I have done sections on other games, its a huge pain.

Not advisable on this game. You’re likely to lose significant chunks of paint. Best bet is to go at it with some plastic polish on a buffer.

I ABSOLUTELY agree.

Too many Stargates have been ruined by mylar removal.

The ink is too fragile and ALWAYS leads to some artwork loss.

That said, its VERY possible to buff out the mylar to acceptable levels.

Does anyone else run into a ball getting stuck in the Sarcophagus? A couple times now my game will complain it is missing a ball. Sure enough there will only be 3 in the trough. If that happens I just make sure to shoot one into the Sarcophagus and magically two will come out and all is well.

I haven't taken that part of the playfield apart but wonder if it is just a worn or missing rubber ring up there causing the problem. If it is a common issue what did you do to fix it?

It happens mostly if the rubber is missing there.

There are a few complaints and solutions posted.

I did a factory setting restore and that fix this issue.

What version ROM are you using?

I have some blemishes on the metal part of the pyramid. I tried every ckeaner and polish to my disposal with no luck. Any ideas?

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20230315_142759 (resized).jpg

Buy a new decal, have it plated in brass.

Do the ramps and wireforms at the same time.

That is what I did...although, I had my ramps powder coated metallic black.

Black would look very cool with the decals

I never installed the decals...just stuck them in the cash box. See Post 1270 of this thread for images of the ramps and more.

I wonder if a vinyl wrap would work. I saw on pinside a fellow wrapped his legs, lockdown bar, and side rails. The pictures looked good.

I have three questions, please help.

1) I got a new rubber kit and installed it but are left with one cylinder. It is not one of the ones that are sloped, it has straight sides. See photo. Where does it go?

2) With a new rope light came four foam pads. See photo. Where do they go?

3) When I do a switch test the right top opto shows as closed. I cleaned both lenses with no change. Any advice?

Thanks !

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The sponge washers protect the nylock nut from cracking the glass mirror. DONT over tighten them:
sponge (resized).jpg

I have a couple rubbers left over from my PBR kit also. I haven done a complete tear down yet.

It will become apparent where it goes the deeper you get into the game,

The ball gets stuck behind drop target to the right in the hurry up/sarcophagus lane.

This happens when I plunge the ball and overshoot the skill shot. It does not happen all the time but very often. Then after a while the machine wil reset the targets looking for the ball.

How to fix this?

The drop target should not be up at the start of the ball. If it is then some switch must be registering erroneously. Does the game award you a skill shot?

The drop target should be down on the plunge.

It pops back up as soon as any switch is registered.

Revove it from the game and pull it apart to clean the coil sleeve and make sure the wires to the coil and switch are firmly connected.

Remove any burrs on the coil stop with a file or sandpaper.

Make sure that the molex connection is clean and solid.

Check it out and clean everything to be sure it has smooth non-binding operation that locks and releases properly.

Make sure that the coil spring is in good condition.

Cleaning everthing with naptha. It does a great job and wont harm anything.

Possibly its just gummed up from use and age.

Metal on metal rubbibg parts such as shafts and bearings can be lubed with a dry lubricant like WD40 slilcone:

https://www.amazon.com/WD-40-Specialist-Resistant-Lubricant-STRAW-SPRAYS/dp/B00631GSSI/ref=asc_df_B00631GSSI/

The manual has the breakdown for the mech with part numbers.

Pinball Resource is an excellent place to get spare parts and is cheaper than Marco Specialties.

https://www.pbresource.com/

https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/main

Naptha:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-1-qt-Varnish-Maker-and-Painter-s-Naphtha-QVM46/100122813?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_016_EXT_PAINT-NA-Multi-NA-PLALIA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-PRO-NA-FY21_Exterior_PLALIA_Q3_Control&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_016_EXT_PAINT-NA-Multi-NA-PLALIA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-PRO-NA-FY21_Exterior_PLALIA_Q3_Control-71700000075826640-58700006498654201-92700058683660015&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2v-gBhC1ARIsAOQdKY3NwK_r5HSLW3LayeU2Ql23HQ_X_CZN5fV9xB6SN9bVufGCoZTLLxAaAm9YEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thank you for the feedback. I will certainly follow your advice but from observation and in the seliniod test mode the mechanism works fine up and down. It is not getting stuck but it is more like its timing is off.

So as an example, when I start a new game it is down and as I do my first plunge shoot it pops up even before the ball drops behind it from a missed skill shot.

Replace the shooter lane leaf switch. Probably not a bad idea to do the left outlane switch as well. They are switches 25 and 26, both are leaf switches. They go bad and cause all kinds of mayhem.

My game used to do that until I started shopping it out.

Cleaning switches, checking wire connections, doing the ground mod etc, solved all the weirdness in the game.

I started a thread about fixing a stargate here:

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

Lots of stuff you can do!

