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TZ home, now fiddling, illumination question

Adrian Hufton

Adrian Hufton

Registered
10 Years
Joined
Apr 10, 2012
Messages
619
Location
Ellesmere Port,Cheshire
Started tinkering with my TZ, i noticed certain bulbs look a bit dim, i did the general illumination test and the bulbs on this circuit (playfield generally) don't go any any brighter after number 5. I am going to get LED's to brighten it up but is there a problem or is this normal?

Other bulbs all seem fully bright, flashers and the ones over target holes etc.
 
Did a full strip down and clean today and although i managed to put it back together i now have issues.

i have no illumination to the left of the playfield and the left sling does not work.

I had this particular problem when it arrived but it fixed itself while playing but then i noticed as my first post the general playfield illumination was dim.

The right side is now bright again so maybe this is connected.

The test report also tells me the clock is broken although it seems to be working.

I have had enough today as it took me all day, i will have a look tomorrow but any help in the mean tiime would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Adie
 
Hi Adie



Left sling - use test menu for switches and solenoid. Chances are its a broken/loose wire somewhere between the main boards and the playfield. The manual will tell you which connectors to check on the boards - worth reseating them.



Left lights - unlikely to be related to slingshot issue. Check connector j120/121 on the main board - burnt connectors for GI lighting are common. Again the manual will tell you which wires for the left GI string, and which fuse to check.



Clock broken - welcome to TZ !
wink-1.png
Clock problems are common to virtually every TZ. Usually the issue is a failing opto in the clock, or flaky connection on the clock boards. If it came up with the message but the clock is now fine, possibly an intermittant issue with an opto - machine thought is was down and reported it. If it keeps happening and clock stops working properly then investigate further.
 
Ok folks, to cut a long and embarassing story short i fixed the sling (so simple) the switch was stuck closed, i assumed it was something more.

I have a burnt and melted end pin on my J121 so i assume that is my lighting problem - can i chance repair to that one pin or do i have to replace the whole block?

The clock on test registers every opto all through the 12 hour cycle, resets to 12 on game start but i am not familiar enough with how it supposed to work in the game to know if it works properly or not.

Calimori, i will take you up on that chat it i can find where my pm's are.

Cheers for all the help guys, after having 12 months trouble free TAF i hope this isn't welcome to the Twilight Zone!!

Adie
 
Sling - cool ! Not embarassing ...we all overlook simple faults sometimes, and we all have to learn.



J121 - yep thats almost certainly yr culprit. Is the header pin itself melted/burned ? Or just the wires connector ? If the header pin is then ideally the whole header pin block should be replaced, you may get away with resoldering just that header pin - wont look pretty and may only be a temporary fix. If the actual connector block is showing signs of overheating then really that should be replaced also.



The clock - sounds like testing fine, so could be intermittant fault. In game during certain modes such as Clock Chaos , the hands of the clock will turn to show amount of time left in mode, points etc. Importantly it should be at Midnight at game start and always return to Midnight after any mode ends.



TZ is notorious for issues - there are just so many toys/gadgets that gremlins can get to work on ....the gumball machine, the clock and the powerball switches/sensors being the most problematic. Don't let it put you off though, all these issues are really well documented on the web and are easily fixable.



It can also benefit from lots of tweaks to help the gameplay , eg the Rocket kicker should always fire the ball straight across the playfield into the Hitchhiker lane and on to the pop bumpers, the lock lane sometimes needs adjusting to prevent bounceouts and lots of others. Might be worth getting someone who knows TZ *really* well to have a look at yr machine and assess how it plays, and how it is setup. As a new owner and with such a complex game there are probably many aspects, features that you may not even be aware of yet.
 
Good to chat with you Adie, sounds like you have some fun and games to get your TZ to your liking but you do now have two of the top rated pins so you are a lucky man.
 
GrizZ,

The pin looks fine it is just the block that is black, it sort of looks like it should work but alas it does not. I have one more thing to try, sone novus 2 went down one of the bulb holders, i mopped it out with a cotton bud as best i could but might that cause a short and stop things working? Worth a look i suppose.

As for someone popping round to check it out, yes please, if anyone is ever in my area going Cheshire oaks shopping etc, give me a shout, i would be forever in your debt.

Calimori, likewise good to chat. Will be nice to hopefully meet up someday, shame you are not at the party.

I am staying at the hotel and attending the dinner so hope to meet as many people off here as i can.

Thanks for all the help.

Adie
 
Yes, brown wire is toast, i touched it to the pin and all the lights came on so i know what i've got to do to fix it.

Just the clock to sort out, it is annoying as it goes through all the tests and it is showing the correct time as i speak in attract mode.

Cheers Adie
 
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