Gottlieb System 3

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1 Introduction

Put system info here

Gottlieb System 3 Board Set - Alphanumeric Display

Gottlieb System 3 Board Set - Dot Matrix Display

2 Game Listing

2.1 Alpha-Numeric

• Lights Action Camera
• Sliver Slugger
• Vegas
• Deadly Weapon
• Title Fight
• Nudge-It
• Bell Ringer
• Car Hop
• Hoops
• Cactus Jack
• Class of 1812
• Amazon Hunt III
• Surf'n Safari
• Caribbean Cruise
• Operation Thunder

2.2 Dot Matrix

• Super Mario Bros
• Super Mario Bros: Mushroom World
• Cue Ball Wizard
• Street Fighter II
• Tee'd Off
• Gladiators
• Wipe Out
• World Challenge Soccer
• Rescue 911
• Freddy: a Nightmare on Elm Street
• Shaq Attaq
• Stargate
• Big Hurt
• Waterworld
• Strikes N Spares
• Mario Andretti
• Barb Wire
• Brooks & Dunn
• Casino Royale

3 Technical Info

3.3 The Wire Coloring Code

Unlike every other pinball manufacturer, which adopted a two-color wiring code system, Gottlieb used three colors. Most wiring in a Gottlieb game used a white base color, which is the wire's insulation color, and three "striped" traces on each wire. I state most cases, because there is one wire which only use one color. The white ground wires used in System 3 games with no trace at all. Below is the Gottlieb color chart.

#	Color
0	Black
1	Brown
2	Red
3	Orange
4	Yellow
5	Green
6	Blue
7	Purple
8	Gray
9	White

Does the color chart look familiar? Well, if you have an electronics background, it should. The Gottlieb wire code system is the same as the resistor color coding system.

Here are some examples of the color coding system. The color wire code for switch / lamp strobe line 0 is 400. 400 would be a white insulated wire with a yellow trace and two black traces, or commonly referred to as a yellow-black-black wire. The ground lines are 0 which is just plain white with no traces.

3.4 Connector Designations

All Gottlieb System 3 machines have a common naming convention for all of the connectors in the game. A specific connection uses two parts - a prefix and a suffix. The prefix is the board number or an inline wire junction, and the suffix is the connection on the board or a sequential wire junction number. When referencing a specific connector pin within a housing, a dash follows the connection number. For example, the connector pin for the slam switch signal on the CPU board is A1J5-11. The coin door connection used on Shaq Attaq is A10P1 and A10J1 - the connector pin for the slam switch on the coin door is A10P1-5.

The following boards are assigned the same numbers throughout the System 3 platform.

• CPU Board - A1
• +5VDC Power Supply - A2
• Driver Board - A3
• Sound Board - A6

There are several other board designations used, however, they are different between games which use an alphanumeric display and a dot matrix display (DMD).

3.5 Switch Matrix

The Gottlieb System 3 switch matrix consists of a maximum of 108 switches. There are a total of 12 switch strobes and 8 switch returns. The strobe lines start at 0, increment consecutively to 9, and two more strobes are added named A and B respectively. The return lines start with 0 and end with 7. Typically but not always the case, if a game has opto switches and / or Smart Switches, they are located on the higher strobe lines. Strobe A and B are the most common strobe lines where an optic switch or Smart Switch would reside on the switch matrix. The notation of "**" on the switch matrix chart denotes that the switch used is a Smart Switch. It is extremely rare, if it even occurs, where every switch in the matrix is used on any one System 3 game. Gottlieb rarely used the System 3 switch matrix to its full capacity.

Just like the System 80 switch numbering system, the System 3 switch numbers have the same naming convention. With Gottlieb System 3 switches, the first number of the switch is its strobe number, while the second number is the switch's return number. An example would be switch 54. Switch 54 is located on strobe 5 and return 4 of the switch matrix.

There is one aspect of the Gottlieb System 3 switch matrix which makes it markedly different from any other manufacturer. The System 3 switch strobe lines and the lamp strobe lines are shared by the same lines. Due to this design, all switch strobes originate at connector A3J3 of the driver board, and all switch returns are connected to A1J5 of the CPU board. Because of the shared strobe design, this can make troubleshooting a switch matrix strobe issue more difficult at times.

Once again, the now normally open slam switch is not on the switch matrix. Equally, the test and tilt switches have moved off of the switch matrix, and have become dedicated switches.

	Strobe 0 (A3J3-9)	Strobe 1 (A3J3-10)	Strobe 2 (A3J3-11)	Strobe 3 (A3J3-12)	Strobe 4 (A3J3-13)	Strobe 5 (A3J3-14)	Strobe 6 (A3J3-6)	Strobe 7 (A3J3-5)	Strobe 8 (A3J3-4)	Strobe 9 (A3J3-3)	Strobe A (A3J3-2)	Strobe B (A3J3-1)
Return 0 (A1J5-8)	00	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	A0	B0
Return 1 (A1J5-7)	01	11	21	31	41	51	61	71	81	91	A1	B1
Return 2 (A1J5-6)	02	12	22	32	42	52	62	72	82	92	A2	B2
Return 3 (A1J5-5)	03	13	26	33	43	53	63	73	83	93	A3	B3
Return 4 (A1J5-4)	04	14	24	34	44	54	64	74	84	94	A4	B4
Return 5 (A1J5-3)	05	15	25	35	45	55	65	75	85	95	A5	B5
Return 6 (A1J5-2)	06	16	26	36	46	56	66	76	86	96	A6	B6
Return 7 (A1J5-1)	07	17	27	37	47	57	67	77	87	97	A7	B7

3.6 Lamp Matrix

Finally, Gottlieb employed a lamp matrix starting with the System 3 platform. The System 3 lamp matrix consists of a maximum of 108 controlled lamps. There are a total of 12 lamp strobes and 8 lamp returns. The strobe lines start at 0, increment consecutively to 9, and two more strobes are added named A and B respectively. The return lines start with 0 and end with 7. It is extremely rare, if it even occurs, where every lamp in the matrix is used on any one System 3 game. Gottlieb rarely used the System 3 lamp matrix to its full capacity.

