ok i have checked the continuity to every connector with my multimeter in column 8 (except left spiral, it is not listed on the diagram and i cant figure out what lamp it is referring to) everything reads perfect continuity. i have also checked continuity to every lamp in that row and get perfect continuity. I am getting some current through the lamp (see attached video) but not enough to light the bulb. i switched the bulb with the start button light and it works fine on the start button. i bypassed the outlet and connected the bulb directly to the two wires and still get low current flow. i measure the voltage at around 1.5 volts in the outlet which is the same as the start button.
Uggh this is driving me crazy, every other light in the colum and the row works fine (except left spiral because i dont know where that it) any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pJdaw9DeXVMBbuYA7

Ok i am a complete idiot. I was assuming the buy in button lit up during attract mode because i could see the led flickering during attract mode, instead of actually testing it by going into the light single lamp test mode. It works fine, my brain however does not. sorry for wasting your time.

Never a waste of time. Pinside has always solved my pin problems even when I did not Know I had one.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/67235

More items added my TZ friends.

Hey Coyote, wondering how you made out on this issue as my TZ has a U20 and blown upper rh and lower lh flipper fuses. Happened all at once.

Actually looking for the Grey and black emblem and mystic seer emblem to print out, in addition to the actual fortune cards. Any help would be great

Yeah - it was for sure a very, very odd combination of issues..

The coil on the gumball diverter was new, and one of the solder tabs was loose. It broke off the plastic, and was touching the coil bracket. So, the mounting place and diverter was charged with 50vdc. The diverter, when closed, is touching against the inner ball guide of the spiral loop. This, in turn, is connected to a whole bunch of things - the clock bracket, lock cage, piano scoop, powerfield ramp, bridge diverter.

So what was happening? The Powerfield entry switch had a solder lug that was bent, and touching one of the switch wires to the switch mount. In SOME circumstances, when the ball rolled off the wire ramp onto the powerfield, it would complete the connection between the (+50v energized) powerfield ramp, and the powerfield ball guide, to which the switch is mounted. Voila! +50v into the switch matrix.

I never lost the fuse for the coils, however, so you sound like something else may be going on. Short to ground? Short to ground AND switch matrix?

Not sure, been chasing this issue for a long time. This is the longest the old girl has ever run great before meltdown...lasted over a week. Not acting like a shorted wire inside harness or a shorted component. I am replacing the 2 affected coils, and replacing the socketed U20, then I will retest.

Good luck! Be curious what you find. For the fuses to blow, high current has to flow, and usually the U20 blows before the fuses do. However, I would do some checking of the +50 line to the two flipper coils, make sure they're not close to touching a piece of metal, like a coil stop.

Anyone who have added the convolux mod?
Pinside thread: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/convoluxcom
Store options: http://www.shop.freddys-pinball-paradise.de/index.php?f=3&q=convolux%206539
It looks REALLY nice on other machines I have seen and want to add to my TZ...
Any experience and color advice - orange seems to match plastics well but the pictures or yellow and red also looks great

The only problem I've found with these colored plastic protectors is that they tend to wash out the artwork on the plastic with that color. Like applying a colored filter over the artwork. The edges look great though. Just something to consider.

Is there any scoring strategies for LITZ? I get there now and then but never can come close to the default high score of 300m.

Don’t drain

(J/k)

I believe the piano shot is the biggest single shot score in that mode

Has anybody taken photos of these in TZ? I didn’t see any in that thread

I've found that getting into the upper playfield during powerball multiball scores the best. I have been able to score some 200k+ scores up there. The piano shot can bring high scores also. PB also is the easier of the two to relight for another Jackpot. doing any of that or having a solid strategy in LITZ is not easy though.

Depends.

The BEST strategy? Muhaha..

On your ball, be sure to get GREED, Clock Millions (+ Clock Ten Millions, if you're *good*), TSQ Madness, and go ahead and get a Powerball Multiball going as well.

Okay, got that done? Start LITZ!
In LITZ, if you're good with the Powerfield, keep a ball up there - make sure it hits the upper opto often. All the other balls, shoot into the Dead End or Camera. 50m Jackpots for them all.

At the end of LITZ, your score will be the modes I mentioned above, added to the score you got in those modes DURING LITZ. Including the Powerball Multiball total.

Get really good, and you can have a LITZ score over a three-quarters of a billion. If not more.

the default score is 0.3 billion, your excellent strategy will get you 0.25 billion. wow, almost the default.

Wow dude, rude much? Also, note the default score is for your ENTIRE GAME.

True. I also did mistype. I meant to say three-quarters billion.

My best LITZ was 1.3billion, because I managed to get most of those modes running in the same ball before starting LITZ.

If my memory is correct, it's something Ted mentioned fixing in a later home revision - LITZ not counting mode scores that were made outside of LITZ (like Powerball Mania, etc..) since that can (and does) affect the possibility of getting a free game at the end, with LITZ Champion.

Are you trying to say that if you do well in those modes then point values will be higher in LITZ if on the same ball? I don't remember seeing any additional scores being added in LITZ payoff. It shows you all the shots and things you hit in the mode where each is worth what seems like a default amount of points. For example, I think you get 10m for every left ramp shot. I probably need to let some of the balls drain and focus on making the camera shot, piano, or upper pf.

