LOL

Appears I need an EL wire inverter, now to find one.

Looks like I’m missing a lamp. I was going to get one of those spiral signs and noticed I didn’t have the socket to attach to.

I can run one, but I’m not sure what it will connect to. I can run off the power ball insert, but wanted to see if anyone knows where it normally hooks up to.

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That light if for the spiral if you do not have the original wiring then run it off the orange spiral insert. The factory wires come from under the mini playfield just like the mini playfield top right opto. You may find the wires cut under the mini playfield.

There is a plug that the Mini PF plugs into that has the wired needed for the control lamp. Should be Yellow/Grey and Red/Brown lamp wires.

Something odd just started and it only seems to happen during LITZ. When the power(right ramp is made) I get a continuous powerfield switch triggering.

I’ve checked the switches and all work perfectly in test and perfectly during normal battle the power and powerball mania.

Anyone have this happen? I currently have the mini playfield out and I still don’t see anything out of place.

Welp, after a good clean/wax and reinstalling the mini playfield- I seem to have fixed the issue.(hate not knowing) I was assuming one of the diodes for the powerfield switches was bad, looking at the matrix the playfield enter switch is before those but reguardless still doesn’t make sense why it wouldn’t continuously trigger during battle the power or powerball mania.

I didn't follow what you meant by powerfield switches, and I was thinking of the magnets. You meant the microswitches around the sides of the mini playfield.

Those 2 modes use the powerfield, and probably they are continuously active then, since during MB, the pin might not track if there is a ball currently up there or not.

You likely have a flakey microswitch that will start acting up again. You can use the switch test in the diagnostics menu to test it. Knock on the mini playfield and click the switches over and over and see if you can reproduce it. The problem will likely return. Maybe the opto at the top center is acting up (not the entrance).

Yeah, I have a feeling one of the micro switches for the upper playfield was flakey/stuck closed. Tried mimicking it in test with no luck. Ill try again by banging on it. I’m guessing the entrance because that switch turns the magnets on and the triggering occurred as the ball entered.. But wouldn’t the exit(top) opto just signal the jackpot?(or wait doesn’t the switch below the playfield register the jackpot)? Any who, I’m thinking/hoping you’re right about the micro switch.

I messed with it for a bit tonight. It looked like the lamp was cut off and never soldered back. The molex connector was still plugged and the yellow and red wire was there. I soldered it into a lamp. It works, but when a bulb is plugged in, the slot machine and gum all lights stay lit or get brighter, so I’m kind of lost.

Attached are the two connections I’m referring too (image from google)

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Lamp matrix issues. You have a shorted, bypassed, or missing diode.

There is an opto in the top center area, which triggers when the ball goes in the top center area, and not necessarily out the top.

So you said you put in a new lamp. I assume that it was a new socket that you installed. Did you also install the diode? Coyote is correct when he says it might be a diode. Looking at the photo you provided it appears the red wire gets the diode and the diode band should be facing away from the socket. If you implement that fix, your problem should go away.

I didn’t even think about the diode, whoops. Thanks everyone for pointing it out.

Correct, the top opto does not award the Jackpot - it DOES start a short (~5 second) timer though. If, during that timer, the Camera switch is triggered, THEN the Jackpot is awarded.

And some people call this a bug, I call it learning how to take advantage of the game -
Start powerball mania. Just keep a ball on the Mini playfield - occasionally hitting the top opto. While all the balls on the main playfield? Try to get as many as you freakin' can in the Camera and Dead End. Jackpots galore.

Edit: Yes, in LITZ, too.

Damn... Now I have to go try this!

Easier said than done - but that strategy can definitely help out for a big LITZ even if you only get one or two Jackpots!

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Well, looks like I will be selling/trading my restored Twilight Zone. But, I have it listed very high, essentially what I have in it. Actually, I have over $12K in it. Take a look and tell me what you think is fair market value. Of course, if I don't sell, I still have one the greatest pins ever. It's posted on Pinside.

Here's a link to many pictures and videos:
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0rJ0DiRHJujABv

Here's a link to a YouTube video of the pictures and videos all together:

When I first got the pin, I had issues like many others with the clock. With Coyote's and others here, I was able to get to the root of the issues and now I have a 100% working TZ. Clock has worked flawlessly since.

I have a very small collection and I need to make room for my TMNT LE coming soon.

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That's an astonishingly good condition TZ, Stan. But IMO it will be sitting for quite a while at that price. It's not a sample game. No 3rd magnet. Really beautiful though. Best of luck to ya!

