Guess there is no definitive answer to this, but does anyone know how loud the clock is supposed to be?

Mine is fairly audible, especially when turning the machine on (though it could just be more noticeable then because I'm not yet playing), but I wouldn't say it was excessively loud. It doesn't sound "broken" loud, is what I mean.

I currently have the standard board in there with its OEM incandescents, the previous owner drilled a couple of holes in the top for cooling. It has been working fine but I've been toying with the idea of getting the Ingo board anyway, and if I can make the clock quieter that would tip me over the edge to pulling the trigger on it I think.

Yup, I just don't know what I should expect I guess. My TZ is the first HUO pin I've owned, never seen it elsewhere in an environment where you could really get a sense of how loud it was, etc.

I think if I was going to take the clock apart to lube I'd do the whole Ingo board replacement at the same time. My clock is very slightly out of alignment too (the hour hand points more towards 11 than 12 when it's supposed to be 12) so thinking of killing several birds with one stone, so to speak.

Thanks. You're the first person to say not to lube the gears

I don't have a problem with my clock currently, but it is bone stock (apart from the two ventilation holes that have been added by a previous owner) so I imagine it will fail at some point. My whole game with the exception of the flashers (and that is changing once my Comet order turns up) is LED, so there is probably an argument for doing it for completeness and "preemptive strike" sake.

Can anyone tell me what bulbs are used on the mini playfield? I'm damned if I can find anything at all in the manual about it. Every other bulb seems to be listed, but the only bulb I can find that it mentions explicitly is the white flasher bulb. The two red ones and the yellow one might as well not exist.

I found a photo of the underside of the mini PF here: http://www.iobium.com/DSCN1529.JPG

Are they all #906 flashers?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks both.

What's the consensus on clear (OEM) clock housing vs blue? I'm not totally sold on the blue & rainbow LEDs which most people seem to do, but at the same time the blue housing looks a lot clearer than the OEM "clear" (which is more like misted) housing. Thoughts?

lol that's a brilliant way of putting it.

And yes - consensus was probably the wrong word

Do you mean remove it when the game "thinks" it's at 12, even when the hands are not? Won't the clock always be at 12 unless you switch the game off mid-mode?

Reason I ask is that 12 o'clock on mine is actually more like 11 o'clock. The minute hand is bang on, but the hour hand is slightly misaligned, halfway between 11 and 12. I'd like to fix that as part of an Ingo/LED overhaul.

Thanks.

My clock is factory at the moment, and will soon be the only thing on it that's still using incandescents. It's working at the moment but keen to give it a preemptive clean & upgrade.

Would also like to know this. Not been able to find one anywhere

That's what I figured. I've seen videos of other clocks and the hour and minute hand are bang on 12. My clock at 12 looks like @davi's above.

I guess there is no way of knowing that you have assembled it back together properly without reassembling the whole thing and connecting it all back up?

Having never disassembled the clock before, can I ask a dumb question - why can't you just take the hands off and put them back on in the correct orientation? e.g. if the game thinks its 12 o'clock and it's really showing as 10:15 or something, couldn't you just switch off the game when it thinks it's 12, take both hands off and then reattach them both at 12? (I figure I'm asking a dumb question because since people talk about gear alignment obviously it's not that simple)

To be fair, it is almost completely out of sight when the mini playfield is installed in the machine. You'd only see one leading edge of it.

I believe the main reason people get the transparent cover is because it lets the light from the inserts and flasher illuminate beneath.. and the cardboard looks cheap as hell!

Ideally you should replace both the connector and the header block. If you have LEDs now and it's working then I suppose you could get away without doing it. If it were me it would always be playing on my mind though... burnt connectors are never good.

Pin 10 on that J121 connector is properly scorched, so I'd imagine the male pins are similarly damaged. Is your G.I. working now?

Why is (was) the doll attached to the Battle the Power ramp? The only time she appears is when earning an extra ball non?

The connectors or the wires?

Another vote for CraZyMuffin mini TV mod, it's awesome!

