From what I've read the label says it contains: aliphatic hydrocarbons, water, silica, kerosene, and dimethylpolysiloxane. Parafin waxes made from long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, so looks like Millwax is a petroleum based parafin wax.

I refuse to use millwax, gave my bottle away and only use novus2 then Grand Blitz One wax now.

not a wax you'd use to protect things. makes nice candles though. its mostly silicone. Have fun with that if you ever need to do any touch ups.

its not going to hurt them, outside of having a much higher petroleum distillate concentration. But it certainly isn't going to protect them.

Comet cleanser was used by pinball operators for years too.

And over the years we keep learning better products to use to protect our games.

I prefer things that don't eat the container they are in, lift the edges of mylar, melt the bottoms of plastic star posts.

LTG : )

I remember Pinball Pete from phila. Mentioning buffing your Playfield with pure silicon spay or liquids.I have tried it and it does work well.

working on my TZ..where can i get the right size and strength magnet for diverter?

Thx

https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsbally-magnet-coil-20-9247.html

LTG : )

thx lloyd... actually looking for the little magnet that you secure on top of the diverter to keep ball from flying off....but you are the best as always

ebay.com link: itm

I found that the magnet from an old dead hard drive worked well. You won't know what shape you have until you crack a drive open though and sometimes they are awkwardly shaped.

(Having a magnet is better than none, but I still hate that darn diverter, the Powerball can bounce right out of it. I'm thinking about how to make a one-way wire gate mod.)

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20 for a magnet. They also have a gum all light kit for 120. Ouch. May grab bothb I like the light kit and anything that brightens the back

Go to Home Depot, it’s like 2 for $5.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Magnet-3-8-in-x-1-2-x-1-7-8-in-Heavy-Duty-Block-Magnet-2-per-Pack-96294/203613126

Thx!!!

I have an ingo clock board dating back to 2010. The board has cool white LEDs in it. I would like to change the bulbs to warm white but am intimidated by opening it (for now). Does anyone know if an 2010 ingo era board has socketed bulbs that can be changed or are they soldered in?

Just putting my feelers out there: gonna swap my playfield. Are there any “plug and play” 3rd magnet installation kits available anywhere?

socketed

Don't be intimidated. Get in there and get'er done. Pinball maintenance and repair is way easier than you think. The only advice that you must absolutely abide is:

1. Turn off the game.
2. Take your time (this should be#1)
3. Use the right parts
4. Do your research
5. Plan to screw up a few times
6. Feel cool after replacing a dead diode on a coil and a transistor that blew up because of it!
7. When a nut you've removed disappears into the machine, remember that each machine comes with a gnome that steals loose hardware. Swearing only encourages them.

You're now ready to change the lighting in your clock.

I don't think there are. I was planning the same thing but ended up back to the original 2 magnets.

I thought I heard something running around after I dropped a lock nut! Dang those little fellas are quick!! Must live somewhere under the transformer.

Totally. Some speculate they're under there because it's warmer...

My TZ has started adding players mid-game. I searched for past posts here on the topic and came up empty.

Running 9.2

Most recent game it happened as the ball went right ramp to ball drop, flippered to into piano hole.

This time it only added 2nd player. The day before, it added to 4 players in succession.

Question I have is to see if this is a board issue, connection issue, power issue or what.

I do not believe it is something in the game/ start button being hit given I was not nudging things when it happened this last time or previously. I also shook the game while not
playing to see if it started a game and did not.

Any thoughts or recommendations from similar experience appreciated.

Go into switch test mode and see if the start button switch is being triggered. Even leave it on in switch test mode for while and see if it happens to get triggered

Any battery damage on the CPU ?

LTG : )

No damage, batteries were previously moved off the board.
Thanks for the reply Lloyd.

I did that as well with no issue. I have Genevea & Lock switch errors. Given the location for both, I have not tackled the fixes yet.
Tonight I played a few more games and it did the same thing. Seems to be occurring with piano scoop activity, but not always. It is hard to see when with the player addition call sometimes getting covered by game voice calls. Just testing piano scoop or ball drop, doesn't seem to make it happen.

Going to try to test more and see if I can isolate to a single contact switch/ opto via trial & error I guess.

If you, LTG and possibly Coyote have not run across it before, I guess I’ll be stuck with 4 player games for awhile

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Most of the time when you're getting switch closures you don't want, it's not going to be a problem on the boards, but a matrix problem from playfield wiring.

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Horseflesh… Thanks this direction helps.

I have had bad connections in connectors under the playfield that has given me headaches particularly around the opto board.

The start button and piano switches are on the same row, so maybe you have a shorted diode causing the issue and creating phantom closures of the start button - here is some background theory

Can you take pic of the switch matrix (in switch test mode)?

manny65-

The start button and piano switches are….

