Flipper opto board needs to be replaced, yes.
You can verify this by swapping the two boards. (L to R, R to L.)

TZ if a fliptronics 2 game.

To keep it stock looking, simply use warm white bulbs, and use clear domed bulbs where lights are visible. Use the bulb condoms instead of colored LEDs on the signs, etc.

LED OCD is a must. I use warm white frosted from cointaker, and use dual flex head for larger inserts. I use their clear dome retros anywhere a bulb is visible.

You can see how my game looks in this video

Best thing to do is buy some sample warm and sunlight bulbs with different lenses and see what looks good. I would stick with 1smd bulbs unless you want something brighter the 2smd. I used sunlight bulbs in my Congo and like the results. It's a warmer white without being too yellow. For inserts, color match for richer color except yellow and orange. Those look better with warm white bulbs. I use clear lens for all except where bulb visisble then frosted. Not exactly stock looking but much easier on the eyes. I also like using the flex heads to light inserts where the bulb is not centered well. For large inserts, I might use a 2smd bulb or even a 2smd flex. That said, I like my games on the bright side like newer games. Keep the stock flashers. LED ones are very bright and stock works fine.

I wanted the same and went with mostly all warm white frosted. Frosted helps diffuse the brighter bulbs and looks better to me, even under inserts. I did color match red and added led flashers. The led flashers are awesome as I do like them brighter.

I used all warm white, except in two locations:
I put a green in my green LOCK insert, to make it shine.
And I used Sunlight in my back box (except blinkers) because my translight is yellowed from the years on incandescent bulbs.

Hello,
Sorry for the basic questions but I'm a bit confused.
I looked online at replacement fliptronics 2 opto boards and they dont look like the ones in my machine - they have 2 sensors on them.
Attaches is photo of my current flipper button opto board a. I dont see a part number on them...
Could anyone please clarify? Thx

20180610_105108 (resized).jpg

Yours have two sensors. They're just adjacent to each other. (I don't know what boards are available, so don't know what you're looking at, unfortunately..)

Im super confused about flasher bulbs on this game. Are there none in the backbox? My game was missing bulbs in all the black sockets in the backbox so I assumed those were flashers. When I put bulbs in they are locked on. I am flipping through tha manual and do not see mention of flashers in the back box. They are on the same line with regular GI bulbs. So am I missing something

Have you tried using a q tip and some alcohol and cleaning the optos?

No flashers. The black sockets were the blinky bulbs, but they’re pretty much unobtainable now.

Yeah not actual flashers, they’re #545 bulbs: self-blinking bulbs shaped just like regular #555 bulbs. As they warm up, they twinkle off and on - electrically, if you don’t miss the blinking effect or care, you’re okay just using standard #555 bulbs in the black sockets, too.

There are some led replacements that self-blink - and now (for the first time in forever) there’s one liquidator on eBay who’s selling original ones in both 10 and 100-packs. I think pinball life also sells incandescent ones for around $1.50-$2.00 / bulb also.

Flashers won’t work correctly there, though. Stick with either regular bulbs or blinkers.

Those are blinker bulbs - #545s. There are no flashers in the backbox, correct.

There was a guy selling boxes of 100 of them for about $25, I think. I got two boxes. He MAY still have boxes of ten listed, I don't know.

Having said that, if anyone needs any, let me know. I have 200 of them. this should last me the rest of my life.

Your board you took a photo of does in fact have two sensors on it. It will be more obvious once you remove it from the game.

What the replacement looks like can be quite different.... for a while there were even some unique options that replaced the optos with a magnetic switch.

Another interesting thing... i checked with Bay Area Amusements and Marco and both have type I boards listed in the Twilight Zone parts listing... what gives

Huh, I didn’t even think of evilBay, the only place I’ve ever seen them is Pinball Life and they want $2 per bulb.

I’ll send you a message because I could use a couple sets, thanks @coyote!

