(Topic ID: 142990)
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The Who's Tommy Pinball Wizard
Data East, 1994
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Fultondale, AL
2 weeks later
Thanks, good info. There's also the "one way combo", bounce off the silverball target into the mirror.
1 month later
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:Does anyone else have the problem of the Union Jack shot and the Mirror shot bricking out all the time? Mine only stays in there about 10% of the time. I've tried foam in there, but it doesn't seem to help.
Union Jack shot, yes. Mirror hole, no. My Union Jack got better after installing a Cliffy protector. Seems the hole gets some wear and having a nice sharp edge on it with the Cliffy helps with bounce outs. I also put a small piece of target foam at the back of the shot. I still get bounce outs probably 30-50% of the time.
Quoted from MauriceSTYS:Let's talk about that right spinner.
Imagine you have the ball trapped on the left flipper, union jack is not lit.
What do you shoot? Silver ball? Bumpers? VUK? Holiday Camp? All kind of pointless and risky.
The obvious choice would be right orbit to relight the union jack and get a feed to your right flipper (parachute hole) or loop all the way to the upper left flipper for a shot at the mirror/right ramp.
But with the right spinner, the chances of that shot making it even up to the parachute hole are about 5% (on my machine). What I get is the ball rolling back down, often onto the slingshot and out of control.
I was wondering why I only ever saw one 3-way-combo, and the answer is because every other combo requires a full right orbit.
And what use are the spinners anyway? 100k/spin during captain walker? Whatever lousy value they are when in normal play?
So my question is: Do you think the right spinner should be removed? Can it be "fixed" to not stop the ball as much? Would removing the right spinner make the game easier in a bad way?
In that case I will shoot the right spinner(mine has no problem re-lighting Union Jack), shoot the silverball target(especially if it is lit), or backhand the left ramp. Remember spinner value is doubled if hit on the fly from an inlane. Do that during 2x scoring for some pretty good points.
You can ck the blinders operation by holding in the extra ball button and pressing start. They should open up and stay for the entire game. Cabinet wear by the flipper buttons is extremely common. I guess that yellow paint is easily worn thin.
1 week later
When I got my Tommy it had a black sleeve only on the left. I have since put yellow Cliffy sleeves on both posts and the captive ball can still be hit just fine. Main thing is I rarely want to shoot it because it is a drain monster shot.
1 month later
Just my opinion, yes. I think a really nice Tommy should be in the range of $2500-3000. It would have to be super nice and freshly shopped to get much interest at $3500.
There are 2 on Mr. Pinball right now. One is from an individual, says very nice, completely shopped, listed at $3200.
The other is from a business and says shopped with new rubbers, $3695
Quoted from MauriceSTYS:Quick question, anyone know what's up with the tilt warning setting?
Available options (4.0U) are 0, 1 and 3. Isn't 2 warnings the most common? The Manual does mention that 1 is normal, so does the tilt work slightly differently on DE's?
If you set the game for competition mode, it is then 2 warnings.
3 weeks later
Quoted from Spyderturbo007:Has anyone found a definitive way to fix the rejection from the Union Jack and Mirror shots? I've tried foam in about 10 different combinations and no matter what I do, it rejects 80% of the time.
I find myself rarely playing it because of the rejects.
Try the full Cliffy set. I never get rejects from the mirror hole. My rejects from the Tommy hole were cut in half after adding the Cliffy protector.
2 weeks later
Quoted from BigLebowski:I´m reassembling my Tommy and it seems I didn´t take enough pictures.....
Can anybody help me putting these 3 plastic guards in their proper place?
P1080036_(resized).JPG
There´s two more which are square-like. I think I know where they go.
One of those goes on the plastic above the mode start hole, just behind the upkicker. Another one goes on the plastic just above and behind the left scoop. Not sure about the third one. They are all there just to avoid ball traps.
1 month later
Just ordered the colorDMD! My Tommy will be in the Papa Circuit Event at SFGE the weekend of June 10th!
1 week later
There are some great changes in there! Though I don't think I'm tech savy enough to install the code.
How well is this code going to work with the recently released colorDMD?
Quoted from tomh52722:Last night, the display on my Tommy stopped working and the propellers kept starting and stopping. When I turn it off, then back on, the display shows and looks normal, then goes blank and I cannot start a game. Any suggestions regarding what I should look at?