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Here is a guide to removing the clock board:
http://www.german-pinball-modular.de/tz-clock-instruction-english.html

That guide talks about replacing the clock board in situ. I've never done it before, but it sounds like the clock can be removed completely from the playfield by just disconnecting the cables underneath. It seems to me that this would make the job a lot easier and not risk losing clips etc down holes?

If your clock is already dead on 12 o'clock then make sure you don't fiddle with the gears while playing with it.

On the subject of the clock - anyone know where I can get a decent NOS or reproduction of the prototype clock face decal? Some I've seen seem to be a bit inaccurate, either chunky numbers or chunky symbols (or both). Would ideally want one that is as close to, if not identical as the original prototype face for obvious reasons.

Mine is like this too. It seems very easy for it to clip something on the way up, taking most of the momentum out of the ball. The auto-fire plunger I guess has to be very precise for it to consistently go around to the upper left flipper.

Quick dumb question.. I've got LEDs in both inserts and GI (and now flashers). When I do a test on GI of different dim levels nothing changes at any level. It is the same brightness, and it doesn't turn off.

Should I be selling "Allow Dim Illumination" (currently "Yes", factory default) to No on this basis?

Thanks.

Is it safe to say that because the LEDs don't turn off at level 1, that I have non-ghosting LEDs and would therefore benefit from the G.I OCD board? (I've heard it doesn't work as well with anti-ghosting LEDs)

I have no ghosting at all already - is it possible without anti-ghosting LEDs?

No offence, but are you definitely turning it the right way? I did mine up by hand when it went a bit shallow.

Is there a how-to anywhere for removing the clock from the playfield? I've got an Ingo clock board & clock housing coming soon, and it would seem to make sense to completely remove the clock from the PF so I can clean it, replace yellowed parts as necessary, etc.

I've seen photos of the clock when it's already been removed, as well as disassembly of the clock & gears themselves, but I haven't been able to find a pictorial guide, or video, that shows the process for actually removing it from the PF.

Thanks!

Well that's embarassing. Thanks

EDIT: I've got a piano mod on mine, which looks like it would obscure a screw or something. Ideally would like to be able to remove the entire clock (and piano, lights, etc) assembly from the playfield and take it inside to work on, e.g. by unplugging connectors underneath the PF rather than the two connectors from the clock board itself, as my plan is to completely disassemble it to clean & replace the innards, the gears, etc. That guide essentially talks about removing it from its secured position but leaving the motor, etc still connected underneath.

EDIT 2: I basically need instructions for how to get to the *start* of this guide - http://www.flippers.be/tz_clock.html

Ok thanks, that makes sense. The piano was in situ when I bought the pin, fitted by the previous owner. Will have to work out how it removes without breaking it.

Thanks all, again. This is the one I've got:
http://pinballpro.net/shop/twilight-zone-piano-tz-2/

I'll just take it slow on removal

Your setup sounds weird. When I power on TZ it goes to 12 o'clock (well, more like 11 - I need to resolve that) and then after a period of time it changes to the current time. I can't understand why yours would go to 6 o'clock on startup yet still be correct during attract mode?

I can't say I've ever noticed that. Is your ramp secured properly?

Amen to that. PinSound on a TZ is sacrilegious imo! The music and sounds are iconic!

I'd like to know the answer to A too.

The lamp seems to be keyed in position - I.e. looking at the top left of your photo where the lamp "arm" goes down, there is a slit which means it can only have a very minimal amount of play - unless people are bending this arm?

(I hope I'm explaining it well enough)

Is it normal for the trough switch 26 to throw a wobbler every time you remove the balls and put them back in again? When I'm working on my TZ I empty the balls using the menu (9.4H ROM), lift the PF and do whatever, then add the balls to the game one by one whilst using the Gumball Test to fire them back into the gumball machine in the right order (2 regular + PB).

Every time I've done this after a couple of games it throws a "Check Trough Proximity 26" error or whatever that switch is. I cleared this the last time it came up simply by getting the Powerball back into the trough so that the eddy switch sees it again.

