I'm at the office, so I can't verify, but for some reason my gut is wanting me to say, "Try waiting 5 ball searches.". Of course, if you're going to try that, just go into Gumball Test.

when im playing the twilight zone and lock a ball or 2 but dont get the multi ball and the game ends the balls stay locked and when i start a new game they stay up there and i would be playing with only 1 or 2 balls in the kickout till i get the multi ball. If i turn the machine off next time i turn it on it releases the balls before i can start a game. I have a bally corvette pinball as well and if you lock the balls but dont get the multi it releases them once the game is over and they go back down to the kickout. it wont let you start a new game till all the balls are in the kickout. is there a reason why the twilight zone does not release the balls at the end of the game like the corvette machine?

also the balls dont "stage" on the magnets like some peoples do when the multi ball starts. my game only has the 2 magnets, but i have the 9.4h rom. does it not stage because i only have the 2 magnets? and if so is there anyone out there who sells a third magnet kit?

Correct in a 2 magnet game the balls aren't staged onto the magnets.

There is a bit of work to do to install the 3rd magnet - this website might be worth reading http://gameroom.flipperwinkel.nl/games/dmdgames/tz/3rdmag/index_e.htm I couldn't find any kits available in my search

Looks like its quite a bit of work. Probably hold off on that mod for now lol

Any idea about the balls at the end of the game? Should they not release from the lock?

I reckon it's a Pat Lawlor thing, same happens on Funhouse with the locked balls staying put unless you turn off/turn on the game.

It's how it was programmed. If you want more details than that, you'd need to talk to one of the designers.

Note that the game will operate the same, regardless. You start a game with two balls in lock, you still have to lock enough balls to start multiball normally.

ya it still works correctly regardless, i just thought it was weird that the balls stayed in the lock on the twilight zone but release at the end of the game on my corvette. same manufacturer, different designers

Can anyone identify this part that I think is from TZ?.....the metal deflector piece, not the yellow clock. Thanks!

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Looks like it's mounted at the Dead End hole under the powerfield. Either that, or it's mounted at the hole to the gumball subway. (Not at game, just going from memory.)

Dead end. Mounts from under the playfield.

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Well, thanks, My Dudes!

If you ever wondered if it was possible, yes you can combine Davi s #TZ ramp loop mod with the classic slot machine mod. It works fine for the regular steel balls. Rarely the powerball gets stuck under the slot machine ( not heavy enough, so not enough velocity to both roll the machine and starts the loop ) but shacking the pinball allows the both the ball and game to go on without titling. Worth it imho for private usage. Thanks Davi for customizing your loop to try this combo for me. ( without the slot machine the loop works every time and it is cool as already covered by others )

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Davi's spiral ramp iz da katz ass ! I can hardly wait to install !

To me the slot machine is over rated - now Compy's / Jimmy's back box display mod - now there's a class A mod as well !

Titian's Starry side blades are going to fit into the plan and "tie the room together" just fine as well !

I added new LED lights from Comet and then upgrade to both GI and LED OCD board. The results are outstanding. The GI strings now fade nice an low, and make game play much better. The lighting changes are subtle, but make the overall experience more enjoyable. The kit I purchased from Comet was outstanding. All of the LED bulbs were color matched, and in individual bags making bulbs easy to locate and install. This saved me a ton of time and because each bulb was customized for the machine the playfield looks great. Without the OCD boards, the bulbs would flicker and cause a strobing effect making gameplay more difficult. This really added to the increase of the price of upgrading to LED, but will help keep the machine cooler and used about half the watts.

I just ordered a new clock LED board as well. This will be the last part I need to replace and then everything will be working 100%.

This older post describes the problem I am seeing, but doesn't list a solution:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twilight-zone-gumball-took-my-ball-amp-won-t-give-it-back#post-4963979

I noticed my gumball machine does not have the diverter installed so I think instead of the ball dropping, the balls just rotate. The gumball shot works most of the time, but when it doesn't, the gumball doesn't release a ball and goes into ball finder mode and never recovers. I have to use the test mode to empty balls and reload them. I ordered a diverter and will see if this helps.

TZ really benefits from the OCD boards when using LEDs. The dimming with the GI OCD is really good and I didn't realize how much I was missing until I installed it.

Does anyone know someone making custom mini-playfield replacement lamps in the US? Something similar to these: https://www.pinballdecals.com/TwilightZoneLampPage.html

I'm being quoted $180 for this mod (shipping is being quoted at $25!) and I'm having a hard time justifying the costs. I'm not seeing many alternatives out there so figured I'd throw it out to the group! Any help is appreciated as always!

Pinball mod.com on ebay
60 bucks. I have one and it looks great.

I have seen that option but it doesn't include the lamps or wiring, so how difficult was the install? I like the idea of a more "plug and play" solution but I also recognize this may be one where the extra effort could be worth the $ saved.

It is a little tedious. I bought a small rivet press and it wasn't easy. If I were to do it again, I'd buy stainless screws and nuts and assemble it that way...