Awesome. I appreciate it guys. I’ve been trying to figure out why flashers locked on when in fact there were no flashers lol. If nothing else pinball has always found a way to keep me humble

for 555 flashers you could use these from Comet
http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/1smdblink.htm

Yes... the type I opto board they list looks just like the one in my machine but I read twilight zone was fliptronics 2. Not sure if the opto is "type 1" and the fliptronics 2 refers to the board in the back cabinet? On my machine the two optos are vertical and on various websites the type 2 opto boards have the sensors horizontal...

I ordered the one that looks like the photo I posted.. if doesnt work if anyone needs that type I can mail it to you..

On top of that one of the leds on my clock went out today. Lot of ghosts in the machine..

The only Fliptronics I game is Addams Family. TZ is fliptronics 2, and the difference is in the board in the back box, not the flipper logos, so any replacement you buy is fine. Nobody even makes Fliptronics I replacement boards as Flip 2 boards are backward compatible. So you’re good

Do you have any kind of pic of what the clear-dome lights look like installed and lit? I was trying to see in that video, but wasn't really catching it much. Also, you don't notice those clear-dome to be too harsh or directional and less diffused than even a clear incandescent?

Everything looks great there, and yeah the LED-OCD is definitely a must-have. I wouldn't even be considering this otherwise.

Yeah, I'm not completely opposed to using frosted for visible bulbs.. might be preferable to the feeling of having laserpointers hitting me from under the inlane-guides and slings or the pop bumpers haha.

And really as for color matching, when I think about it almost every insert is white, orange and yellow anyways which cuts down on that. Aside from six or seven red inserts, all of them should be white bulbs as it is.

Do either of you have any photos showing how it turned out?

Oh.
I see what you're referring to.
Okay - the ONLY Fliptronics games that used optos are Fliptronics 2 games. HOWEVER - there were two types of opto boards made. The early and late type. I don't know why those idiots are calling it 'Type 1' and 'Type 2', but while either SHOULD work, TZ uses the 'early' (likely 'Type 1') boards.

It's effectively impossible to take a photo of the lit LED in the game that looks any different due to the inadequacies of the camera to capture that contrast.

The Cointaker retros look effectively like a incandescent in terms of dome/spot in person. I use them explicitly because they DO look stock vs the white dome lights. Look great in person. Zero concerns about spot-lighting, directional, etc. On an aside, I find that more important when the socket is not facing the lighting direction (think horizontal bulb under the PF).. and always use frosted in those situations.

The lights can still be bright when you stare at them compared to a #47 bulb.. but they have the right balance. That's why "brighter is better" thinking isn't always what you want.. and all these "how can I get the brightest bulb design..." efforts are goofy IMO. The two SMD designs popular today are PLENTY IMO. The retro bulbs use one large SMD in a clear dome.

As stated, pics won't help. My suggestion is to buy a small quantity of various white bulbs. You'll always find a use for them. Once I found that warm white frosted looks the best to me, I bought a hundred or so from pinball life. They didn't last long and I bought more. They are great for backbox lighting as well. I think I may have a couple bendies in tough to light areas, but almost all my pins are mostly warm white frosted. I've had to change a ton of cool white LEDs from previous owners as they are blinding and distort the classic look to me. The short of it: buy some LEDs. I was once where you are and recieved the same advice. It was good advice.

Yeah true, I’d been meaning more a general photo of the game lit but I get what you mean - you’re right, if it’s doing it’s job at looking like incandescent it’ll just look like a photo of a pinball machine. That video I got in a reply post helped clear up a lot though, showing it’s not as directional and spotlight-y like it had been a few years back. I figure it’s about even now, tough to tell the difference which is good.

A few years back I wouldn’t have even considered LEDs since the look was cold and everyone was accenting colors everywhere and it was awful. Now it’s pretty much identical to original, if a guy wants it to be.

Basically I’ll grab a dozen or so of both warm and sunlight and a couple other one-offs and just pop em in around the game and see for myself, since yeah that’s really the only way to actually know.

Thanks

Artwork gives it a 3D effect but it's all flat and under clear.

There are the insert repair decals that go over the door - but I think what you are seeing are the decals that go on top of the inserts, “water slide decals” if I am not mistaken. This is how they have text on them.