You could start with re-seating all the ribbon cables. I would also check your outputs on the power supply to see if they are normal.
Has anybody installed the colorDMD on Tommy yet? Which set of instructions on their website do you use? There's not any that say Data East.
The communication cables are the wide cables that look like ribbons, white or grey in color. Just carefully unplug and re-connect at each end. Be very careful to keep all pins aligned exactly as they were.
1 week later
Yes, the display will be nowhere near touching the plastic window of the speaker panel. I didn't measure, but IIRC it was about .3 to .5 inches from the window.
Wait, did you cut the 15inch long strip from the plastic panel with a Dremmel? You've got to do that to get it much closer to the window.
OK, then I would say yours is normal. The display looks very good even with that small distance. The only negative I've heard is if you are streaming using an overhead camera to cover both the playfield and the scores, it can be difficult to see. We will find out in Tommy's case real soon. Mine will be in the tourney at Southern Fried and Bryan will be streaming with that exact type camera set-up.
1 month later
I have cliffy's on all three holes on Tommy. For the mode start hole on the right, the bounce outs were definitely worse before the cliffy. After adding the cliffy, I still get bounce outs, but not as many. My Tommy was the one used in the PAPA tourney at SFGE this year. There were some complaints about the bounce outs, but most players just understood that it is a very prevalent problem on Tommy. You either shoot the other hole, or try to shoot the right hole by grazing off of the posts. I did put a couple pieces of foam weather stripping at the rear of the hole which does seem to help.
3 weeks later
I had this exact same string go out. IIRC it was the connector on the top right of the board in the top left of back box. I had to re-pin the connector. A bit of a PITA because I had to stand on something to better get at the location in the upper left of the backbox.
Quoted from gweempose:Yep. Looks like that connector got pretty toasted at some point. There also appears to be acid leaking from that top battery.
Good eye, I never even saw that.
1 week later
3 weeks later
My guess would be the servo motor itself. There are gears inside the motor and it's possible one is cracked or is missing teeth.
3 months later
Quoted from Djshakes:Has anyone noticed the small predrilled holes above their outlane posts? They look like flipper alignment holes. I think these can be used to move your outlanes up. I think I'm going to drill them and move up my posts.
I did exactly that. But as my skills improved and I started going to more and more competitions, I moved them back to the original spot so the game would play brutal like it is supposed to. I even moved the upper posts as high as they will go!
3 weeks later
I couldn't say what happened, but it is normal for the blinders to open/close when you tilt on Tommy.
Quoted from Djshakes:My assumption was with so much going on the machine couldn't keep up and shut down.
1 month later
Quoted from LOTR_breath:My Tommy has longer legs on the back and I'm 99% sure that's how it came from the factory.
I took this pic last year when I put my Tommy in a Papa Circuit tourney. You can't see the other end of the legs, but they were flush with each other.
I recall playing a Tommy at PAPA several years ago. The front castors were screwed all the way in, the rear castors were screwed all the way out and it was floaty as hell. It was like they could not get a decent pitch on it with the legs maxed out. I wonder if there were variations in the cabinet's leg bolt locations?
3 months later
Quoted from tomh52722:Hello I have a question for the group. Lately, my mirror hasn't been going down all of the way. The multiball light/arrow is on, but you cannot shoot it in the hole between the mirror to start multiball because the mirror is only half way down at that point. I tried running the mirror down test in test mode, but can't figure out how to test it (on the test screen, mirror down is the second options, but I can't figure out how to get past the first option, which is "mirror up"). Any advice would be appreciated.
To advance to the next part of the test it is either the start button or flipper buttons, I can't remember which. Question: Does it ever hang up in the other direction? In other words, does it ever stop too early on the way up?
Things off the top of my head that could cause this: Switch not reading the position of the mirror correctly. Bad solder joints on the relay that engages the motor. The motor itself. The board that sends the signal to the motor.
5 months later
Quoted from Methos:Looks like the eight amp fuse in the back box is blowing. So it's got to be either that Or the bridge rectifier. Which one of these two are more likely to go?
On my Tommy I once had all the insert lights out. When I would replace the fuse it would blow immediately. It was the bridge rectifier. You can remove it and test it with a meter.
1 month later
Are you sure it has the correct shooter rod? It will say DE on the end of it. I think they were slightly longer than a standard shooter rod. I had a similar issue on a TMNT and it had the wrong shooter rod.
