(Topic ID: 212020)

System 80 problems

By bobnatlanta

6 years ago


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#1 6 years ago

I’m new to System 80. My recently acquired Volcano boots up fine and plays just fine, with all scoring, sounds and words. There are two issues:
The drain coil fires in test but not during a game. Coil and diode tested fine with a DMM.
When a ball goes into the subway via the Crater skeeball feature, a switch causes the game to slam tilt.
I have the schematic, but don’t have the rest of the manual, so I don’t really know what I’m looking for in switch test.
The game has a new MPU. Ground mods have not been done. I do plan to do the mods for the other boards, but assume I don’t need to do anything to the MPU.

Thoughts appreciated!
Cheers!
Bob

#2 6 years ago

OK, looks like I do still need to add ground to the connector between the CPU and Driver.

Any other thoughts on this?

#3 6 years ago

The drain coil issue could be the switch not making correctly.

#4 6 years ago

Cleaned the contacts and tested continuity with balls in place. All good.

#5 6 years ago

Great game Volcano, I like it more than my Haunted House
Sorry, my machine is in storage so can’t help much with pictures.

I don’t have a manual, but this should be the switch matrix numbering:

http://www.pinitech.com/switch_database.php?name=Gottlieb_Volcano

Switch test being #18 should display 99 for all open.
I would be checking switches #20 Outhole, #30 & #40 trough for the drain issue and remove the apron to better see what’s going on. Just in case, Volcano is a three ball game
For the skeeball issue, switches 4, 14, 24, 34 (Craters) & 00, 10 (subway). Maybe #46 under playfield slam switch is getting triggered with the ball exiting the subway? You might also want to meter test all playfield switch issues back to the boards, remembering that there could be some large flaky connectors along the way.
Ground mods are a must and most recommend (I’m still learning) redoing all the edge connectors at the same time to eliminate ‘haunting’ issues later on. I just switched on my Haunted House a couple of weeks ago and some of the playfield controlled lamps were stuck on. Turned off machine (always do this first) and re-seated all the connectors and all good again, which reminds me I need to order one of these kits before they run out of stock.

https://ksarcade.net/gottlieb-system-80-a1-a3-harness-rebuild-kit.html

You stated you had a new MPU, what brand Swemmer/Pascal? Might help others give you some better tips, as I’m no Gottlieb expert.

Good luck.

#6 6 years ago

Thanks mate, I'll check it out this weekend.

#7 6 years ago

Well....not sure whether to be happy about this or not. I appear to have 3 new boards. Two - MPU and Driver - of unknown origin, and a power supply from Gulf Pinball. TheMPU and Driver are a distinctive blue, but have no manufacturing markings on them that I can find. This also makes the ground mods more challenging for my tiny little brain.

The switch that’s causing the slam tilt is the kickout at the end of the subway. I haven’t figured out which number that is yet, and it’s late. More to come...

#8 6 years ago

Intended to include this photo of the boards...

3135565D-8FFB-457D-B34E-C45ED6A30A86 (resized).jpeg3135565D-8FFB-457D-B34E-C45ED6A30A86 (resized).jpeg

#9 6 years ago

A little better lighting and a note to/from the former owner indicates that these are Ni-Wumpf boards. The CPU is an older model, and unfortunately does not have the 40 pin connector. Anyone know the recommended ground upgrade connection point on these?

Thanks!!

3 weeks later
#10 6 years ago

No progress to speak of, other than I've obtained the full schematic which I cannot interpret. Some of the IDC connectors have been rebuilt, with crimped on pins. It's possible that something was not rebuilt properly, but I have no way of understanding what goes where. Perhaps a volcano owner could send me a picture of the appropriate connector, or a kindly pin tech could teach me to interpret the schematics...To summarize, the game slam tilts when switch 10 is activated, and the coil (good coil, new diode) that releases the ball into the launch lane does not work at all. Other than that, the game appears to work properly.

Thanks!!

1 week later
#11 6 years ago

Progress! Well...sorta. The slam tilt thing was making me crazy. Ordered the schematic from PBR and found the switch matrix strobe and return for the subway switch. Started a game and unplugged the pf, then shorted S0 to R0 with a jumper. Slam Tilt. Pretty sure I’ve isolated the problem to the CPU, so I sent a note to Ace for advice on further diagnostics/repair.

2 weeks later
#12 5 years ago

Big shout out to Ace at Ni-Wumpf. Long story, but he owned the game at one time, and the cpu is a prototype that he has now repaired. It’s on the way back to me. Full report when it’s installed.

#13 5 years ago
Quoted from bobnatlanta:

Big shout out to Ace at Ni-Wumpf. Long story, but he owned the game at one time, and the cpu is a prototype that he has now repaired. It’s on the way back to me. Full report when it’s installed.

Ace is great. He helped me work through some problems on my Joker Poker.

2 weeks later
#14 5 years ago

Repaired board in place. I also rebuilt the CPU/Driver connector. Couple of switches adjusted and cleaned, couple of fuses replaced and the game is almost 100%. The only remaining issue is the ball release coil that puts theball in the plunger lane. It does not fire during game play. Verified switch closes with a ball in place, switch registers in switch test, coil fires in coil test. New diode. And...nada. It ocurred to me that I need to test power at the coil while sitting here eating wings and getting hot sauce on my phone. Anything else for me to look for?
Thanks!!

Update - verified power at the coil, which fires when grounded. Replaced the Edge connector, still nothing. Starting to suspect the Ni-Wumpf driver, so I fired off another note to Ace.

2 weeks later
#15 5 years ago

Resolved - board related issues, all corrected by Ace, and a couple of switch and game adjustments.

Thanks Ace!!

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