I did the small screws option. Super easy and still looks great. I ordered new bulb holders then desoldered the old lamp wiring and moved it over. Then screwed them down. I used nut 4-40 ESN and Machine Screw 4-40 x 1/4" p-ph (or 3/8" I don't recall which I used on this one) (from Marco)

If you order from pinballmod.com they have a 5% discount. (vs ebay costs) That is where I got mine (and piano) in 2018.

My TZ arrives in about 6 hours!

Can I join the club!!!

As long as you provide photographic proof.

Hey guys, I picked up a TZ a bit ago that I planned on going through and cleaning up and repairing a bit. The game boots up but does have some issues. I had to drill out the lock as the keys were lost. Display is acting up so likely needs new ribbon cables, etc. I see one coil bracket is broken at first glance. I really don't have the time to go through it and sort it out as I have just moved into a new house and have other business projects going on right now as well. Not really sure what to price it at and was looking for some opinions. The playfield is quite nice and boards look very nice and original. Cabinet is decent. Game was apparently sitting in an Elk's lodge for quite some time as the rubbers are dried out and such. If any interest in talking to me about it pm me

Here’s my street cred am I in?

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What a game room!

Yes. We decided to add pins as an amenity this year

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Amenity? LOL I think you decided to add all the other stuff as amenity as pins were the thing . Nice place! I would spend quite a few hours drinking, eating and getting mad at nice pins.

Just came home with my very own TZ. Super nice condition. Glad to join the club.

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I took a slow motion video of my game rejecting a lock / extra ball shot. I was expecting to see the ball not making the corner smoothly, but to my surprise the ball was traveling all the way around and bouncing off the deflector that's supposed to drop the ball downward. The simple act of bending this deflector backwards seems to have completely fixed the issue. I seem to remember individuals in this thread talking about using foam or magnet strips to slow the ball down, I would suggest trying this before going to that trouble.

Just playing my new (to me) TZ and when the ball rolls down the wireform leading to the power upper playfield it hits the metal scoop that dumps it onto the playfield. Sometimes it bounces a couple of times and the scoop flips before the ball is settled and it can send the ball in weird directions. I was tempted to add some foam to the scoop but I don't think I could get much room for much thickness there. I also thought about adding some rubbers or something to the wireform to slow it down. Anyone have a method for this?

You can add a magnet to the backside of the diverter to help with the bounces (won't affect Powerball obviously).

Here's a link to show some options for how this can be done:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tz-tip-cheap-diverter-magnet-mod-works-great

Yes the magnet mod works fine

Perfect thanks. Good 'ol pinside, someone's always been there before you...

Also saw the nice sticker that goes on the scoop and ordered it.

Actually, on my machine, it _did_ affect the Powerball - the added mass of the magnets to the diverter greatly lessened the PB bouncebacks.

I tried the neodymium magnets and found them to be way too strong. I would advise using a less powerful magnet like the ones Doostur referenced in that thread.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Empire-All-Purpose-Magnets-2-Pack-2708/203121065

If you get the correct Neo Magnet they are not too strong. See my post from last month. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twilight-zone-owners-club/page/191#post-6044066 Which I think is the best solution for bounce outs.

Interesting... I have the magnet mod and a strong powerball shot on my machine can sometimes bounce back several inches.

A magnet will hold a ceramic ball!?

I guess today is the day I'm stocking up on magnets. This will make the third one I've ordered today. I have a little piece of foam at the top of the ramp that slows down the ball that my kickbacks are pretty minimal, but I might as well get it playing perfectly.

I had a neo magnet (about 1/2" dia x 3/16" th) and spaced it with heavy duty mounting tape (~1/8"). Seemed to work fine but I don't have a lot of plays on it. I think I am okay with it not working on the ceramic ball, that is infrequent enough to not bother me. It looks pretty discrete.

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I am kind of getting the idea this is a fussy game. I have made about ten little tweeks already. Mine is in really nice shape but maybe the previous owners weren't as interested in fine-tuning it. Do you guys find that once you have everything working it stays that way or is it a pin that requires a lot of low-level adjustments?

There is a lot going on in TZ, period. I wouldn't say it's any more fussy then any other machine out there. It's like fine tuning an engine. Most people are going to be find driving it stock. We're just the nuts that are willing to do the extra work to really bring out the best possible performance.

No, but the other poster was saying on their machine the mass of the magnet had a dampening effect on the powerball, but i don't really notice that on mine.

Once I got mine dialed in, I haven't really had to tweak it much beyond that. Just maintenance and any additional mods...

Just finished removing about 20 ghosting leds. I still need to do a flipper rebuild but otherwise everything seems to be working good.

I think it is correct that there is just a lot going on in this game so there are simply more things to go wrong.

Super fun though, got my first door wizard mode (Lost in Time?).

I played this a bunch when I was a teenage but apparently I forgot everything because it is like playing a brand new game.

I was going to say! Sounds a little bizarre. Only reasoning I could fathom was a huge amount of iron in the ceramic

Thanks Davi! Got the spiral on tonight.

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