1 year later
Quoted from Ive:I have the LCD in mine - bought it before the LED became available. You have to cut a part of the plastic speaker panel to allow it to fit - on the rear so no difference when looking from the front. It also sits in front of the light panel meaning a couple of lamps have to be removed.
There used to be instructions on ColorDMD site but looks like they have now removed them.
http://shop.colordmd.com/colordmd-replacement-display-for-the-whos-tommy-pinball-wizard-pinball-machine/
If anyone did need them I am pretty sure I have a print out of them somewhere from when I fitted mine.
Same here. I think the LCD looks great on Tommy. It was a little work to get it installed, but nothing impossible that would force you to go LED.
2 months later
Quoted from zahner:If anyone is looking - CPR has Tommy plastics listed now [I just ordered mine]. Also, on ebay there is someone selling an NOS set for $308 [OBO] at:
ebay.com link » Tommy Pinball Machine Original Nos Complete Plastic Set Of 33 Items Data East
And I've emailed the folks at https://virtuapin.net/ to check on the viability of making the Union Jack cabinet decals.
Beginning to think I have too much spare time on my hands - which I do not ...
I noticed the set comes with an extra plastic that goes above the VUK. If you or anyone else wants to sell this plastic, I will pay a hefty chunk of your plastic set cost for it!
Quoted from Dallas_Pin:Which piece are you looking for?
It's the kinda U-shaped piece that fits right about the VUK. It's busted on most games. Mine has been repaired with epoxy.
Quoted from zahner:Well, if you have no takers on your offer to buy the second plastic from a CPR set, you can have my off-color one for free once the new set arrives. Honestly, it's not too noticeable - unless you notice it... and even then, it's okay. You are welcome to it and it's better than epoxy.
PM sent!
4 months later
Not 100% sure if that is the cause of your problem, but those need to be re-pinned. I had to do the same on my Tommy years ago.
https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=09-18-5121
https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=03-09-1126
https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=02-09-2103
https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=W-HT-2038&cat=89
Quoted from pinballjah:Thanks for your help. Do you recall what happened on your game when these pins were not working?
Sorry, it was so many years ago I don't remember the symptom.
Quoted from MurphyPeoples:I'd love to know if there was a YouTube video showing this method. And would these parts be like "Marco" available or would you have to poke around on Mouser?
Just look 4 posts above. I linked all the parts and even the pin removal tool.
7 months later
Are you guys talking about the scoop on the left next to the upper flipper? Mine has always kicked to middle of the left flipper.
4 months later
Quoted from SunWizard:I'm a proud new Tommy owner. This is my first pinball machine, after playing in arcades for >45 years. This is my favorite of all I have played, so I couldn't resist when this local Tommy showed up for sale. I saw The Who Live in 1980 and cannot forget that show, and it sure helps to like the music as well as the way the game plays. Its a 1 owner machine, in decent shape with everything working, but not maintained with like 20 bulbs burned out. Thanks to the detailed and helpful posts on here, I have already tuned the pop bumpers to work much better. I also got a flipper kit, new rubber, and full LEDs on order. For this tune up, is it worth making a rotisserie as I have read here?
Welcome! A rotisserie would be complete overkill just to rebuild flippers and install new rubbers and bulbs. Just make sure the two playfield support posts are secure. They tend to have loose screws and/or missing nuts attaching them to the bottom of the playfield.
Quoted from Ive:Strange to hear. I can honestly say that beyond the normal occasional tweaks .... my Tommy has given me near zero issues in over 15 years of ownership.
I will 2nd that. I've owned Tommy for about 12 years and it's been almost trouble free. I even took it to a big tourney in Atlanta a few years ago and it was hammered on all weekend with nothing but a few stuck balls.
Not long after I got the game in 2008 I had to replace a bridge rectifier when I lost all insert lights. Also had to rebuild some connectors for the GI. That's about it.
3 weeks later
Mirror decal
https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/515-5905-Mirror
If I remember correctly, the plastic bomber is unobtainium.
Quoted from bsrhardy:How is yours all lit up like that. Even before the LEDs. The one I bought seems dark as hell, and the trans light just illuminates TOMMY with an occasional burst from the lower lights in it. The slings are never lit and the outlanes just light occasionally.
Since I am brand new to this machine, I just don't know what I don't know. But I do know it is super dark. On the first shot, the only thing, and I mean only thing, on the board that is lit is the skill shot.
