# Installing American Pinball Topper **Source:** American Pinball **Type:** video **Published:** 2023-03-09 **Duration:** 6m 1s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOhkMO27waw --- ## Analysis Dave Brennan from American Pinball Tech Service provides a detailed installation guide for Houdini Master of Mystery toppers, now back in stock. The video covers physical attachment to the backbox and electrical connection procedures, with different connector options depending on the machine's build year (2021+ vs. earlier models). ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Houdini Master of Mystery toppers are back in stock — _Dave Brennan, American Pinball Pinball Tech Service, opening statement_ - [HIGH] Machines built in 2021 have pre-installed mating connectors in the backbox for topper lighting — _Dave Brennan describing hardware differences by build year_ - [HIGH] Machines built prior to 2021 require T-tap connectors to connect toppers — _Dave Brennan explaining backwards compatibility solution_ ### Notable Quotes > "Houdini Master of Mystery toppers are back in stock." > — **Dave Brennan**, Opening > _Direct announcement of product availability, primary call-to-action for the video_ > "You'll clamp it closed on the wire and then connect up this to the topper... The reason we use this is if you ever have to remove the topper for transport you can easily unplug this and be easily able to take the topper off." > — **Dave Brennan**, Mid-video > _Explains design rationale for T-tap connector solution, addressing practical owner concerns_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Dave Brennan | person | Pinball Tech Service technician at American Pinball, provides topper installation guidance | | American Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer producing Houdini Master of Mystery and associated accessories | | Houdini Master of Mystery | game | American Pinball title for which toppers are now back in stock and receiving installation support | ### Topics - **Primary:** Product availability and restocking, Topper installation and assembly, Hardware compatibility across build years - **Secondary:** Customer support and education ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Enthusiastic tone about product availability; instructional content is clear and helpful; framing of backward compatibility as a feature rather than limitation is positive ### Signals - **[community_signal]** American Pinball providing detailed technical education content to owners on accessory installation, demonstrating ongoing customer support commitment (confidence: high) — Comprehensive video walkthrough with specific technical guidance for both pre-2021 and 2021+ hardware variants - **[product_strategy]** Hardware design evolution reflected in 2021 build year transition to pre-installed connectors, indicating iterative improvement for user experience (confidence: medium) — Dave Brennan distinguishes between 2021+ models with built-in connectors vs. earlier T-tap connector solution - **[product_strategy]** Houdini Master of Mystery topper accessories now back in stock with official installation support from manufacturer tech service (confidence: high) — Dave Brennan announcement and detailed installation guide for topper product --- ## Transcript Hey Houdini owners, Dave Jeff Brenner with American Pinball Tech Service. Have I got some exciting news for you. That's right, Houdini toppers are back in stock. Now you might be asking, Dave you're a tech guy, why are you Win Schilling toppers? What's the next question you're going ask. How the heck do I hook this thing up, right? Well, in this video I'm going to show you just that. So let's take a look. This is what you're going to get in the box. You'll see that there's already a Molex Mate and Lock connector already attached to the LEDs. If you bought a Houdini built in 2021, you'll see that there is the mating connector already attached in the backbox that will tap into the lighting. If you have a Houdini that was built prior to that, what you're going to use is a T-tap connector. And how these work is you'll tap into the yellow and black wires on your existing backbox lighting. You'll clamp it closed on the wire and then Then you connect up this to the topper and then the spade plug goes into the end of the T The reason we use this is if you ever have to remove the topper for transport you can easily unplug this and be able to take the topper off. The first thing we'll need to do is take out the back glass. You'll need to open your coin door and locate the backbox key. This is usually hanging on a hook. While you're in there, grab the 516 hex wrench that came with your game. We'll need that to unlock the roto latch in the back of the game. Take the backbox key, insert into the lock, turn it perpendicular to the back glass, put your palm on the glass, your fingers on the lift channel below, push in and pull up to remove the glass. set it someplace safe so it doesn't get scratched. Now that your back glass is removed, you'll need to gain access for the topper connector. Make sure the game is powered off for this step. Take a quarter-inch nut driver and you'll need to remove the quarter-inch screws on one side of the vent that's in the back of the backbox. Once these are removed you'll have an access hole to put the connector in For the newer Houdini built in 2021 there will be an access hole already on the top of the backbox For the actual task of attaching the topper to the top of the game I find it easier to do this with the backbox folded down rather than standing on a chair Take the 5-16 hex wrench that came with your game and unlock the roto latch so your backbox can be folded down. When you fold this down, make sure that none of the wires are getting tugged, so guide them as you fold it down gently and rest it on the body of the game. Now for the task of actually attaching the topper. So I've already removed the back plastic on this topper which is just the three screws here and it makes it a little bit easier to see in the video and also to screw in these screws here. So what you'll want to do is center it up on the game and screw in to the top of the backbox. Now that that's screwed in, I'm going to put the, reattach the plastic. Now I take the connector and feed it through the vent and then I can pull it through the rest of the way once the backbox is back up again. Now for the task of tapping into your existing backbox lighting. Take the connectors that were supplied with the topper and you'll want to clasp it around the black and yellow wires that are already in the backbox. Now take the end of the connector, plug it into the supplied connector, take the spade ends and match them up yellow to yellow, black to black. Note that if you have a 2021 built Houdini there's already a supplied connector at the end of the LED strip to plug into. Now that's done. Now you can put your back glass back and power up your game. If you have any questions about anything that wasn't clear in this video, please reach out to me at the email or phone number listed at the bottom of the screen. Thanks for watching! _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 6d832980-4ef6-40ca-bdd1-75035e0c7de9*