Problem: Right drop target in the sarcophagus / hurry up lane pops up when you plunge the ball past the skill shot and captures it there till the machine starts looking for the ball and resetting all solenoids some 30 seconds later.

Solution: It took me a day of head scratching to figure out this gremlin and I finally solved it. I hope my post will help someone in the future that might run into the same issue.

So, when I shoot/plunge the ball and it goes past the skill shot and drops into the right lane the popup target shoots up and catches it behind it. So, I asked myself what normally triggers that popup target? The answer is the optos. So, if you do make the skill shot the ball will then run on the wireframe over to the left of the playfield past an opto and then immediately the popup target will shoot up.

So I then tried a test by starting a game with the glass off, waited for the ball to appear in the shooter lane, lifted it out, and then stuck my finger between the optos at the top right ramp, and again immediately the popup target would shoot up.

I now know for certain that the optos activate that popup target. I also noticed the second the ball misses the skill shot and drops down to the playfield on the impact the target will shoot up. I then tested it by just giving the cabinet a tap, the same thing the target would shoot up.

I was getting closer, there is a switch or loose connection somewhere that triggers on the impact of the playfield, even just that of the ball.
Then I came up with the bright idea to do a ball shoot past the skill shot so that it drops to the playfield while I am in the switch test mode. There it was! Opto B0 would switch every time the ball drops to the playfield and so activate the popup target, but why?

I figured out what opto controller board belonged to the top right opto by interrupting the opto and watching for the red LED at the bottom of the playfield. It turns out to be the one bottom right with the playfield in the up position.

I removed the controller board for closer inspection and there it was, one leg of what looks like a large resistor was just, just loose and so would break and make contact if I lightly tap on the playfield and you guessed it, it controls the top right opto that in turn triggers the popup target.

I sucked the solder out of the leg hole, pushed the leg all the way through, and resoldered. Problem solved and it now plays like a dream.

In the photo l already pulled the leg away a bit, it was basically touching when I found it. Lesson here is if the game is acting strange go over the playfield PCBs and look for cold or loose soldering.

I hope that this helps someone.
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Nice write up and solution!

Was looking to install nvram, but it appears there needs to be some mod to the board to run this...anyone have the skinny on where to find this elusive information? Looked on pinwiki, but nada. I only see one reference on this forum concerning this issue. And will anypin nvram work as pinball life says not on system 3 ( but I assume this is because you need to mod it)

I was all setup to rebuild my board but decided to just replace it with a MUCH better one:

https://nvram.weebly.com/gtb-system-3-mpu.html

It boots FASTER and the game is a bit more energetic.
NVRAM included, no more battery!

Replacing 30 year old boards for more durable and stable electronics pays really well to future-proof the game.

It looks like a nice replacement for a missing or board that was messed by battery acid. But, Boots faster? It doesn’t mention that in the description and unless there is something unique done I am doubtful of that particular claim unless I see timings of that vs original. The NVRAM vs battery backed RAM shouldn’t make it faster.

I’ve had to repair a lot of pinball boards over the years but rarely had any requests for System 3 boards. The original boards seem to be pretty solid. The only ones I’ve had to do were for my own Stargate. Parts are still available and instead of the soldered in battery use a 2430 holder and coin cell. That coin cell is unlikely to leak and will run for years. I am a fan of NVRAM on other boards but a coin cell works great on these System 3 MPUs. Not expensive to add either.

The only boards that were a PITA were the pair of sound cards. Had to install new DIP sockets and the surface mount chip for the daughter board was bad making the speech cutout. Luckily those were still stocked at PBR.

Yeah, if boots faster and seems to run and process quicker on my game.

More crisp?

Same main ROM revision as before? Just curious what other difference there could be.

Yeah, V4 ROM

Its possibly just a more efficient achitecture.

But did you go to V4 ROM from an earlier version of the ROM at the same time you replaced the MPU? If so then it may be the ROM you are noticing and not the new MPU board. The description doesn't mention it is different, faster, etc. If it is but isn't mentioned then it wouldn't be an accurate matching replacement. Not necessarily a bad thing if it is called out and highlighted. Otherwise it could be a bad thing if someone expects it to behave as a exact replacement.

I had the V4 ROM on the old board.

When the game booted I got 2 beeps which is standard.

The colorDMD would come up just after that but not display the ROM version info.

The screen took awhile to fully boot.

It would display the ROM info before on the old plasma display,

With the new CPU, the game boots a bit faster and makes a light chirp and then a beep, but not 2 beeps.

The colorDMD comes up much faster and now posts the ROM info before going to attract mode,

So, its different, but better.

I agree, its not an exact replacement.

The differences are subtle but pleasing.

Im very happy with the CPU, driver and power supply boards that I replaced.

The game seems stronger.

Got a text from the location my Stargate is at saying the ball wouldn't kick out when starting a game. I went to check it out and found nothing wrong with the ball kick out coil wiring but while testing coils I found S11 - Top Right Upkicker and S3- Right Slignshot also not working.