I have an upgraded eddy switch in place already that the previous owner installed - I think it's this one: http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-16533-PP

Any thoughts?

I've been tinkering quite a bit recently, so have probably had the playfield up several times. I've always removed all of the balls when I've done this.

When the gumball machine has dispensed the Powerball it's seen it. I haven't yet managed to get it in the trough to see if it sees it there (I managed to get Powerball Mania by "mistake" playing yesterday, which put the Powerball back in the gumball machine lol). No other errors are present and the game plays as one would expect.

The last time I saw the "Check Trough Proximity 26" error it got cleared once the Powerball ended up in the trough and the game saw it there, without me doing anything else. That's why I wasn't sure if it could throw this error if for some reason the balls had all been removed at some point.

Thanks. I don't think it is appearing as I empty the balls, if that makes sense. I empty the balls, do whatever I was going to do, then add them back in again one by one in order (2 steels, then the Powerball) and use the Gumball Test "Load 1 Gumball" option to fire those 3 back into the gumball machine. I then add the remaining three steel balls which just sit in the trough. I suppose I could just drop all of the balls into the trough and let the game fire 3 back in when it detects there are none in the gumball machine.

At this point I'm fairly certain no error has been registered. I will start a game and then at some point during that game, or a subsequent one, out of the blue I will get a credit dot (no other indication of an error). When cycling the menu at that point I'll get the test report with the Switch 26 error.

I'm fairly certain from your list that it's not 2 or 3 because the Powerball is in the gumball machine at that point. The error appears even when the Powerball is not even in play. The last time the error appeared I just carried on playing until I got the Powerball out of the gumball machine - the game detected it when it was released via whatever switch is up there, then I let the Powerball drain and cycle into play. When it cycled into play the game announced it in the trough and the error was no longer recorded.

Hope that makes sense.. basically the error was cleared without any kind of adjustment to the eddy switch.

What are the diagnostic steps to address an erratic slot machine kickout? I don't think my TZ has ever consistently kicked it to the right flipper for a left flipper trap, like you see on some machines & Pinball Arcade, etc, and that seems to be a vital part of the game.

My machine has been waxed recently so it is already quick, but as it is right now I get a mixture of bullets that go SDTM (rare) that are impossible to save, balls that don't even manage to get out of the slot machine hole and drop back in (also rare), and everything in between. There doesn't seem to be an issue with power (other than with the balls that don't make it out) - quite the opposite - but there is almost no consistency. You basically have to treat it like a tennis serve whenever it fires it out.

I've checked the obvious things like welds - all appear fine - and levelling, which is bang on, but haven't yet taken the scoop off to inspect the kicker assembly. Not having much experience of diagnostics (I've never resleeved a coil or checked a spring, wouldn't even know if the spring was good or not, I'm very much an end user with negligible electronics experience) I don't really know what I should be looking for to tweak.

Since the slot machine is so pivotal to gameplay, I feel like I need to sort this out before I do anything else with the machine.... any help gratefully received.

Ideally if possible if someone could tell me what a bad plunger, sleeve or spring actually looks like - that would help immensely.

The scoop itself looks fine. I haven't yet taken it off to inspect fully but the welds look fine.

Guess I best take it off and get some photos..

I'd like to know the answer to this too, as I will be disassembling the clock soon.

I've heard people saying that you put "a bit" on the gear contact points, but how much is that? If you've done it once already and it made no difference I guess it wasn't enough?

Regarding the clock, I'm trying to work out in advance of some parts arriving what I need to do to remove it completely from the playfield.

Is this the screw you need to undo to be able to slide the clock out of the bracket and off?

(Note: This is not my clock - it's an image found on Google)

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I have a piano mod on mine, with no instructions. Looking at how it is installed it is held down by the red/yellow lamp screws, and it obscures the hole (so I can't get to the screw marked above). I can't see a way of getting to the two lamp screws without getting the clock off, and I can't get the clock off without getting to these screws..... unless I'm missing something obvious.

