I'm experiencing a weird bug lately. During some games, the Power "Hahaha" sound starts playing even when random switches not tied to The Power are hit. I first noticed this after a BTP multiball mode: Even after the mode was over, the "Haha" played every time the Right Flipper was hit. This happened again today. I am using the 9.4 ROM and have since I got this game in 2006, but I have not noticed this before. Is it a known bug, or something more sinister?

Thanks. I tried searching but might have been using the wrong keywords.

I mounted them remotely. Is corrosion the reason for your concern?

I rebooted and got a switch error for "Power Payoff 2" at 65. Doing manual checks, I noted that the switch at 66 (Middle R 5 Million) when tested was activating both "Power Payoff 2" AND "Middle R 5 Million.

So I turned off and unplugged the machine a few minutes. When I rebooted there was no more error.

Has anyone else ever experienced this? Again, the trigger seemed to be the Power multiball that starts when you reload the Powerball. There is so much going on there (especially when you have the playfield AND flippers going) that i was almost like it broke the game's brain...

Copy that. Thanks!

Thanks. Honestly, I can't rule out some previous acid damage any time something like this happens. You clean that stuff up, swap components, etc, but in the back of your mind it's like cancer. You're wondering "what if it comes back???"

Question: I have one of those translights where the bulbs in the cabinet burned some time in the past (before I got it), leaving the back of the translight itself with that nice brown ashtray color. The front looks fine, but I'm wondering: can the stain on the back be cleaned at all, and if so, how? Is it even worth it to bother?

Thanks!

I suspected as much. Best to leave well enough alone. Thanks!

Congratulations! TZ has been my one and only pin for over a decade now. I am considering adding another soon, but I will never get rid of my first love. If you love the game and the theme it is hard to think of a better pin for the home. Enjoy!

Here's an irritating issue I've had for awhile: When a ball gets sent from the ball trough outhole kicker to the shooter, the ball (more often than not) strikes the little post and bounces back into the trough instead of going to the shooter. This happens sometimes 3-4 times before it finally gets to where it needs to go. Is this a leveling issue (the table seems level), something screwy with the kicker/trough itself, or just another quirk of this game? Looking for some ideas on where to start.

Thanks in advance!

Hmm. What is this wire gate you speak of? A cursory examination of my trough does not show one. Perhaps this is the issue...

Pic below. I also scanned Marco real quick: am I possibly missing this part, or another one?

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/12-6542

IMG_8660 (resized).JPG

I suppose so. The ball basically is striking the white rubber in the pic and going right back into the trough, then rinsing and repeating until it finds the correct angle. Some sort of gate WOULD make sense but I don't see a spot for one. Guess I'll go through the adventure of removing the apron and seeing what might be loose or off-kilter. Thanks for the help!

I've considered that. I am also wondering if using black rubber there might accomplish the same thing with less bounce back.

Thanks. I tried this and indeed it seems to work! I did try and do a search of the thread earlier, but it is possible I was using the wrong keywords.

Does that erase the default developer scores as well? Does it set all scores to zero?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-do-you-lower-default-high-scores

I found this thread showing how to manually lower each of the defaults but haven't had a chance to try it yet.

Fair enough. And indeed, holding Escape did not do this.

What DID work was to manually set the scores in the menu (link provided again below). I set the GC and top 4 scores down really low, like 10-6 million each. My wife and I then proceeded to play several rounds of absolutely WRETCHED pinball. The good news is, I'm the new Grand Champion with a blistering score of 132 million.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-do-you-lower-default-high-scores

I have two technical questions that I can not find the right answer for that I would like to pose:

1. My Gumball machine does not empty when I hit the "Empty Balls" setting on Tests. The machine works fine during play and I am not seeing any switch errors. Ideas?

2. I need to replace two of the connectors on the main board for J206/J208. These appear to be 9-pin .100 connectors. Are these the correct parts that I need to order?

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/5792-12116-09

And if so, how do they work? Do you just strip the existing wires and plug them in? They do not seem to be the crimping type that you see. If not these, would someone recommend a different method?

