Twilight Zone
Bally, 1993You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider drummermike.
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My upper left flipper usually only works when I press the button in fully. It seems to work slowly at times also. I am not sure how to get it to work in tandem with the lower left flipper. When I got this TZ all the flippers were OK.
Quoted from AlexSMendes:coyote, please enlighten us about this plastic cover...
The cover is from Marco. Part 03-8369. Same as in TAF and FH. I put one in my TZ.
I rebuilt my whole powerfield after I got it home. I was given a clear lexan piece to replace the crusty cardboard under the playfield. It lets more light under the field. Put in new rubbers, posts and LED's.
It was a custom part made for the previous owner. You can go to the hardware store and get a sheet of lexan. Use the cardboard for a template and make your own. I have made a few parts this way for a couple of my pins. I use a grinder and files to get the right shape.
I tried smaller post rubber but that did not work. Removed rubber to stop bounce back.
Quoted from gunstarhero:When you put the top of the trough on there there is a flap you can bend down slightly to guide the ball into place.
I also removed the rubber from that post because it still bounces it back sometimes.
I want to replace the bulb in my start button. How does the assembly come apart? I took the wires off and then the switch comes off. Then what?
I want to replace the incandescent bulb in the start button with LED. The white 555 I have is too large to fit. I have other colored LEDs that are thinner but can't remember where I got them. Are they from Marco, Pinball Life or Cointaker? I can't tell from the pictures on their sites. Thanks.
Quoted from flynnibus:I just took a mini and shaved it with the sander. But I'd tell you don't waste your energy... the start buttons don't really look any different LED'd unless you goto a fugly cool white which with the yellow button makes it greenish.
Thanks. I thought about shaving also but getting the thin bulbs would be easier. I was just trying to get rid of some heat that I noticed on the button.
Quoted from gunstarhero:I don't quite get what you mean... pretty much everything that can be colored is colored. The JACKPOT animation and LITZ start is fantastic.
I have mine set to dots. The colors are great!
Quoted from AlexSMendes:Yeah, it's a different kind of ball through, I just checked.
I have this peice in my CV.
Quoted from ryanwanger:Question for anyone who has switched to LEDs: which type of white did you use in the backbox, cool or warm? I'm working on mine right now but my translite is quite brown (maybe from cigarette smoke?) and it's making it hard for me to judge.
Cool
Quoted from PinRob:TZ cover arrived
I like that speaker! What brand?
Quoted from PinRob:Polk SDA-SRS
I bet they sound great. I still have my Allison Ones from the 70's. Had to refoam after I blew them out! Should have bought 4.
Quoted from chooch:Thanks for the info.
Has anyone gone with Titan's dark blue or clear on their TZ? I am considering changing it up from traditional white however what concerns me is seeing the rings turn white in some pictures when they are stretched around the posts. Not sure if that can be avoided or if the person installing them stretched them too much. I seen pinball life has translucent rings however they don't seem to carry 7/16" ID for some reason.
I used Pinball Life translucent rings. I used Super Band blue 7/16" by the popper.
Quoted from jawjaw:Best to use the manual as a guide and take inventory of the rings on the playfield. I used Titan dark blue for post rubbers and translucent rings. The blue matches up with the blue in the playfield. The translucent look pretty good with all my lit star posts. I put up a pic not long ago after I shopped out my game.
Speaking of rings, does anyone have an issue with the ball hitting the post in the shooter lane just above the upper flipper? I had to take the rubber off the post because the ball would hit during auto launch. Works better now but you can still hear the ball hitting the metal post on auto launch.
I tried smaller rubber but that did not work. Just took it off.
Quoted from billsfanmd:Anyone have a source for a nice small magnet on the diverter to hold the ball until it dumps it? Seen this mod on several games. The last one I bought was so strong it held the ball so tight I had to pull it away
I got mine from Home Depot or Lowe's. It is square with a small foam sticky. It is on the thin side. It has only dropped the ball once since installed.
I found some thicker non sticky magnets there also but think they may not let the ball go!
I have lithium in all my older pins. They have been in for 5 years now. I just tested them all and only had to replace 3 in one pin.
Quoted from jgadzia:Ok i am a complete idiot. I was assuming the buy in button lit up during attract mode because i could see the led flickering during attract mode, instead of actually testing it by going into the light single lamp test mode. It works fine, my brain however does not. sorry for wasting your time.
Never a waste of time. Pinside has always solved my pin problems even when I did not Know I had one.
I use Lithium batteries in all the stock holders. They last a long time. I do not have any problems with my two Rottendog boards.