How would I go above removing the whole bracket, like you see in some photos of the clock off the playfield - e.g. from Marco's website:

index (resized).jpg

Also - does anyone have the part numbers for the red & yellow lights? The previous owner changed mine to LEDs but for some reason they are green and red (and clear bulbs).

Thanks in advance!

The piano is definitely screwed down, the two screws that secure the lamps are going through the red part of it. I'll get a photo tonight and post it on the thread.

The bulbs. I was trying to find LED bulbs with solid colour lens but was coming up short. I guess two frosted ones that are red and yellow wouldn't be too bad as a substitute. And yes, not non-ghosting of course

I've ended up buying all of the parts of the clock except the motor and shafts, to basically create a new clock. Figured I'd do this as the clock housing I bought is clear (not hazy like the original one), and my clock shows closer to 11 when it's supposed to be 12 anyway - so was planning to fiddle with the gears.

Here are the photos of my clock and piano mod as it is at the moment. As you can see it is screwed to the bracket underneath using the original lamp screws/screw holes. The lamps are just inserted into the holes in the piano.

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As you can see the lamp screws are inaccessible.

Could work, but I fear I'd never be able to get back on again. Knowing my luck I'd lose the screws down the scoop. Also, it seems like that must be harder than its supposed to be (when installing the mod).

Why not recommended out of interest?

Would these two screws ordinarily need to be undone anyway? Or is it the case that if there was no piano mod I could simply unscrew the one that the mod is obscuring, and the whole assembly would unclip?

I guess I just need to be able to get to those two lamp screws to remove them. Then I can remove the piano mod, and get to the screw that actually removes the bracket. I suppose if I can loosen the clock so I can actually get access to the screws it would be enough, or an offset screwdriver as suggested before.

I found this PDF - http://www.pinballpro.net/instructions/piano.pdf - which I think corresponds to the mod I have (mine looks like this: http://pinballpro.net/shop/twilight-zone-piano-tz-2/) and it talks about loosening the clock there.

Thanks, that's very helpful! Hadn't thought of swinging clock up.

Planning to take my clock off the playfield this weekend for a rebuild with Ingo's clock board. The plan is to take it completely off and work on it on a bench, rather than on the playfield.

I've bought a full set of gears, clear clock housing, back panel, PETG prototype clock face and clear lens and decal plate kit. I've also got some Superlube to lightly lube the gears. I think the only thing that will end up being taken from the existing clock will be the gear shafts and the motor.

None of the new parts are strictly needed, my clock isn't broken or obviously discoloured, but figured I'd refresh everything "just cause'...

Currently on my clock midnight (when the pin boots) is more like 11 o'clock. The minute hand is bang on 12, but the hour hand is almost on 11. Just for my own understanding of how it is assembled, and so I don't make the same mistake, which gear would be misaligned for this to happen?

Do I have to glue the shafts in like some guides are suggesting? I'm a bit concerned about doing that.

Can anyone think of anything I might be missing before I get started?

Thanks in advance for any help

Any oil or lube on the shafts? (ha!) or just a light amount on the gear matings?

Thanks.

Final question - this is my OCD talking now...

I originally bought a prototype clock decal from Marco, and tried to fit it to my Pinbits decal plate. It ended up being very difficult, mainly because it was so sticky, and curled around after I removed it from the backing material, but also because it is smaller than the decal plate, so alignment was difficult. Also the one I received had no holes where the shaft or screws go - but looking at the website that seems to be normal?

I had three attempts at fitting it, and it looked messy with fingerprints visible, etc. I ended up ripping off the decal and throwing it away, and cleaning the glue residue off the decal plate, and then bought the PETG reverse printed version instead (I stupidly only bought one decal from Marco, thinking it would be simple to fit, even though I'm in the UK and shipping cost as much as the parts).

I've received the PETG one which has holes in the right places, the right font for the numbers, etc. The problem I have with it is very minor - but it's preoccupying me - namely that the gold of the symbols is more of an orange, and the symbols themselves are "thicker", if that makes sense (look at the scorpion between 4 and 5). Basically it just looks a bit poorer quality than the decal was, like it was printed in toner-saver mode.