I will do that and get back to you. Might be a day or so.

Thanks

On Indiana Jones Pinball Adventure (similar genre WPC, had this issue when a diode got bent into the middle lead of a switch that was exposed to getting hit with the ball. You can diagnose it all in switch tests (try to hit a bunch of switches to get the start switch to light up), but I’d start by looking for bent up diodes that could be shorting on something.

I will take a look as you describe. Thanks

Quick Questions:
1. Is there a 12v GI bulb output
2. if so where is it
3. if not is there an open J pin on one of the boards to draw 12v dc from J105, J105-4, J105-5, J106, J107-1 are not used but do they carry a current?

Please and thank you

No.

LTG : )

My TZ recently has not been sensing the powerball in the trough, therefore not triggering powerball mode when the ball is served to the shooter lane. What is the usual cause of this and some tests or things to look for. Starting to get annoyed with playing with the challenge of the powerball but not getting the extra points out of it. Thanks.

Tests - Switch Edge - place a steel ball next to the sensor at the end of the ball trough - does switch #26 report on the screen ? If not fix that. If so, check your other ball trough switches and shooter lane switches.

It can't sense the powerball ( ceramic ) it goes by the other switches and sensor to see if a steel ball went by or not.

LTG : )

As LTG mentioned, check that first. This is fairly common issue with TZ and in many cases is a faulty connection point between the little cable and the sensor and board it goes to. Look under the playfield and check the connections. Wiggle it and/or you can bend the prongs slightly to make better connection. Some solder directly to both boards and eliminate the connection points.

Thanks for both replies. I think I'll test the switches and then take out the sensor parts involved, poke around on them with my meter and add some solder like you said where it may be needed. Will report back if I have success.

Having the same problem. Following

Over the course of working on a few different TZs I've found that the little eddy sensor also appears to be quite sensitive to it's proximity to the ball. To make matters a bit more difficult, you don't want the ball touching the sensor when it's installed either. As it doesn't take long before the ball pounding into the sensor simply breaks it. And it's not just the 1st ball in the trough that hammers it either, think Newton's Cradle.

Oh and since the balls don't settle in the trough in the same position when the PF is tilted up, it makes it that much more of a pain to adjust it. All around it's a lot of fiddling to get it right.

Does it not recognize the powerball after full plunge? There are two eddy sensors. One in the shooter lane and the other in the subway. Like others said, it triggers by steel balls and not the ceramic ball. Usually the shooter lane one is the issue and not the subway one. You want to make sure it's close to the ball without touching and tight so it does not wiggle loose. Most recommend soldering the two little boards together if it keeps being an issue. This eliminates the connector which appears to be source of issue.

There is a lot of vibration going on in the ball trough and sometimes all that is needed is to re-adjust the sensor since it has moved out of place.
When adjusting, do so against the power ball since it is slightly larger than the steel balls.
If you adjust it so it nearly touches the steel ball it will get nocked out of place by the power ball.
Instead adjust it so you can just get a piece of paper between the sensor and the power ball and then tighten it down hard. If the screw hole in the wood is starting to give way, put a piece of a toothpick in the hole for the screw to grab and you will be all good.

Can the bulb in the extra ball button be replaced or need I buy a new button? I thought it could be replaced but in trying to take apart the button it’s not budging and doesn’t seem perhaps like it’s designed to take apart. Either than or the plastic insert that holds the switch is really stuck. Thx

Yes. 555 in there.

Leave the switch on it, more to grab. YANK, TWIST, PULL, it can be stubborn. Snaps back into place hard too.

LTG : )

Yeah it can be replaced. Mine gave me fits at first too.

I replaced the slot machine scoop with a Mantis build. https://mantispinball.com/product/twilight-zone-slot-machine-scoop/

It is really nice and solid build! It has improved the consistency of the angle the ball hits the right flipper. The issue I am having now is the screws for the slot kicker mounting plate keep on getting loose and the kicker gets misaligned. I wish the kicker was mounted with 3 or 4 screws rather than 2. What have you used for preventing the screws from coming out of the wood. The drilled holes have become enlarged - wood epoxy and re-drill? Are there any mods for the kicker plate. I looked at the Mantis one but it is the same as the original. https://mantispinball.com/product/twilight-zone-slot-kicker-plate/

On a side note, I played TZ a bunch of times in the past week since I got Alien in September. TZ stands the test of time. I love this game.

If the screw holes are enlarged, then you can use a wooden match or toothpick to partially fill the hole. With this technique you don't necessarily need to glue it however given it is holding the kicker and will be subject to vibrations & stress, it would probably to best to use a wood glue. Filling the hole with an epoxy and re-drilling is an alternative but not necessarily required if the hole is just enlarged as you have described