Quoted from Lawnboy:https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1032-lighted-pinball-mods/01043-twilight-zone-tz-lighted-speaker-panel-basic
Looking for feedback on this product? I looks great but looks like it might give off bad glare on the glass?
Get "Bent Plastic" from Pinball Life to keep glare off. I use it on TAF to keep Thing glare off.
Quoted from MMP:Picked up a TZ this weekend.
Game has a few issues to work through, so I am sure to be ordering parts soon. I notice they make a clear ramp set which looks nice. The back of this game seems dark... I want to find a way to brighten that up. Wondering if a light strip would work.
I've got a credit dot for broken clock, so will probably need a new board for that. It seems like that generates a lot of heat and just gets trapped in the clock housing.
Anyway... will probably play this for a few weeks before tearing it down for a full cleaning. The subway is filthy.
The clear ramp will look great. I would use one but my smoke ramp is in perfect shape. I put a clear ramp in my TAF.
Quoted from Ijpinball:? My slingshot has 2 different size spacers doesn’t make sense makes the plastic on an angle.
Mine is the same. Probably so ball rolls off.
Quoted from Ijpinball:Is it only the left side one that goes to the rail mount.?
Yes.
20190218_155124 (resized).jpg20190218_155139 (resized).jpgQuoted from Ijpinball:So just to confirm. Left side has the two different sizes ( on a angle) and the right side is all the same size ( not on a angle)
No. Both sides are at an angle. The fronts are star posts and the backs are metal posts that are slightly longer than the star posts. The middle posts are short metal.
Quoted from MMP:I'll be replacing my smoked ramp with a clear one. This should help lighten up that back corner.
[quoted image]
Nice. I put a clear ramp in my TAF.
Quoted from Durzel:Hmm, you can't just pull through the cables for the flashers through holes in the playfield?
Yes. They disconnect underneath the playfield.
Quoted from gunstarhero:That PinWiki link really is the place to look. It walks you through the steps and gives you solutions.
If you're feeling lazy, throw a Kahr board at it. It will probably fix your issue, but it's considered a band aid solution. I'll admit tho, I have one in my TZ.
I had to do the Kahr fix in my TZ also. Has been working OK ever since.
Quoted from McSquid:Is the bigger square one not used?
Not used.
Quoted from Coyote:I've tried something I think is amazing..
All white rubber!
They look ok till they start to get dirty. I had translucent at on time. I like the new Perfect Play silicone colored rings. The black look good in my TZ.
Quoted from FlippinJimmy:Any recommendations on replacement speakers? I have the pinsound on my HSII and they are great but I don't want to spend that much money if anyone has suggestions on a more reasonable price option.
Flipper Fidelity.
Quoted from Zukboy2002:Thanks fellas didn’t think so I thought I was going crazy get a min, in the process of doing a full restore new playfield and cabinet, all metal parts are powdered coated[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Black leg bolts would look nice. 
Quoted from Seatmandan:I've had ColorDMD LCDs on about 5 different games, and the smoothing on each one always looked weird to me. I set every game to DotXL. seems to look the best IMO
There are 4 settings I believe-
1. standard (dots same size as plasma/LED)
2. Dot XL (still dots, just bigger)
3. Square dot (like DotXL, just square!) can't remember what the real name is for this
4. Hires/Upscaling (smoothing)
Here's a good post that explains it somewhat
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/what-are-the-best-settings-for-colordmd
I have the LCD in my TZ. I do not like the smoothing effect at all. I set it to dots. Colored dots in TZ looks great. The "jackpot" in color is awesome.
Quoted from JayDee:Here’s mine[quoted image]
Mine is the same.
Quoted from MK6PIN:While I'm in the thread, what is the average time for battery changeout (alkalines) ? Just changed mine today as I noticed the clock was way off. Had the game for years, but always seem to be running on the edge...
Will use the maintenance log and set my outlook scheduler accordingly....thanks for the help (seems this game runs through them, and not sure if lithium will give noticeable improvement in life on this game).....
I have had my lithium in for years. I checked the voltage recently and there was only a slight drop from new! I have lithium in all my pins.
Quoted from MK6PIN:hmm...I'll give them a go again....that was my thought, but recall them not lasting in this game awhile back....
I will check my TZ tomorrow for lithium battery voltage. I will let you know what I find.
Quoted from MK6PIN:While I'm in the thread, what is the average time for battery changeout (alkalines) ? Just changed mine today as I noticed the clock was way off. Had the game for years, but always seem to be running on the edge...
Will use the maintenance log and set my outlook scheduler accordingly....thanks for the help (seems this game runs through them, and not sure if lithium will give noticeable improvement in life on this game).....