I honestly don't know what to do at this point.. reorder several more decals and have another go, or stop obsessing and just get on with sorting the clock.

Thanks, you've said what I hoped you wouldn't say, even though I agree. The decal just looks better, even if it isn't the full size of the decal plate and I would have to somehow make the hole for the shaft (scalpel I guess). This isn't a job I wan't to be unhappy about after I've done it, or want to do again any time soon.

Very nice. Looks in excellent condition, with some nice tasteful mods to boot

Very true. It's easy to see why something like TAF was so successful and remains popular today. It's flows well.

TZ rewards perseverance with a deeper rule set, as well as pace changes (spirals, mini playfield, etc). But you're right - it's more of a stop/start experience. It can also be pretty unforgiving too, especially if you get a run of bad luck (I'm looking at you pops)

Different strokes for different folks.

My biggest issue with TZ is actually nothing to do with how it plays, it's anxiety that there's so much on the PF that it feels like at any moment something will break.

Coyote is the man

On topic - I feintly recall seeing some kind of LED strip mod that would illuminate the gumball lane when the light is flashing, but for the life of me I can't find it now... I thought it might be a pretty cool mod, as I keep having to tell people that they can load the gumball because it's just one lone red light flashing when there's all kinds of lights flashing away elsewhere.

Anyone give me any pointers?

EDIT: Answering my own question - it might have been this

I spent quite a bit of time today disassembling the clock, fitting an Ingo clock board, etc. Even managed to work out how to get it dead on 12 first go.

Connected it all back up, everything worked first time... excellent!

...except, the minute hand opto interrupter is fouling the clear clock decal plate. When this happens the clock makes a nasty clicking noise, like it's skipping a tooth. Needless to say I turned it off quickly.

I pretty much replaced everything in the clock apart from the shafts and E/C rings.

I am now using a PETG clock face which sits behind the clock decal plate. I can only assume the tolerance is so small that this PETG plate is enough to catch it.

I've already got a washer on the back of the shaft (was already there), although I don't think this extends the long shaft anyway, I think it just stops there being any play in the big black gear.

Any thoughts? I've got some prototype clock decals on order, so I can try that, but it seems like I'm missing something here, unless the minute hand opto breaker tolerance really is that precise.

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Dumb question but what sort of tool would be best to do this with?

Not trying to use the factory plate. In actual fact when I took the clock apart the standoffs fell out of the clock - so they were separate. I had already bought a Pinbits clock lens and decal plate which also has separate standoffs, but unbeknowst to me I already had something similar. The previous owner must've done something with the clock in the past, because I don't even have the factory plate with integrated standoffs.

The decal that was already in the clock was your standard sticker though, not a PETG plate.

To be clear - the PETG plate is adding about an extra 0.03", which doesn't seem like it should be the difference between it fouling the plate and not?

Thanks all. For some reason I thought tampering with the minute hand opto interrupter would be a big no-no.. as in I'd be fixing the problem, but not actually dealing with why there is no clearance in the first place. I thought I had perhaps made a mistake somewhere in assembling it.

EDIT: Is there a way I can run the motor without having to put it back in the machine? It's a pain having to reattach everything.

He is on here, try messaging german-pinball

For what it's worth - I sent him a message a few days ago, but didn't receive a response either, so I guess he must be away?

Another clock question.. it didn't occur to me to oil the gear shafts when I put it back together, I just put a bit of Superlube on the gear matings as suggested in several places on here. Is that enough? I'm paranoid that my clock is going to be louder than it ought to be...

Thanks.. I think I understand.. are you saying that by me just lubing the gear teeth where they mate with the Super Lube grease (which is what I've used) is enough for it to wick onto the shafts?

Thanks, that puts my mind at ease (definitely have an OCD! )

Mine took a while to arrive too, but he honoured a previously offered deal so I was happy to wait. When he did return from his travels he was very helpful and responsive. A lot of people have ordered from Ingo - he's solid, so no need to worry.