I inspected all for broken wires or broken diodes, nothing apparent. nothing looked burnt up.
I didn't have my multimeter with me to test fuses and diodes. Going back today to investigate further.

I'm going to look through the manual and wiring diagrams to see what those three coils might have in common, but does anyone know of hand or have a clue where I focus my attention?

I'll update the thread with what I find.

Thanks!
-Charles

I think you are on the right track.

Blown fuse or wire fell off is my first guess.

Checked all fuses, all good.

Re-sat the connectors on the driver board and the problem coils moved to the pop bumpers and the sarcophagus kicker.

I removed the driver board and reflowed solder on all the connector pins.

All good after that.

Food for thought:

I replaced my MPU, power supply and Driver boards to future-proof my game.

It may not be the least expensive solution, but I really like the "fresh" boards.

30 year old tech and rotting fiberglass were my primary concerns.

Believe it or not. At this time, I am mostly playing R&B, and Popeye. I enjoy more fun or silly based games. I like the call outs.

R&B and Popeye are amazingly fun games!

Highly underrated.

Gilligams Island is also one of my favorites.

Im playing T2 a lot right now.....Hasta la Vista Baby....

Some people prefer new boards and others like myself prefer originals when possible (with an exception for early Bally/Stern rectifier boards)

Here is some additional Food for thought and a different perspective. Unless the original boards are physically damaged by burned up parts, battery damage, or significant hacks by prior work there is no reason not to stay with them. Properly repaired and reconditioned boards are "Fresh" if done right. They should continue to run just as long. If not, then perhaps things were missed or corners cut when servicing the boards.

Any flaws with the originals are pretty well documented in numerous sources like pinwiki.com and bulletproofing threads on pinside. Following that and good practices when refreshing boards (like washing them and cleaning off flux after re-work) you shouldn't have any trouble. Just about every one of my machines run all originals and they are solid. I do have an aftermarket MPU in JD because leaking batteries ruined the original board.

I haven't heard of a lot of issues with the original Gottlieb System 3 board sets. If they are working I just don't see why anyone would replace them. Things like going over any cracked solder connections should be part of going through any game. When I get a new game all the boards come out, get washed, inspected, strip off any questionable prior work, perform any repairs (if needed), replace parts that do age like electrolytic caps, perform any updates/mods, depending on board some get new sockets, etc. They come out fresh and usually look like new boards again.

At least for me the original boards are easier to maintain and get parts for. I should be able to keep them going indefinitely. Many replacement boards went to mostly surface mount parts which aren't always as easy to deal with in repairs. Others have moved to incorporate larger programmable chips without published code or binary image that you can't replace.

The Boston psb is cheap and makes dialing in voltage a breeze. Imo, this is a must add to Stagate.

I agree with you 100%

Well maintained "bullet-proofed" boards are a joy to have in service.

IMHO, the original Wiliams/Bally WPC boardsets (also the Rocket CPU board, I love that one and the clock actually works!) play better than the aftermarket, or at least play like Im used to.

To me its a "PLUS" to not have after market boards in my backboxes (if I can achieve it).

I always send them out for bullet-proofing. I would do it but just dont have the time.

I love that little board.

Its rock solid under load and NEVER changes its voltage.

I have mine set at 5.2V and its perfect in my game.

Link for recommended CR2430 battery holders?

I use these holders:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YSD1LVS

and then you can use these batteries:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0797NYRHH

They last a long time and are unlikely to leak. If they die it is easy to pop a fresh battery in.

One is in my own Stargate and have done several others.

Thanks for the info. Ordered

Just me. The older boards are serviceable. Under $30. It’s back up and running. New boards in newer machines. Not so easy to fix if at all. I used to work on old tvs, stereos, vcrs. We did not replace circuit boards. We fixed them.

Agreed 1000%

I really cant get my menu to work. Its autoscrolling and if I manually hold in q relay it stops. I bought new flipper sensor boards and that did not help. After a while the right flipper does not work when trading quartz in the game. Im lost..please help (adding that its not any loose cables on any lugs. Switch 80 that are connected with the 2 flippersensor boards in the switch matrix work)

Sounds like a stuck cabinet flipper switch, or needs cleaning and adjustment, or a short....

So shopping out my Stargate machine, (new purchase) I find that the glider is sort of binding up (more like peyronies disease). The top nut that allows the ship to slide seems loose enough, but still seems to bind up....no one has come up with some improved design for this?

Its quite an engineering marvel!

I dont think one can improve upon it, but since parts are impossible to get, it can be reproduced.

Fortunately Steve still has some of the parts that are always broken, so its not an emergency.

If I take mine apart (if I can get a playfield) I was going to draw it up in CAD and make up a few, time permitting.

For now, Im still trynig to source someone to reproduce the ramps, they are a complicated job.