My TZ has lithium batteries in for over 3 years. The voltage is still at 100%. Not going to replace a battery that does not leak just because it is old.
No age discrimination here.
Quoted from Initiative:hey TZ club - anyone know of a place/person to get reproductions of these lock bar stickers?[quoted image]
I think Marco sells some of them.
Quoted from uncivil_engineer: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.
[quoted image]
15411 are the correct coils for the lower TZ flippers.
Quoted from misfitdart:19 bucks for a magnet??......
Lowe's or Home Depot has much cheaper versions.
Quoted from Methos:What kind of flipper rubbers do you use on TZ? My game has a lot of bounce off the flippers, but they need changing so want to see what others like to use with this great game.
Perfect Play from Pinball Life. I put black in my TZ.
I had used Super Bands before. They seem more bouncy.
Quoted from Manny65:Do you use the PerfectPlay rings or sleeves as well? If so how do you find them
I use Perfect Play colored rings and Super Band colored post covers. I got the SB's before I found out about the Perfect Play.
I would only use the PP today though. I think the PP are silicone rubber and the SB are urethane. The PP are similar to natural rubber in play.
Quoted from Parker_tz:My Twilight Zone restore is almost done. Faded to great
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
I like the black trim and legs. The whole pin looks great.
My TZ has chrome trim and lock down and it is hard to play with the light reflecting off the chrome. It had the chrome on when I got it.
Quoted from atg1469:I recently purchased a TZ and overall the game plays pretty great, but the more games I've put in the more often I've had an issue come up with the ball getting hung up in the piano trough. Every time it gets stuck its just resting on the inside right hand side of the trough and I have to take the glass down and nudge it into the hole (the game can't find it otherwise). It's tough to get a pic of but I did my best to capture what's going on. Still, I have no idea how to correct this issue, any thoughts?!
[quoted image]
Your washer looks slightly larger than the one in my TZ. I have never had a ball stuck there. I would check your level side to side.
Quoted from PinballAir:What color is the right bulb condom under the clock and what color is the one beside the slot machine?
Right is yellow, left is red. Slot is yellow on mine.
Quoted from MMGB:Starting a rebuild of my TZ and noticed the right flipper coil was replaced in the past. I think it should have a FL-15411 on both main flippers. Can somebody confirm?
[quoted image]
Yes. FL-15411 are for lower flippers. FL-11722 is upper right and FL-11753 is upper left flipper.
Quoted from PinballAir:Do mirror blades get scratched when you lift the playfield or are they removed before you lift?
Lift carefully. Blades are left in.
Quoted from PinJim:The powerball is ceramic, and the black marks you see on it is dirt embedded in nicks in the surface. It’s perfectly normal. The nicks come from normal play, highly likely not from the area you identified. The are a result of the ball hitting other exposed metal surfaces around the playfield.
Some people do replace at least one of the screw hears you identified. People put a post (or maybe two) there with a rubber. But they do that to slow the ball down when it’s headed to the rocket launch, to keep it from bouncing out after a skill shot. Attached is a pic from another thread, maybe someone has a better one. My machine is all stock, so I don’t have the mod (and my ball often bounces out of the rocket ship area).
I believe some people have had success cleaning the powerball. I personally haven’t tried to and just accept the slight discoloring.
https://images.pinside.com/0/b9/0b91814d04b73ddc25a2439adeef21477100ba7c/resized/large/0b91814d04b73ddc25a2439adeef21477100ba7c.jpg
[quoted image]
I used Astonish oven and cooktop cleaner on the power ball.
Quoted from DDandB-KID:I follow what the manual states, page 2 #4
CLEANING of the POWRBALL is not recommended.
I bought a new white one.
Quoted from DDandB-KID:If you still have your original one recommend holding onto it.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tz-powerball-original
I still have it. I cleaned it but the new one looks better. Got it at PL for $40. I do not notice any difference in play.
Quoted from harig:interesting to see a #44 bayonet socket in your bumper.
Any reason to put it instead the stock #555 ?
Bulb will stay in better maybe.
Quoted from jawjaw:The magnet for the upper pf diverter (dumps the ball down above upper flipper) is highly recommended. There is a separator plastic piece for the gumball machine that keeps balls from jamming up in there. The lock panel flashers mod is nice but not really necessary. Reinforced target needed for piano target. Stock one takes a beating and gets bent back, causing air balls. With all games, I highly recommend ocd boards with leds.
Did you mean slot machine target needs to be reinforced?
Quoted from jawjaw:Sorry, yes. Slot machine target.
No worries. Just knew the slot was a problem because my TZ had the reinforced target when I got it.
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Bethlehem, PA