Perhaps worth trying this diagnostic:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twilight-zone-shooter-lane-eject-diverter-issue#post-3401039

Does anyone actually make a prototype clock decal or plate for TZ that's worth a damn?

I bought a reverse printed PETG plate version from The Pinball Wizard. The kindest thing I can say about it is that the holes are all precut and in exactly the right places. The print itself is poor quality, the symbols are poorly defined, as if it was printed on an inkjet printer, and the "gold" of the clock is not very good either.

IMG_4160 (resized).JPG

Figuring that maybe a decal would be better, I bought 3 of them from Marco Specialties. First off, the image on the website is different to what I received. The alignment on each of the decals is different, and none of them are centered properly on the opto cutouts...

IMG_9046 (resized).JPG

The decal is larger than the clock plate on all sides, meaning I would have to somehow cut all around the clock, and make the holes for the centre spindle and the screw holes myself somehow. I have no idea how I'm supposed to do that cleanly, even with a scalpel.

Again, the "gold" of the zodiac part of the clock is not gold. I'm not expecting sparkling gold leaf here, but it would be nice if it looked vaguely gold coloured.

IMG_0892 (resized).JPG

I realise pinballs are a niche product, but is this basically the standard of aftermarket parts I should expect? To make matters worse, I've had to wait weeks for these things to arrive, and in the case of Marcos got hit with a £14.07 customs charge (the order was only $29.97). That is my problem living in the UK I guess, but still - it grates.

Or are my expectations just too high?

Well, looking at the packing slip with the Marco order - I'd need to phone him to arrange an RMA, etc. After postage back from the UK it's probably not going to be cost-effective, and my TZ being clock-less for several more weeks, I might as well just cut my losses. Just annoying that I've spent so much on a pretty poor quality product.

I ended up taking the decal & clear plate to a local sign writing shop, who managed to fit it and cut out the holes. They did a good job all things considered, but there are some blemishes and fingerprint marks in a few places that you can see if you hold it up to the light.

IMG_6858 (resized).JPG

The decal is more translucent than the PETG plate, and the centre hole is more.. central, but the reverse printed plate is much more consistent across the whole face. It's just a shame the print quality is so poor.

At this point I'm just thinking maybe life is too short.. but it's hard not to be disappointed.

Thanks.

I've finished the install now. Decided life is too short to obsess over the decal/plate quality.

ramegoom was right, there is quite a bit you can take off the minute hand opto and it still registers properly. I accidentally sanded off more than I needed to, so the interrupter clears the plate by a good 2-3mm now. Don't know if it would still work with the factory decal though, but not a big concern right now.

The clock is louder than the old one, and makes some odd sounds occasionally, despite me lubing the gears with Superlube, but at least the hand isn't getting stuck now. I'm hoping it'll settle down after a bit of use...

Thanks to everyone for the help!

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I emailed the guy who used to sell them at www.tzclockhousings.com - he had some lying around still.

Yup, you're right. At least the font is correct on the white decal!

Do you have any pictures of yours? The image on their website is ridiculously small and poor quality for some reason...

Seems like most of the website selling these are reusing the same images for their product. Marco's one for example has the 31-1751-3P code in the bottom left, and a different (wrong) font as mentioned before, but the ones I received had the right font but no code...

It is a great game. I'm struggling to fall in love with mine, possibly because it feels so brutal. My slot machine kickout, for example, is like returning a pro tennis serve. Played on another TZ at the weekend that had a much gentler and consistent kickout, and it was quite the revelation. I guess every TZ is a character in its own right.

I've just noticed something on rewatching back a video of my clock I installed last night...

Looking at the DMD it doesn't appear to register the 30 minute opto, yet it does beep when it crosses it and keeps the time properly. It appears to register it on the slower clock modes.

Is this something I should be worried about?

Thanks. It did concern me a bit, especially given I sanded down the interrupter.. but the clock functions perfectly from what I can tell, and keeps the correct time, etc. 0, 15 and 45 seem to register on the DMD properly during Clock Test.

Ah well, more playing less hand wringing I think.

