Lamps on System 3 games are polarized. If an LED doesn’t work, it’s often because the lugs were soldered in backwards. So check the suspect sockets with an incandescent. If it works, either the LED is bad, or you need to reverse the lugs (de-solder, flip and resolder).

Flippers are operated mechanically. No CPU control like fliptronics. The switch test will only tell the CPU of a switch closure for things like lane change and putting in initials. Diagnose non-working flippers as you would any other game: check for loose wires at lugs, and check the flipper relay contacts in the bottom of the cabinet.

I'm having a heck of a time getting my catapult ramp switch dialed in. I'm assuming the ramp is supposed to sit directly over the kick out hole when stopped?

Anyone take a picture so I can see what it's supposed to look like or maybe provide some tips for how it should be adjusted? The switch arm was broken when I got my game so I don't have a reference how it should be.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I'm having issues with Cue Ball Wizard. Two of the three kickout holes (corner pocket and top left) don't seem to be registering. They both kickout when the game resets so the solenoids are working so it must be the switches. I notice this game has switches that use little white boxes like MAME machines. What is the most likely culprit on a system 3 as I don't have much experience with them. Would this be a switch replacement (white box) or a board issue? Thank you

They’re microswitches. I’m not sure what the best substitute would be because the actual part number appears to be out of stock from PBR and Marco.

Part# 27667A

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I was wondering if someone can send me the rubber ring chart for Hoops? Thanks

Thank you very much!

One thing to keep in mind: if you're doing silicone rubber, the post sleeve part number wont work. You'll need to use 7/8 post sleeves as opposed to the standard post sleeve.

I have a kit here. https://www.titanpinball.com/kits/index.php/view/id/1989

Is there anybody with a Sys3 parts catalog who would be able to confirm the part number for the trough track/guide on a system 3 game? I"ve got a bad divot in mine and would like to replace it.

Thanks in advance.

I have a '95 parts catalog, not sure what part you mean.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/18356

Is this a Sys3 or a Sys80 ball guide in the trough.

Edit: Found it. it is.

Thanks

Hey guys, running into a really frustrating issue.

F6 (switch/lamp matrix) keeps blowing on my Shaq Attaq, but it’s not the driver board or CPU, and it’s not on the playfield.

When the driver board is unhooked, the fuse won’t blow. But when I plug in any of the spare driver boards I have, F6 blows. I swapped the CPU, F6 blows. Tried both new driver and new CPU, still blows.

I am at a loss here. How should I proceed, where might this fault be? It was suggested that maybe a bridge rectifier is bad, or something on the power supply.

Maybe some insight can be gained from my adventure:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stargate-woes

I’ll take a look. This has been frustrating. The game was at an event and did great. I brought it back and it immediately blew the fuse. Found that an IC on the driver was cracked. Just got it replaced and socketed and now the fuse is still blowing.

I manually checked every switch and lamp and there are no shorts. No idea what would be blowing F6.
When the Driver was replaced, it blew. When the CPU was replaced, it blew.

It could be on the playfield, but I’m not seeing any issues. Should I also try unplugging every smart switch? Could that really blow the 10a slow blow fuse?

Posted this a couple of weeks ago in The Gladiators club, but this might be a more generic Sys 3 problem.

My game suffered from missing DMD animations (blank screen) during specific states, ranging from being in some modes to triggering only on one of the four options being selected in the main menu (cycling would lead to image, image, blank, image etc.) At that time the game also suffered from false-positive ball-through opto hits, with the game thinking that the ball was not in play, while it was.

I saw somewhere that a factory reset solved random issues, and what are the odds, a factory reset solved every issue. However, after a couple of plays the DMD issues start re-appearing. So animations are visible for a while, while at a later point the state led to a blank screen. Repeating the factory reset fixes it temporarily.

Any idea what could be the cause?

I still need to replace my battery

Hello,

I just bought my first Gottlieb (Gladiators).

It looks amazing and works 100% for what I can tell.

I just found out it will be a bit hard to find a manual.

Anyone knows about one in Europe or if it's possible to get a digital version?

Also which pinbsll suppliers have the most stock for Gottliebs of this era?

Thanks a lot!
Andrej

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Probably the RAM having issues stemming from bad batteries or failing batteries or corrosion.