Thanks, as always

It does not. Its weird that the tests don't work, but it works just fine in game.

That doesn't work, and yes, based on past times when it did work, I do have that. The balls in the trough do get popped out during "Empty Balls" but the gumball machine just sits there.

It's 9.4 CH. That is the same ROM that has been in it since I got the machine in early 2006. Now let me clarify: this has not ALWAYS been a problem. The empty balls thing used to work reliably. Lately it has not. I just find it odd that I'm not either getting a switch error, or seeing similar problems during gameplay.

Also, thank you for the advice on the connectors. I am going to try using molex crimps, since that will be cheaper than tracking down a IDC insertion tool (Marco is OOS and they are $35 everywhere else...). First time trying this out but I've put it off far too long.

Interesting. And yeah, I know Estes wasn't happy about the hack (that's apparently why we never got 9.5...). I guess it wouldn't hurt to grab a 9.4 H and do a reset. That might also explain the bizarre Power Payoff glitch that keeps happening every time I get Powerball multiball...

When I boot up TZ lately, the game always auto-launches a ball around the orbit as is if it were trying to load the gumball machine. The ball then rolls around the orbit and into the center drain and everything goes on as normal. There is no credit dot (though I have been chasing down a Power Payoff (65) dot that seems to come and go at will) or other error showing. The correct amount of balls are installed. Any thoughts?

I don't think it is related to the switches themselves. I suspect it may be related to some corrosion damage on the circuit board I have been hounding down, but I am trying to eliminate the simple before cutting out and socketing a chip or two (since my circuit board skills are shaky at best). I think the Right Trough switch is in the same line as the Power Payoff if I am not mistaken (according to the switch matrix, they are both on J205-6, U19-11), so the two may be related. Honestly, I'm kind of just guessing. Everything is leaning towards replacing U18/U19, but I wanted to look for horses before zebras.

LED question: should I be using actual red LEDs under the red inserts? I’ve tried both warm and cool white LEDs but both just give a sort of washed out look that doesn’t do the inserts justice. Thoughts?

Thank you all for the LED info! I’ll try out some of the suggested matches and let you know what I think.

So there's the door red, and then a different red for the outlanes and Extra Ball?

I can not imagine this game without the original JACKPOT sound though. I feel that would be a huge deal breaker.

After a lot of stressing and misdiagnosis about my WPC board (which had some minor battery damage), I finally decided to just buy a Rottendog board and put it in so I could get back to enjoying the game. I am here to say that I should have done this 6 months (and a lot of spare parts orders) ago. The game works great now, no errors or odd behavior, plus I can always go back and tinker with the original board once I get more confident in my soldering skills. It's good to have TZ back among the living again!

Question regarding Color DMD: Does anyone have video of the LCD animations with "smoothing" turned on? I've seen a few CDMDs in the wild (and on the web site) but they always seem to just be dots. I did a search here, in the DMD thread, and in the "wild" but have not yet found anything.

Thanks.

Would love to see this in action. Given the popularity of TZ I'm surprised images of it with smoothed Color DMD have been so hard to find!

I also agree that the smoothing can be a little... unsettling on some games. Still, its a nice option to have, especially since LCD can do the other settings as well.

Awesome. Post a video of the toilet too!

No reason.

Great video, thank you! I have to say, that smoothing actually looks pretty good on TZ.

I am thinking about changing the super bright white light in the lampshade over the mini-playfield for a colored LED. Any suggestions from others who have done the same? I was thinking blue or purple. That white light peeks out through the cracks in the side of the metal shade and is quite distracting.

If I may offer a alternate suggestion...

My TZ, like many others, had leg plates that were stripped out so that the bolts did not tighten all the way. I decided to replace the plates inside the cabinet. When I ordered the replacement brackets, I found that they only had 2 holes as opposed to the 3 that the originals had. It is possible to install these in such a way that the "top" hole in the front is actually the middle hole, thus making the pitch much more shallow and resulting in a need to jack the back legs way up. You would not notice this unless you pulled off the leg protector and realized there was an extra hole up top. If this is the case (and it could be if this was a restore), simply pull the bracket out, turn it upside down, and make it so that the holes on the bracket line up to the top 2 holes on the cabinet. Then reinstall the legs and you will have a more normal pitch. I have seen from looking at many pictures over the years that this is a very common problem with TZ due to the 3 hole options for legs.