What he said ^^

If you're having to extend the legs that far, you've definitely got two or more of them installed in the wrong holes. You shouldn't have to extend them that far to get to and beyond 6.5 degrees.

I feel like I'm going mad... or maybe I'm in the Twilight Zone..

Played 2 games earlier, when I hit the lock without it being lit it said "9 more Robots for Ex. Ball and Camera" instead of just "9 more Robots for Camera".

I don't remember ever seeing that before. I haven't changed any of the game rules from factory.

Dumb question, you mean adjustments that stick and apply to subsequent, completely separate games? The machine had been switched off between games, and it's still doing it.

To clarify, I've always previously seen "9 more Robots for Camera", and only ever got Extra Ball via the lock if I'd lit that door panel. Now, it seems a lock shot gives "X more Robots for Ex. Ball and Camera".

Thanks. I guess what this means is that I suck. Lol.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone, Coyote.

I wonder some days whether these ghosts in the machine is part of its charm.

For my part, the last few days, I've had the upper right flipper flasher stick on mid game, and warm the plastic (it's an LED flasher now, thankfully, but it still got warm). Fiddled with the ribbon cables to the aux board which fixed it but why it came on at all I'll never know.

That is a weird ass looking battery!

Don't the GI OCD instructions talk about it being mounted at the bottom (along with the LED OCD one) ?

Hateful things, a really bad design. I've got the same problem with a Funhouse that I was installing LEDs on, so thanks for the video which shows the exact same problem & clarifying that it just needs an immense amount of force, far more than seems logical or safe.

Bizarrely the button on the Funhouse just pretty much fell out when pulled, no force was required at all, so I figured I was doing something wrong when it just wouldn't go back in with the same effort.

I guess it's best to remove the spade connectors before doing this?

Stop reading my mind damn you!

I've been looking at exactly the same thing. The former is also on eBay if you're interested, for the same price.

As Coyote said - you'd need to get the lamp sockets riveted to the first one, not sure if that's something you're happy to do (I couldn't do it). Big price difference between the two though, there's really nothing to justify the $164.99 cost of the latter other than it being a price some people seem apparently willing to spend. No way is that even remotely close to the parts cost.

Can anyone tell me what the "Insert Main" is in GI? In various GI tests there are:

Mini P.F. + Insert
Clock & Insert
Insert Main

I have no idea where on the playfield "Insert" is, and the manual doesn't even cover GI bulb locations.

Ok I'm an idiot. I was hunting all around the playfield wondering why "insert main" didn't illuminate anything.

Also, is it normal for GI not to dim at all in test mode (with Adjustment 25 "Allow GI dimming" set to YES, I know that affects test mode too) when using LEDs? I'm using Comet LEDs, possibly non-ghosting in all of the GI. It turns off and on no problem, but dim levels do nothing. Running 9.4H.

My friend's Funhouse strobes something fierce with LED GI when you go down to low dim levels, so at least I know something is happening with it.

Damn, that doesn't sound like an easy fix.

Just popped an incandescent into the right slingshot and that too did not dim at all on any level.

Any idea what my next test should be? All the GI works, none of it appears to dim.

I think there's some confusion here..

My Gi doesn't dim with even an incandescent bulb inserted in one of the GI sockets. It stays at maximum brightness on all settings (but does turn off correctly)

Seems that I need to fix that before I look at installing a GI OCD board.

While I remember, don't forget to oil and lube your clocks gents...

Before:

After:

The first video was taken after I rebuilt the clock, and put a tiny amount of Superlube - per guides - on the gear matings (no oil on the shafts). It wasn't enough. Whilst the clock wasn't obnoxiously loud, it made an sporadic noise that you can hear in the video which to me sounded worse to me than a constant grinding.

The second video was after I completely disassembled the clock again, put a small amount of sewing machine oil on all of the fixed shafts, and used a small brush to apply lube to all of the teeth on all gears. The difference was very noticeable.

EDIT: The most obvious difference is around 1:03 in the first video, and 0:16 in the second one - as camera is in the same place.

Is there actually any downside besides cost for going with the 3 magnet version?

