Love these decals from pinball pimp!

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Has anyone experienced this before. When I go into empty balls sometime the gumball will not turn on only the trough. Other times both the trough and gumball will activate at the same time as per normal. If I get the above fault all I do is exit the operation and then activate it again and all goes well.

I have a lazy flipper issue as well that I'll address which may be connected I don't know

Lazy flipper is usually flipper opto needing cleaned or replaced.
Not sure about your other issues

Thank you will look at opto replacement as have tried new coil, eos adjustment, cleaning of opto etc to no avail. Is it a standard opto? I think I only have to clock optos which may be different

They are just on the other side of your flipper buttons on inside of the cab

So I am deep into a very detailed restore on my TZ that had a gorgeous playfield until I pulled up some Mylar and pulled one of my insert faces with it. I remember seeing someone makes decals for inserts or what is the best way to deal with this. I am beyond pissed as I opted not to do a playfield swap because the playfield was so nice. Can this be fixed without this insert sticking out like a sore thumb?

Thanks Green machine they're the ones. I did notice one thing just now. The flipper works well if my other 5 games are powered off. I gave a reset fix it pcb on this game so do you think maybe I'm having voltage issues with this flipper? Either way I have to address this reset problem as well

Hmm reach out to Coyote he knows all things TZ

Don't know yet everything you've done, but:
1. Have you switched your Flipper Opto boards? If not, switch them, and see what happens to the issue.
2. If #1 doesn't change anything, replace the fuse for that flipper. (All flippers share the same voltage source - but are wired and fused separately, unlike playfield coils that are daisy-chained, each flipper has it's own +50VDC feed.)

Powerball Mania and LITZ are heavy power draws. Since the flipper buttons fire BOTH all 4 flippers AND both magnets.
There is a menu setting, A.2 29, "Low Line" that was implement to help this specific issue. Essentially - yes, if your household (or back then, operator's location) had lower line voltage, setting this to 'Yes' disables the UL flipper, to help minimize power draw.

Doesn't that make it very hard to hit a piano shot during multiball?

Powerball Mania and LITZ. Not regular Multiball. The former two have no Piano shot and HAVE a Powerfield Jackpot so magnets are activated. The latter has a Piano Jackpot, but the Powerfield Magnets are never activated.

It's amazing how well you know the game! I have only had mine a week and it seems like it's a long road ahead to figure it all out but a fun road...

I have no social life.

BTW - How much voltage do you have at the wall with the 5 games on and off?? Maybe loose lugs at the breaker?

In LITZ, isn't the piano shot a jackpot? I recall it being 40-50 million or something like that. Thought pretty much everything is worth something in LITZ - ramps, jackpots, targets, etc. I find it hard to do anything in LITZ. All the balls end up colliding in the middle of the playfield making it hard to hit any shots.

Okay - a summary..
In Powerball Mania & LITZ, the only Jackpot is:
Defeating The Power will award you 50million. (*,**) Once defeated - you get the jackpot - you have to shoot the main ramp to re-light the Powerfield (and therefore, the Jackpot.)
In Door Multiball, the only Jackpot is:
Shoting the Piano while it's lit red. Once you successfully get this Jackpot, you can re-light it by shooting the Camera.

* - During Beta-testing 9.4H, a friend was playing and got LITZ. Somehow, he DID ALSO have the Piano Jackpot shot lit. I have never seen it happen again, and Ted was never able to reproduce, so it was.. "a known incident". If someone ever here figures out how to reproduce it, let me know!
** - Because the game has no "successful" shot made to the Powerfield switch, a Powerball Jackpot is awarded when the Top Powerfield opto is closed, and then within 5 seconds, the Camera switch is seen closed. So, this means that if you have a ball up on the mini powerfield, and have it break the top opto but NOT fall through the hole, and then with another ball, shoot into the Camera (or Dead End!), you will get awarded a Powerball Jackpot. So, during LITZ? Keep a ball up in the Powefield, and just keep hitting and breaking that top opto. And use the other balls to shoot the Camera or Dead End, and rack up points.

During LITZ, the Piano shot is "Odd Change".

Anytime the Yellow or Red light is not lit (i.e. Any time you shoot the Piano and are not awarded a Jackpot or Door Panel is not awarded), you will get 'Odd Change' award, yes.

Screw it, I just ordered a new clock board with superflux color changers

Wow thank you very much to all with suggestions. I think I have some more important information about my issue. I tested further yesterday after playing the game while it was working fine and I got to Litz and several mballs Inc powerball BTW, I decided to leave the game powered on and idle for at least an hour and only tz was on no other game. I came back and had a game and the upper left flipper was weak and terrible. Piano shots were impossible.

I then powered it off for an hour and then on and while playing I switch one by one my other games on and the tz played perfectly. I played another 4 great games. I then left all games on for an hour and went back to tz. The flipper was crap. So I'm thinking something is heating up and failing, but what?

Am I on to something or lost? Thanks

I had a lower flipper that was fine, then horribly weak, then fine. Nothing to do with other games being on. I changed both optos on the flipper button board, and all flippers are now rockin'.

Oh BTW I haven't tried swapping flipper pcbs. Not sure if I tried low line but would prefer to fix the problem on the game if it's there. Remember I have a resetting issue that is being cared for by the 5v fix it pcb. I've replaced bridges rects and wire links a whole ago and so am a little lost on what else needs to be replaced

Your flipper opto board. As I mentioned, swap them. 99.9% sure the issue will swap to the UR flipper.