Cool thing is I replaced my right ramp last week and that made making that shot so much easier. Embarrassed to say that I never noticed my right ramp had a broken weld on the bottom left for like 9 months. It just looked natural being wide open at the bottom. Never understood why it was so clunky getting a ball up that ramp on my game and so smooth on other TZ's.

Nono, it adds your total from the mode when played outside of LITZ.
Okay, for example:
Ball 3. You have one door panel left: TSQ Madness.
You shoot piano. You start TSQ Madness. You play the whole mode, and get a final score in the mode of 50million.
You shoot the slot. You start LITZ.
During LITZ, you hit enough pop bumpers to get your TSQ Madness score to 50million.

When LITZ is over, and it counts up everything, you will see that it reports 100million for your TSQ Madness score. So, it takes what you earn outside of LITZ, and counts it towards your LITZ score.

(This is because the memory pointers to keep the score are the same - so when LITZ starts, the code just keeps adding to the score that is already there.)

well that makes a lot more sense.

Man, so much more to TZ than I previously thought. Thanks for explaining that, Coyote. Lots to think about. One strategy is to ignore all the modes and just try to complete all the door panels. That gets you to LITZ fairly easily but you miss out on a lot of points. Playing out everything can get you a lot of points and extra balls but often high risk in draining. Such a good game!

I despised TZ before I knew how to play it. I'd always walk up to it and the balls would drain fast before the real fun started. A friend of mine who plays tournaments showed me one night how to really play it and I fell in love. I think because it starts so damn slow and progressively gets more fun most people never really see what it has to offer. I am still learning new things about it or hearing new sounds and i've owned mine for 4+ years now.

TZ was my first grail pin solely due to the theme. I didn’t get it at first and was really on the fence about selling it for quite a while, but something wouldn’t let me pull the trigger. You summed up my experience here perfectly - took a while but it is not leaving here any time soon...

Thanks man. i will definitely keep you in the know.

I personally love the game for a few reasons..
The more modes you start at once, the more hectic the game becomes. (Get Clock Chaos, and then start a Multiball. See how LONG you can keep Chaos running..!)

The amount of planning needed if you DO want to get to LITZ. For example, extra balls? Need as many as you can get? Then you need to get them in a certain order - otherwise, by getting one, it'll lock you out from getting the door panel, for example.

Sure, you like Hitchhikers, but every time you get one.. it sends the ball to the pops. And that's asking for a ticket down the drain. But.. the only other way to get to Battle the Power is to get spirals. So..

I'm also nostalgic for the theme, and with how long I've had the game, and got to help Ted with testing the new features..

It's a keeper for me. Has been for over 20 years now.
But I hate it's everlasting guts.

Well, sounds to me like someone is involved in the classic "love/hate" relationship.

TZ was also my first grail pin. I've had mine for just under a year now, and I'm always experimenting with different ways to approach the game. If things are flowing right, you can be greatly rewarded, and that's very satisfying, but man, sometimes it can just beat you up.

While I'm here, I have a question: When playing PB Mania, after scoring the jackpot, I know that you have to send a ball up the left ramp to requalify the jackpot (I had to look it up). Is there anything on the playfield that would indicate this? One would think that any one or all of the arrows would flash showing the left ramp shot. I don't see anything happening on mine, so that's why I'm asking. Perhaps something is wrong with my pin?

I've had my game so long that I got into a rhythm with it. I knew how balls handled, how the flippers hit the balls, how the coils affected the balls, from kickouts to slingshots.

I then had my PF restored and cleared.

That completely changed the physics of the game.

My OLD scores averaged about 750mil.
Now, my scores average about 100mil.

Holy crap, it makes me angry.

When the Powerfield is active, the "The Power" insert in front of the right ramp will flash. Once you get a jackpot, the light will go out. There's no indication (on the PF) that the main ramp needs to be shot.

Thanks for answering that question; I thought perhaps something was wrong on my game.

Interesting about the playfield restoration. If I might ask, what exactly did you have restored? I'm asking because I have a possible issue with some cracks on my playfield, and I'm wondering if that might be able to be repaired or if there's a playfield replacement in my future.

In short, my playfield wasn't cured right back when it was made by TAG. So it was (is) softer than usual. My game was played a LOT on location before I got it, which started some PF deterioration.

Marco *JUST* released his repros when I decided to get mine redone. My PF is an early sample, and the repro 3-Magnet version does not have some of the art differences that mine had. So, I spent about $500 more than the repro, but I wanted to keep the art differences and history.

The biggest issue I had reassembling was the new thickness on the playfield - that millimeters that was added made some things (like the skill shot ball gate) not work too well, strangely.

Perfectly understandable. Just for the sake that yours is an early sample, just for the historical value, that makes perfect sense. I am something of a purist myself.

Millimeters are certainly big things when you are talking about precision, which counts in pinball. I would not have even thought about that.

Thanks for the info.