Credit also to Coyote who basically pointed this out in an earlier post.

Had a fine day working on my beloved TZ today. Long overdue flipper assembly repair/ replace (kind of wish I'd taken pics of how bad they were, they were obviously original), new coil sleeves and stops, some new LEDs and rubbers, a good Novus cleaning, and finally, new mirror blades from Pinball Decals.

It was a rather satisfying day of work and the old girl looks and plays like a dream now!

Mine came with the "hacked" version when I bought it in 2006 and I've used it ever since. It's your machine. Do what you like.

I have mirror blades in mine and they make a huge difference. In my opinion they are a much better option than any of the blade art sets I have seen.

Some TZ pics here (these are the ones I ended up buying): http://www.pinballdecals.com/MirrorBladesPage.html

Ninja Chrome balls don't deal with magnets very well from what I hear. And this game has a few magnets.

That aside, welcome to the club!

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...

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

I finally received the clock target and piano mods that I ordered from him awhile back today and I have to say, the quality on both is pretty amazing. Given the quality of some mods I've seen I can say these really impressed me, even with the slow COVID-era shipping.

One downside is that they came with no instructions. I'm assuming the alligator clips that were in the package are for the clock mod? Anyone familiar with this?

(Gasp) I think I can actually HEAR the side art fading just looking at the picture! Take immediate action, friend. Paint that window matte black.

I've been problem free for awhile but 2020 isn't through with me yet. Today I booted up TZ and noticed a solenoid was popping repeatedly by the gumball. After some fiddling, I am getting the error message "ball popper opto stuck". On test games, the gumball machine is definitely acting funny. I'm not completely sure where this opto is. Any recommendations on what things to check and in what order?

Thanks. I am not having any other odd issues so hopefully this is an isolated issue...

I found it. It was quite filthy so I gave it the q-tip treatment and reinstalled. Booted back up and... still popping.

In the gumball test the opto is showing open (x), but keeps flickering back and forth. Now it IS possible that I still have more cleaning to do (didn't use alcohol, just polished it with a bare Q-tip), or the opto itself could be failing. I will say, the glass did have that kind of nicotine coloration to it...

It appears to be an A-16908: https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-16908

Sigh.. ok, now I've got Switch 75 (Mini Playfield Top) AND 74 (Gumball Popper) activating on and off constantly. Starting to suspect a larger issue.

Checked it. Opto board looks fine as far as I can tell. No leaks, corrosion, etc. Doesn't appear to have had any work done to it previously (and I've owned the machine for 14 years).

I'll try this, but I'm a little nervous about shocking myself. I don't usually work under the playfield with the power on.

I have Wonka and TZ side by side as well (of course, they're my only two games). I think they complement each other quite well.

I've been having this issue all of a sudden as well. I considered replacing the LM339s (they aren't socketed and I'm not proficient with board work), but I think I'm gonna do the same and buy a replacement board. Worked great for the acid damage I inherited on the main board.

Well, now I feel a bit foolish. Upon further examination, a wire to the coil had come loose! How in the world I missed this last time I looked, I have no idea. The advice is true: start simple!

Thank God I can fix this with a little bit of solder instead of an $80 opto board replacement. This time at least.

I'm sure this applies to many other machines of the era, but I have owned my TZ since early 2006 and every time I turn it on I breathe a sigh of relief when I don't hear that "bong bong bong bong" sound of an error message after the boot test. Anyone else do this?

Great collection! My TZ is also beside my WW and the wife really wants a JP.

In answer to your question, I had the same issue with my left flipper and indeed it was a failing flipper opto. Easy to diagnose if you just swap the left and right ones. It's a pretty cheap and easy replacement part too. Good luck.

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