Check your GI connectors. Probably burnt pins and connector housing.
Quoted from AntennaMan:Have what I thought was an immaculate Tommy, never a problem, then suddenly when I turn it on the propellers constantly spin, can't start a game and the DMD is out along with some of the lighting. When I turn the machine off, all the "dead" things, momentarily flash on, so I know they're not really dead. This happened when I played a couple of games, went to the office for a while, then was heading upstairs and decided to play one more game. Anything specific to look for when the propellers constantly propel?
I would try reseating all of the ribbon cables. Also check very closely for any signs of battery acid damage.
2 weeks later
I have a colordmd lcd in my Tommy. I bought it from them before the led was even available. Install was more involved but it looks great. If I was gonna do it today I would probably just go with led for ease of install.
20190720_212657 (resized).jpg20190720_212959 (resized).jpgtommy christmas (resized).jpg 1 week later
Quoted from bsrhardy:We are working through Some issues with our Tommy. We looked at the manual but can’t seem to find where this bundle of wires goes. If anyone has a chance can they take a look and see what they are hooked up to. They are right in the front of the cabinet.
[quoted image]
Look very closely at all your power supply connectors for any signs of connectors overheating/burning. In particular, the pops and slings get their power from CN3, pin 6.
Quoted from jrawlinson_2000:Still having trouble with my Tommy service / diag switches.
I can get it to the menu but the latching switch does not work so making adjustments is impossiable.
The switch is good so must be a broken wire or the connector in the backbox.
These are dedicated switches, does anyone know which backbox connector they go into?
Looks like they go through a 14pin connector and then on to CN14, a 4 pin connector. Colors are black/red, white, green, blue.
The blk/red, white wires go to the memory lock switch. Is it possible that switch is not working?
2 weeks later
Quoted from Milltown:Whats the least expensive non back box altering way to do the color dmd ? The led screen ? Anyone have a link on this.?
https://shop.colordmd.com/led-replacement-display-for-the-whos-tommy-pinball-wizard-pinball-machine/
5 months later
Quoted from ArgyleRuby:I used a level app on my Pixel and every thing seemed good, so I don't know what to do next.
Make the game steeper. If that doesn't work, loosen the screws holding the kicker under the playfield. Re-tighten the screws while forcefully turning the mech towards the left flipper.
If that doesn't work, you could remove the mech and use a Dremel to make the holes bigger to get more of an adjustment. I had to do that to the Stroke of Luck kick out on my AFM.
2 weeks later
Quoted from ClarkGriswold:I need some assistance please.
Tommy has been working great. This morning I went out for a game and when I turned the game on it TRIED to start/boot, but failed (the apron blinder toy engaged and is now open and other solenoids fired/attempted to fire) then she just didn't finish booting at all. Only the GI lights are on, nothing else is on including the DMD, playfield lights and so forth.
I'm wondering where to start to troubleshoot? What are the first things (in order) I should be checking?
Here's a video of it trying to boot (you can see that things like the propeller blades on the plane start to engage):
You can start by reseating all the ribbon cables in the backbox. Just pull the connector slightly back and reseat. No need to take the connectors completely off the pins. If you do , be very careful not to put them back on wrong, where one row of pins are shifted off of the connector.
Next thing to do is check all of your DC voltage check points on the power supply. This is the board in the upper left of the back box. You'll need a meter to do this. The check points are labeled with what voltages to expect. If any voltages are absent, start checking your fuses. Check them with a meter. If you are lucky you will see one that is obviously black inside the glass tube. Often a blown fuse looks normal so again, check with a meter.
2 weeks later
1 month later
2 weeks later
Quoted from bsrhardy:Also, lost all of the playfield lights. I have the manual, but I cannot seem to pin down the fuse for them, i just may be too close to the forest.
Is it the GI or the insert lights that are out?
Quoted from bsrhardy:All of the inserts. G.I. Working fine.
Ck fuse F4, 8 amp slow blo. If you replace it and it blows immediately on power up, you would likely have a shorted bridge rectifier.
2 months later
Quoted from Svend:I have an odd (and old) problem with my Tommy, I think it is somehow related to the power supply.
Up to 4 years ago I ran my Tommy with a LED OCD, but I would see issues with jackpots randomly being score during multiball. I removed the LED OCD (and moved the machine to my work) and it ran perfectly again.