The Pinball Resource in a Poughkeepsie near me. He is the only licensed Gottlieb guy

Which IC? The schematic should show what section the IC is in.

Turns out the bridge rectifier was shorted internally. We will see if this replacement fixes the issue

Check out Pinball Resource.

Trying to figure out why my Cue Ball Wizard backbox GI lamps are out (but flashers still work). I've checked the fuse obviously. It's good. I've got continuity throughout. Checked the relays, they seem fine. I just have NO voltage at the GI connections in the backbox. Playfield and coin door are both working. It was working prior my shopping the game out (which necessitated removing the whole transformer panel to replace one of the screw-in fuse holders).

Again there's continuity from the fuse to the backbox, from the relay to the backbox, etc. I'd read about faulty sockets on here but I'm not even getting power to them. Where could it be dropping?

Got this sorted out. Ended up being a cold solder joint on the A-relay!

Hello,

I would like to ask for some help/pointers for my Gladiators.

When i bought it on the right bottom flipper the capacitor was disconnected. The flipper was a bit weak so i just re-soldered it back. Then in a couple of games the coil overheated and the fuse blew.

Since then i changed the coil since it deformed and disconnected the capacitor again. I also discovered that the coil installed was the same as the left flipper A-25959 Red, but not the one that was supposed to be installed A-29876 Orange. Also the capacitor was 0,47 uF instead of the 2,2 uF.

The flipper now works fine (still weak because in only had a red spare coil), but since this is my first Gottlieb I work on, I'm not really sure what is the most probable reason and if trying to connect the right capacitor would be a good idea. Will a Gottlieb flipper fail without a functioning EOS, or is it like a Williams Bally?

Any advice would be incredibly welcome.

Kind regards
Andrej

Can't find anything in my manuals. Can anyone tell me how to clear credits on a System 3?

Start a 4 player game. Slam tilt. Start a 4 player game. Slam tilt. Ect.

Can anyone send me a pic of the gopher motor area. Mine is stripped and want to order all the parts needed.

Yes. It will melt that sucker in short order, happened on my Shaq Attaq, on location the EOS high-current (NOT HIGH VOLTAGE, thanks Steve at PBR!) broke off and the flipper melted. Fix it the right way before trying to use the game or you’ll destroy more coils which gets pricy

Any idea what a NOS Hoops playfield is going for now a days?

No idea. But that's near unobtanium. My PF on Hoops is great. But I would guess to someone that would be worth $500-600, maybe more.

I mean, I cannot even find slingshot plastics!

I think PBR had one a few years back when they were unloading the archival proof playfields. If so, it was sold for $600.

I’m shopping out an Operation Thunder and the outhole will not work during gameplay but works fine during solenoid test. Any idea of things I should check?

Sounds like the switch is not working properly. Verify it's operation, adjust it first

I used my fiberglass eraser to clean the switches, but it didn't help. Turns out the game was missing a ball...

So, rookie mistake. During a flipper rebuild on Hoops, I hooked the wires up wrong. Fuse F8 blew and the game turned off. I now have no power at all when I flip the power switch. I checked all fuses and all are good. I swapped in a different (known working) power supply and nothing. I plugged the game into another outlet, still nothing. I did not notice any burned components on the boards (Im not an expert so could of easily missed something.) Any ideas as to what the issue may be?

Check the fuses in the AC power box.

Are you referring to the transformer panel? I checked F2 - F11 and all are good.

If you have no lights, no power, I would start at the power cord and work my way up to the fuse block and then the backbox.

Checking voltage each step.

Im certain than you blew up transistors by hooking up flippers wrong, but it should not kill power the the entire game.

Unless you killed the driver board, and then the power board?

Try reseating connectors on the driver board, or all the connectors especially the grounds.

Will do! Thank you!

Got it! Thank you! Totally forgot out the fuse where the power cord comes in. Had to put a new diode on the flipper coil as well. But all working now. Thanks again!

Given the time frame on your profile of when you acquired this game, and the fact that you’re asking about a NOS playfield, It leaves me wondering if this was in fact my old game that had an NOS playfield with it (that I acquired from Steve Young) that was falsely taken from me.
My total apologies if not, but if that game came out of Connecticut, it was done so under fraudulent terms, making the seller of it a total pos.