While the insert is flashing, the DMD says "SHOOT RIGHT RAMP". Once you get a Jackpot, the DMD says "SHOOT LEFT RAMP"; doing so relights the insert.

The other thing that typically plagued TZ back when it came out was when things were not working, or broken on the games and that would not allow players to ever see what it had to offer. Finding a game in the wild in the early 90's that COMPLETELY worked seemed to be a tall order. Even the games at the local arcades which were maintained very well, seemed to always have something wrong with them. The powerball tracking, flipper strength and broken clock were the common ones.... I love mine, and will NEVER EVER sell it!!!
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I need to learn the rules better. I don't really know of any strategy with playing the modes other than trying to bring something into multiball. What are some examples of what not to do? I usually just try to plow through door panel modes and shoot for things like gumball, camera, or upper pf when lit.

I've always love TZ and feels awesome to own one. My university center had a large arcade in the basement back in the early 90's. Sometimes they had some of the games on free play and that's when I played pinball the most. TZ always stuck out as my favorite even though I had no idea of rules. There is always something to shoot for in TZ and plenty of shots with 4 flippers. Modes are fairly simple and short plus you can stack any number of them. You don't get stuck playing out long modes and having to complete them to progress like a lot of modern games. There are just so many crazy combination of modes to get going at once. The stop and go style play is usually not my favorite but just seems to work well with TZ. You get a chance to look up at the display and think about what you need to do next.

millimeters added in clear?? thats so wrong.

Ah, well at least that's something. I guess I've never noticed that before. I'm usually looking down trying to keep from having balls drain to notice the DMD. I'll try to look next time.

Thanks for the info!

the diverter on my mini playfield wireform has started doing crazy things with the ball lately. Sometimes it throws the ball down hard, toward the left ramp. I have the robot mod there, so it just gets caught. Sometimes I hit the ball hard and the diverter doesn't get out of the way in time, and the ball, which should go to the mini PF, kind of crashes around until it lands on the main playfield. I don't remember this being an issue before - and I have the little magnet on the side of the diverter. Is this type of behavior common? or do I have an overactive diverter?

thanks all!

You are correct.
He was talking about *on the playfield*.

I have similar problems. Diverter slams hard and sometimes knocks ball of wireform. Even when the ball stays on the wireform you can see it hop a little. Part of the problem was the screw kept coming loose that holds it down wireform between ramps. Threadlock helped keep it in place and helped the issue. I just wonder if the magnet on the diverter adds a lot of mass and might be a cause. At least it always catches the ball. I did put a star post next to the robot because had same problem of balls getting caught there.

Those are some good ideas - I’ll check the screws too and see if somethings shaken loose. It never used to do this, and I’ve not changed anything so I was curious if somehow the diverged was getting more power .. or the magnet was somehow not as strong any longer. But a mechanical issue makes way more sense

Well, I’m back in the club. This is my 4th TZ and I am keeping this one. It is a Jeff Miller 2014 restore that I picked up from got Pinball in Clearwater, FL.

Appears to be a very nice example with color DMD, LED clock with blue housing, chrome TZ lamp shade over mini play field, chrome lockdown bar and legs, and LED bulbs. Play field is perfect along with other cosmetics.

Came by STI with everything working. Replaced a couple of burned out flashers and all is good to go. I will be putting the magnet on the diverted, but other than that it is ready to go.

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Lol, I spoke too soon. Played a game and slot machine trough switch not working.

Thought it was the switch since going from center lug of switch to closed lug when depressed gave me no tone on my meter. I then took an ohm reading across the diode on the switch and get nothing. The diode appears to be open. The diodes on the other switches either give me roughly 500 ohms or tone on meter.

Do the diodes have to be removed to test properly? Will a bad diode keep the switch from closing? Thanks!

Wow stunning looking machine though. The colors are so bright - was it re-decaled?

I joined this club today...sort of. I picked up the final boss of all projects. TZ is my one and only holiest of grail pins. This one is ugly, dirty, bent, broken, and incomplete, but its mine. I will likely spend over a year restoring this game but it will be worth it in the end.

It is VERY incomplete and so I will be looking for a lot of parts. If anyone has spare parts (especially boards) and would like to see this game get brought back to life please send me a PM, I'm still working on a complete list of what it needs.

Complete image gallery for your viewing displeasure:
https://imgur.com/a/ukM08vY

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… and termite eaten! Good luck with it. Hopefully it will be looking like the shinny TZ posted above it soon.

Thanks, I don't know the signs of termites. Do you see evidence of them? Where?

I want to upgrade/replace my speakers - they sound like they're under water and I believe they're original equipment.

Looking for suggestions based on your experience. What do you recommend?

Seriously, seriously, get a PinSound and two 5 1/4” speakers in stereo. Pyramid 8” woofer is nice but man it is awesome to have some stereo happening.

If nothing else, just get some reasonably priced 5 1/4” coax speakers in the backbox.

alternately - Flipper fidelity is kind of pricey but they are REALLY worth it because you can dial in the bass better. That takes things up about 10 notches

Consider the Flipper Fidelity setup. Easy plug and play and reasonably priced. I buy most of these items at Pinball Life and never had an issue. Good Luck!