I have now again moved the game a few months ago and it has run good, apart from the occasional slow start from the DMD (garbage till apr. 20 seconds after booting) and sometimes the CPU appeared to run at half speed: Lamps would flash slow, sounds would play delayed.
Now, tonight I have also reinstalled the LED OCD and the DMD now fails to start often, I have seen the CPU issue multiple times and the random jackpots during multiball have returned.
Is there any chance that the LED OCD draws extra current from the lamp matrix circuit and messes up a lot of other other things? I played a game with the multimeter hooked up to the 5V CPU test point, and it was rock steady between 4,88V - 4,90V which is a good value I think.
Any advice welcome, thanks!
You could try rebuilding the power supply. Or just put in a new one. Cheaper than the Led ocd board.
https://www.pinballlife.com/rottendog-data-east-power-supply-board.html
3 weeks later
Quoted from Sandman454:Any ideas or help on this issue please. Much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Try re-seating all ribbon cables.
3 weeks later
Quoted from ArgyleRuby:Any thoughts on a mirror that only works intermittently? Some games it goes up and down fine, as expected. Some games it never moves. Once in a while it gets stuck about half way. So far, at least, it has come good eventually. Leads me to wonder if it is getting stuck on something?
Might it need cleaning or lubricating? How (and with what)? Does anyone have pictures or videos on working on the mirror?
On Data East, all motors are actuated by a relay. Look for a relay mounted under the playfield near the mirror motor. Often these relays get a cracked solder joint on the bottom. There will be 6 or 8 solder pads on the bottom. Try re-flowing the solder on all those pads.
4 months later
Quoted from tominator:Question for the Tommy experts here...
Should my game have a knocker?
I never hear a knock when I win a free game or match...
Also, I read somewhere about a simple mod that limits the epileptic flashing... is this something most owners do? Are there instructions somewhere?
Thanks!
Yes, there should be a physical knocker.
5 months later
Difficult for me to get to or see well, but the blue/wht wire goes to a bridge rectifier and fuse on the far left side of the backbox. There is a blue/wht wire on both sides of the lower fuse. Also on the top left and bottom right lug of the BR.
20220911_215711 (resized).jpg 8 months later
Quoted from rvermeire:Got my blinder/arch working by disconnecting the shaker board.
But fine tuning doesn't work out.
Open is fine with potentiometer adjustments.
But closing not, 2nd potentiometer is not working
Tought defect pot on controller and got a new board from pindora box
Same story... closing pot not moving the motor
I get 10.46V and 4.96V coming in on both boards (old & new)
I have continuity from the 3 cables going to CPU board starting from this 7 pin connector on the blinder board (Clock, data and Clear)
any suggestions?[quoted image][quoted image]
Possibly a bad servo motor?
1 week later
Quoted from Ive:Great excitement …. Just got Captain Walker 4 Engine Start !
Been a while since I got this bonus . Only 10 million points but it’s nice to see the little animation.
Can you explain how to get this? I don't remember ever seeing it.
Quoted from Ive:It happens the 4th (and consecutive) times you start the Captain Walker Bombing Run from the left ramp (spinners and ramps to drop bombs)
The first time only needs 1 shot to ramp to qualify it, second time 2 shots etc.
If you notice on the animation of the bomber each time 1 more engine / propeller will start .
The 4th time all the engines start and you get the ‘4 Engine Start’ Bonus of 10 million. A quick bonus animation alerts you to this .
If you actually just concentrate on getting it it’s not too difficult as the left ramp is fairly easy shot , and on my machine easily repeatable as the ball on return to the left flipper can be easily passed over to the right . Or even backhanded to the ramp - a bit trickier.
Thanks! I never even tried for this since I didn't know it existed. I've owned the game for around 15 years!
8 months later
Quoted from foozle:Hi. My Tommy was working fine a few weeks ago and this week starting have issue with starting a game and in between balls. It takes about 1 minute for the game to boot up, then another minute between hitting the start button and a ball to come in shooter lane. It also takes 20 seconds from the time the ball ends until the next ball enters the shooter lane. It isn't attempting to shoot the ball into the lane, the display just kind of goes dark while it thinks. There aren't any diag errors. Any ideas on what could cause this? I did recently change out all the bulbs to LED, and it did appear to start happening after I did this, but I didn't know how new bulbs could cause this, but maybe they can?
Thanks!
Carefully reseat all the ribbon cable connectors in the backbox.
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