Just to clarify -
Original playfields did NOT have decals. All inks were screened on the wood. You won't see any 'lines' on the firld from decals. Depending on the playfield, and it's status (touched up, re-cleared, etc.), you may see lines around the inserts as clear dries differently between the wood and plastic of the inserts.

You're seeing decals on inserts. Normal.

Quick update on my flipper issue (in event this helps anyone else who is new to owning TZ):
the problem I had was right upper flipper getting weak after several games in a row. No error messages and everything tested normal.

I swapped out the opto board for the right flipper button today and it immediately fixed everything.
The board is the one I posted earlier; replacement was around 14 dollars and well worth it.
Prior to swapping the board I tinkered with the EOS switches for days, checked coils, etc.
The board I swapped out appeared to be an original so not surprising it had issues at this point I guess.

Thanks for everyone's input/help on diagnosing and fixing.

hi,

My TZ display is shot and need to buy a new one. I was thinking of buying a color dmd, but not sure what to buy between the 2 choices of LED or LCD and really don't know where to begin. Any suggestion here would be appreciated. Thanks and Happy Father's Day to all you dads!

Joe

They’re both great. If you’re not sure, get LCD. That way you get all the display options like HI RES, as well as dot options. If you’re a hardcore dots only type of guy, LED is the way to go. It’s a little cheaper and the colors are nice and bright.

Definitely buy colordmd instead of another dmd. Go with LCD. LED too bright imo and only good for games where the LCD does not fit. I think the LCD just looks better plus you get display options. Like a lot of people, I like dotsXL. It has a natural dot look but updated with color.

LCD all the way. Also DotsXL is perfect for TZ.

Thanks for your response, looks like I will go LCD, especially with pinsider Durzel chiming in to back it up.

What he said - for all games!

Yup.

Give me DotsXL or give me death!

I found this dangling under my playfield. A quick glance, I’m not seeing anywhere to connect it to...before I start my wild goose chase, anyone know where it might belong?

443CBA2A-F34F-4BC5-9DCE-7DE9108BC5BF (resized).jpeg

Looking at a photo I took of the bottom of my playfield a while ago, I can see that connector - I think - but no idea what it connects to, or even if it's connected at all vs just hanging around. I'm not in front of my machine at the moment so can't give a more authoritative point of view.

Here is mine (excuse the poor quality):

argh (resized).jpg

If memory serves... there is a free one like that. Just do a lamp and coil test if you need extra confirmation

Nobody really knows what it may have originally been intended for or if it’s even just a harness design mistake but most TZ’s have it. Might be interesting to see what it does tie into but there’s nowhere it’s intended to go so it’s probably nothing at all interesting.

Yellow is usually lamps. Probably GI that they decided to ditch. If someone is bored, they could trace it and/or test it with a voltmeter....

I'm a member of the DYWC (dangling yellow wire club). The wire is Yellow-Orange (Lamp Column #3). There are no unused locations in that lamp column. In my game, the wire emerges from the harness at the Spiral Award inserts (the inserts just above the flippers). Could it be related to the third Spiral magnet that never made it into the game? Could it be a link to something buried on Oak Island? I wonder if its original purpose is still locked-up in Pat Lawlor's head

Could the dangling wire be part of the Gum, Ball, Lock 1, Lock 2 flashers that we’re originally intended for those on the door panel board?

Don't think so. I think the missing Flashers would have to be connected to "solenoid" circuits like all the other flashers. That's how the Gum Ball flashers are wired in my game (I added them to my game several years ago).

I went with COLORDMD LED on all my williams pins and they look awesome. I got rid of any LCDs. They look like computer screens in your back box and they look out of place IMHO... The LEDs can be nice and bright and hit you in the face or you can turn down the brightness. They definitely look more traditional.

Any pics? I’ll never use the upscaling because the dots take me back to ballgames in stadiums with those big Jumbotron with cheesy dot graphics. The blinding LEDs have been my hesitation on the color LED. If brightness can be turned down, then that’s good

These are turned all the way up for brightness, but they all have the comet screen glare protector on them. So that dims them down a little bit too. The colors are also really vibrant.

IMG-7284.JPGIMG-7286.JPG