I can't say that I miss not having a third magnet, but multiball grabbing all three balls sounds kinda cool.

I haven't been able to get to the bottom of this, and I'm at the point where I'm even struggling to get someone out to actually diagnose the problem conclusively. I don't own a scope, I don't know where the traces begin and end, etc. Basically I need a professional.

The option I'm faced with at the moment is removing the power board from the game and getting it sent off for inspection and getting whatever might be problematic (traces, diodes, bridge rectifiers etc) repaired or replaced.

Not having removed a board before I'm very intimidated by this idea, but will do it if I can be sure that the problem is localised somewhere to the power board.

Is the ZC etc stuff all done there?

(sorry for my newbie language)

Ingo's board is pretty distinctive because it has numerous red status LEDs along the top of the PCB (even if they are disabled you can see where they are)

LCD all the way. Also DotsXL is perfect for TZ.

Yup.

Give me DotsXL or give me death!

Looking at a photo I took of the bottom of my playfield a while ago, I can see that connector - I think - but no idea what it connects to, or even if it's connected at all vs just hanging around. I'm not in front of my machine at the moment so can't give a more authoritative point of view.

Here is mine (excuse the poor quality):

argh (resized).jpg

+1

I bought and fitted the Ingo clock board even though my clock was working fine. Mainly it was because everything else in the game was LED.

It's a brilliant bit of engineering, and is as plug and play as it gets.

564B1C25-7EF7-433F-8A76-26E7EAC51E2C (resized).jpeg

The part number is A-16056 according to the manual.

I haven't been able to find anywhere that sells it in a quick search just now.

Marco's website seems to be down at time of writing.

Sorry that's not much help.

Yup. Looking at it, a Funhouse wireform with most of it chopped out and bent to shape would work.

Extra Ball button must be stuck on. LITZ cheat requires it to be held in for 5 (?) seconds, and that's the only thing that would trigger LITZ straight away.

Well said.

Pinbits sell a clock plate kit. It doesn't have the standoffs mounted to the face like the OEM one does though (and it is currently out of stock): http://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_2&products_id=160

In other news.. the other day I switched on my TZ after perhaps 2 weeks of it being sat idle (not sure if that's relevant or not), and the white gumball flasher came on and stayed on. A few seconds later it switched off, and then behaved as normal.

Something I should look at or just another day in The Twilight Zone? I swear with stuck flasher randomness and "Check Trough Proximity Switch 26" (shout out to @check_switch_26) it feels like it is haunted.

Or go one better and get Ingo's board. Then you can do the whole RGB LEDs thing if you want, and never have to worry about the clock failing again.

Granted the cost of an Ingo board is significant if your OEM one still works, but if you're taking the clock apart I'd just install it and forget about it. It's a brilliant design that far exceeds the reliability of the OEM board.

Got nothing to gain by posting this - I've already bought and fitted one ages ago, just a very happy customer.

5EEEDB1E-DA6F-4EA8-AAC0-9ACA41C62299 (resized).jpeg

That's interesting.. I have a GI OCD board waiting to go in my TZ but I have to get the power board repaired first (my GI doesn't respond to dimming at all in test, even with an incandescent bulb in, and option 25 "Allow GI dimming" on).

Does it make a big difference then?

My board took a little bit of time to arrive too, coming from Germany to UK, so I'd imagine there would be a bit of a delay going to the States. As has been said though german-pinball is solid so no need to worry at all.

Ahhhh the old "Check Switch 26 Trough Proximity" error. Hello old friend.

I have this one - https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-16533-PP - which is supposed to be an upgrade, with a twisted cable, and I still get the error from time to time. As said soldering is the only long term solution.

This flasher is also known for locking on and melting the plastic above it. Quite why Williams flashers lock on when failing is a mystery to me.

Fair enough. I meant more than the failure condition for a flasher is that it fails on, melting plastic if left unresolved. I don't know if failing on is something that electronically just happens?

The upper right flipper flasher on TZ is notorious for this.

IMG_5679 (resized).JPG

B&W TZ looks awesome!