Thanks will try today and get back to you.

I just tested going straight to LITZ with glass off and confirmed you only get odd change for piano shot. Tried it several times and no jackpots. I swear I got a jackpot one time long ago but no way to say for sure. Good to know next time I get to LITZ. Instead of trying to get piano shots, I will try to get balls to upper pf. Amazing that there is still things to learn on a game I have owned for a while.

Likely an opto on your flipper board is dirty, or starting to fail, and causing some current to flow through to the coil, heating it and it's driving transistor up.

If switching them DOES NOT change it, then you have a bad transistor leaking current on your Fliptronics board, and it'll have to be fixed.

A quick update and I won't say it's all fixed just yet. More testing needed. But I switched the two flipper opto pcbs over and played a few games without any fault. Then I left the game idle on for a couple of hours and the issue did not appear on either side. Did a few more play tests to be sure.

I then switched them back as originally and play tested OK. Left the game idle again with all my games on for an hour and tested again. No issues. Left idle for another 3 hours and played without a problem. All flippers strong.

My conclusion is maybe a bad connection on the pcb and reseating the plug resolved the issue. But I will continue to monitor this game and keep you posted. Thanks again guys you've been great to me

That’s great! In my experience 9 out 10 times it’s something more simple like that causing problems

Looks like I have something to do with my extra time off..... Shipped from Spain incredibly fast!

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Yup, could be a number of things, but - good. Keep an eye on it, and have fun!

I like the weathered look of that piano. Where’d you buy it please?

Ok, is there a way to get that lampshade plug off without learning how to remove the mini playfield? I can't quite reach it..

I have the same piano. I agree it looks great. Great service and delivery

No, as I believe the molex plugs are UNDER the powerfield. So, even if you could get to the post, you'd need to unplug it.

Yeah, the connector is like an inch too far back....little more slack is all I needed!

Laretrotienda on ebay

Ok, piano mod.... 10 minutes install because I cut the metal connectors off the bulbs to neaten it up. Love the mod. I'm scared to move it lower and closer to the edge of that scoop, as I saw someone post pics of their piano all chipped up. Not sure if it will stay like this or what I'll do.
Lampshade. Came with rivets, didn't know I needed a rivet gun. Went to home Depot and got one, took me a half hour to figure out the hole in the bulb socket was bigger than the mount hole in the shade, so had to drill a smaller hole so it would work. Had to disassemble the friggin mini playfield to get to the wire plug, then the mount hole at the base of the lampshade bracket was too small for the screw that goes thru it. Drilled that bigger. I like the way it looks, but my rivet job is barely acceptable and given the effort it took to install, I would have gone with a decal and been done with it. It's in now, and it looks nice and shiny, so all is well that ends well. Clear Titan rubbers going on after dinner
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Hardly any rubbers on here
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Wow you don’t hang about do you Straight in there doing the rubbers etc. I’ve been procrastinating on removing the mini playfield to install those switches etc for weeks.

And yeah that lamp, as great as it is, has some challenges. I wasn’t expecting to have to roll out the hole for the screw, that really should be sorted by the seller. And riveting - I had to send mine off to get done as I don’t have a rivet gun.

Is it just me, or is $80 crazy for this mod?

Well, i hate the red plastic McDonald's meal toy piano, and I don't have the patience or skills to make one myself. This one looks awesome and I like how the bulbs illuminate the translucent scroll section when it's lit for jackpot or piano mode. I think this game looks like something is missing over that ugly bracket and the piano fits great there. So.... I figured you only live once, screw it
Plus,.that mod and the lampshade mod included shipping from Spain that got to NJ in four days.

Yup, each mod is personal preference, and most don't add to the resale value of the pin beyond the most popular mods like color DMD.

We each chose our own with our individual time available to suit our taste, budget, and skill level.

That piano mod looks awesome. I don't think $80 is crazy for something hand crafted and detailed like that.

I have a very similar one, maybe the same. How did you fit the yellow and red bulbs into it? Bulbs fit very loose in mine and don't like to stay in. I tried wrapping the base of the bulb with a bulb condom. That helps give it a little extra width and grip but still a pain keeping the bulbs in place. I would hot glue them in but that would make it difficult to service the clock.

Same issue here.... My led bulbs wouldn't fit in, so I switched to smaller led bulbs and cut the metal brackets off the sockets (which were kinda weighing them down and pulling them out. I put some electrical tape around the bulb and wedged it in. I am going to check on them soon when my ingo board shows up and I have to remove the clock.

That particular piano mod is IMO the nicest looking one - it can be hard to get the bulbs in there - make sure have them in there securely. Also I put super bright bulbs in mine because the piano roll that they sit behind can obscure the light.

I have a TZ for sale if you're in the Chicago area (or willing to drive out). Not looking for trades. It's a real nice one I think. I'm in need of some space so I can re-finish a basement.

SOLD!

Machine - For Sale

Twilight Zone Archived

Used - shows wear but 100% working and clean - “This is my Twilight Zone pinball machine that I've owned for around 6-7 years. It took me over a year to find one in as good as condition as this. The playfield is really nice in...”

2020-03-14

Northbrook, IL

sturner

6,000 (OBO)

Archived after: 6 days

Viewed: 832 times

Status: Sold (amount private)

Contributed to Pinside