_has_a_little_room.jpg room_to_seat_but_doesn_t_drop_further2.jpg room_to_seat_but_doesn_t_drop_further..jpg ramp_not_flush.jpg

What is the general idea if u have a strip? Is it like general wood-working where you introduce a glued-in toothpick tip? I'll try screwing em tighter tonight. I was trying to go easy on it at first to not strip it.

MOF

That's my hesitation on removing some wood -- if I ever get NOS ramps for it, I am wondering the cost of having removed some wood.

What's the best way to remove some wood?

MOF

How on earth did u do damage control on all the dust from that?
MOF

Brilliant suggestions. Can't wait to get home to check it out.

Question: Should ramp screws in general, lie below the ramp flaps, like way down flush with the board? Or is there a goal to catch them with the screw head and pull em down...

SOLVED !!! Plays much better now. Much smoother. Will wear less on the balls too now.

After playing it a few weeks, it was super clear taking the ramp off again to see what the issue was.

These repro ramps have rivets on the bottom that need space... They had worn into the yellow wood basically asking for space.

I gently Dremeled out some space for the rivets. Problem solved !

My screws are still a 'tad' high, but I'll have to buy those special bits you showed me.

Thank you all for the tips, hints, and encouragement... !

(pics coming soon)
MOF

Here we go...

You can see the rivets on the bottom of these repro ramps. They take up a lot of space like a washer does.

I had to make space for them. This fixed everything.

(see pics)

MOF

very_flat_now.jpg room_for_rivets_now.jpg damn_rivets.jpg

Actually, per our handshake agreement, he just shipped my paypal $27 to cover the missing knocker assembly. Was the only surprise. Great guy. Game plays great.

thanks!
MOF

Question - should the side tin flaps on either ramp go inside or outside of the ramp lane?

MOF

Is that generally a true rule for all side ramp flaps?
MOF

Knocker assembly. Arrived. Installed. Check.
MOF

http://www.pinballlife.com/ the (1200) one
MOF

100% complete.

HIGH (final 2 bugs)
* remove / clean Lola drop targets and re-sticker Lola (done!)
* remove and inspect all fuses for correct type (done! -- found 7 incorrect fuses !)

"Some day" I will touch up all the little minor blemishes and clear-coat, once I get practice on some beaters.

This thing is playing like a *DREAM* right now. When your drop targets fall in pairs like glass, and the ramp shots are butter... knocker snaps hard and crisp, bell works, pop bumpers are a machine gun battery.

Mark Ritchie + Chris Granner = Geniuses. Cranked the max jackpot down to 1.5mm to even out the scoring better between games.

So grateful that someone contacted me on CL to sell this to me, and it was someone that loves pinball as much as I do. If you want a great machine, put that ad up on CL, and start praying !!!

Will post some pics soon of the finished product.

Stay tuned!
MOF

The pinball community is truly unbelievable.

I counted no fewer than 21 heroes that helped me build, fix, and upgrade my collection in the last 12 months... It took 21 people to all chip in their time and energy. I could not have built and maintained my ideal collection alone, period.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/thread-of-pinsider-gratitude

Glad to see you found Pinside, and the Taxi owners club. There's also a system-11 club if you haven't yet stopped by.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/system-11-club

To learn more about pops, stick to the vid1900 pops thread... try out all the good advice there.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-rebuilding-pop-bumpers

-mof