Ah, you have good tastes. We are in the Houdini forum, too. I thought I recognized your avatar.
I'm OK sitting on it for awhile, I just will have to figure out how to fit 5 games in a 4 game space.

Hope you are not going to regret selling such a nice TZ. I would sell one of your other games before TZ but that's just me. I'm not really sure what the price is for a really nice TZ with tons of mods. There are definitely people out there looking for top quality pins and will pay. I would keep your price and be open to offers. Realistically, I think you are going to have to come down in price a bit but you never know.

I am now a proud owner of a Tz.

And clearly what I meant to say was "are you out of your mind selling that TZ!?"

Houdini, TZ, an original MB and Elvira 3 are my grail pins (didn't even know Elvira was on the list until I bought it). I have fit 6 games in a 5 game space.. so it's achievable, although lemma tell ya, working on them is a real pain!

Beautiful TZ!!!

Yeah - I have a ton of money in mine as well and am sure it will be hard to get most of that back if I ever sell.

TZ is still very coveted and and I'm sure a very limited amount of them are in the condition your's is. Good luck with the sale!

I’ve got a question for the group. What coils are you running on the lower flippers of your machine? Mine came with 11629 coils (the strongest coils). But the manual specs out 15411 coils. Should I swap mine out while I’m restoring the game? My existing coils are German replacements. I was going to leave them in as an acknowledgement of the games overseas tour of duty, but if they are the wrong coils, they may have to go.

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15411 are the correct coils for the lower TZ flippers.

With that lineup, TZ would not be my first choice to sell. Ask yourself which pin will be easier/cheaper to reobtain later if I sell it? Maybe consult your Ouiji board...

Took me a second....LOL. But, Houdini is actually one of my favorites, even more than TZ.

I’m mortified to post this but... looked down and realized my door was open, thus cutting power to the 50v. Ayyyyy. I am a noob. Game working!!!!

Houdini is “easy” to find now that there were a few in the marketplace. But what happens in a year or two when AP has moved on, and there are no more NIB, and the owners have realized what a killer game it is? None for sale. 600+ built vs thousands for other titles.

Finally got around to take 2, with a diode and everything works as it should. Thanks again for all of the replies.

So would you sell your TZ before your Houdini if that were the choice before you?

My particular game is a sample, with a lot of differences from a standard game, so that would be a pretty tough decision. If I had a standard TZ, yes, I would do it - they come up all the time.

*scoff* ... And here I thought you were cool.

Searched for 'gumball':

http://pinbits2.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_2&products_id=13

http://pinbits2.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_2&products_id=4

Lol! I'd buy it back

So who can help me out with understanding the 4-way combo? I've gotten that a few times in the past few days and not sure I've seen it before. I frequently get a 3-way combo award but I've been doing the 4 way by accident recently. Just rebuilt the game and it's playing way differently than i remember. Harder too!

http://www.digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/3601-Need-help-with-the-4-way-combo-shot

Thanks! Man, that's tricky

Right, this a strange flow.

I just have a white led strip in there around the inside lip. It's not interactive, but it looks great and cost a couple dollars.

Happy Independence Day!

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I’m finally in this club!!! I’ve wanted to join for a while, but never got to it. However, this showed up in my garage yesterday. A couple of good games had to leave to make space and money for it, but now it’s here. This copy is stunning. And the guy that did it up did a really nice job on it. The one thing I don’t like is the colored lights, but I’ll pop them out soon enough.

The big benefit is that although I’ve played the game over the years, I honestly don’t know it that well. So this is a journey of discovery for me. And so far, I’m loving it.

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Gratz on your new TZ. Looks awesome! Personally I like some of the colored lights. I think it gives each game a little personality. But there are a lot in that game. Either way, enjoy!

All:

I have a restore going on my TZ. I am recording a lot of the work and where I am sourcing things from. I am also documenting my mistakes and lessons learned (a lot of them!)

Either way, it could be a good resource for a TZ owner that wants to do a restore and/or mod his machine. If you go to the Google Sheet, make sure to check out each tab. There is a lot of info on there....and growing

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cpPt7E9-jpGFBFcxws7F77GraEo-IWlafqXq96BlAQw/edit?usp=sharing

Here is a pic of my project right now. I just put the playfield in after installing the mirrors. I had molex'd all of the coils. Should make the rest of the job a lot easier (and to maintain). Love this project right now.

Dave

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Congrats! TZ is an incredible game to own. Incredible how detailed the game is. I've owned mine for several years now and still learning things about the game.

Molexing the coils is a nice touch.

3rd spiral magnet too!