Just like the System 3 switch numbering system, the lamp numbers have the same naming convention. The first number of the lamp is its strobe number, while the second number is the lamp's return number. An example would be lamp 62. Switch 62 is located on strobe 5 and return 4 of the lamp matrix.

As mentioned in the switch matrix section, there is one aspect of the Gottlieb System 3 lamp matrix which makes it markedly different from any other manufacturer. The System 3 lamp strobe lines and the switch strobe lines are shared by the same lines. All lamp strobes originate at connector A3J3 of the driver board, and all lamp returns are connected to A3J4 of the driver board. Troubleshooting a lamp matrix problem is less of an issue than troubleshooting a switch matrix issue.

There are some odd instances where standard 44 / 47 lamps are not located on the lamp matrix for some odd reason. A particular game which comes to mind is Wipeout. The three pop bumper lamps used in Wipeout are controlled by solenoid drivers. The voltage for these lamps originate from the solenoid bus, and is reduced from 20vdc to ~6vdc via a remotely mounted power resistor board under the playfield. It is uncertain why Gottlieb did this.

	Strobe 0 (A3J3-9)	Strobe 1 (A3J3-10)	Strobe 2 (A3J3-11)	Strobe 3 (A3J3-12)	Strobe 4 (A3J3-13)	Strobe 5 (A3J3-14)	Strobe 6 (A3J3-6)	Strobe 7 (A3J3-5)	Strobe 8 (A3J3-4)	Strobe 9 (A3J3-3)	Strobe A (A3J3-2)	Strobe B (A3J3-1)
Return 0 (A3J4-1)	00	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	A0	B0
Return 1 (A3J4-2)	01	11	21	31	41	51	61	71	81	91	A1	B1
Return 2 (A3J4-3)	02	12	22	32	42	52	62	72	82	92	A2	B2
Return 3 (A3J4-4)	03	13	26	33	43	53	63	73	83	93	A3	B3
Return 4 (A3J4-6)	04	14	24	34	44	54	64	74	84	94	A4	B4
Return 5 (A3J4-7)	05	15	25	35	45	55	65	75	85	95	A5	B5
Return 6 (A3J4-8)	06	16	26	36	46	56	66	76	86	96	A6	B6
Return 7 (A3J4-9)	07	17	27	37	47	57	67	77	87	97	A7	B7

3.13 Flippers

{WIP} Like all the other solenoids used in a System 3 game, Gottlieb beefed the power up to 48VDC versus the 24VDC of former Gottlieb platforms. Equally, the flipper assembly was completely redesigned with a more "modern" flipper bat, and completely different mechanicals. Parts for the System 3 flippers are not backward compatible with any previous Gottlieb platforms. This is partially due to the flipper coil having a larger "footprint" than older flipper coils.

GTB Sys3 used a slightly different approach to enable the flippers. Well, slightly different from other manufacturers, but the same as all previous GTB systems. The difference being that GTB did not use an encapsulated flipper relay on a circuit board. Instead, an open cage relay was used. Power to the flippers is enabled by a single switch on the game over (Q) relay. The same switch powers other coils on the playfield. The Q relay is typically located on the bottom of the cab on the right between the transformer panel and the "power box". The other relays used for tilt (T) and lampbox GI illumination (A) are normally banked with the Q relay. Like any other relay or coil, the Q relay is enabled by a MOSFET on the driver board.

Another thing new to System 3 is the used of a flipper sensor board. The purpose of the sensor board is to determine whether a flipper coil was enabled via the flipper cabinet switch, convert the 48v signal to a manageable voltage for the switch matrix via an opto coupler, and then send the signal back to the switch matrix. Gottlieb games had no way of determining this distinction before, unless a secondary switch from the switch matrix was placed on the switch stack with the flipper EOS switch. The flipper sensor board inputs are wired with 48v, and the left and right flipper coils' lug with the non-banded side of the diode. The flipper cabinet switches are wired to this same flipper coil lug, and when closed, complete the circuit to ground.

3.14 Smart Switches

Starting with Operation Thunder, Gottlieb started using Smart Switches. Smart Switches are a design, developed in-house by John Buras, and used to combat against common switch failures from moisture or contaminants. These switches are unlike traditional leaf switches or microswitches, because they do not use contacts which physically meet for a switch closure to occur. Instead, Smart Switches use a piezo film sensor to detect switch closures.

+++Add more operational technical detail later+++

Smart Switches are used in varying applications, such as lane rollovers, pop bumpers, and stationary (stand up) targets. In most instances, these switches hold up quite well. The exception are the stationary targets, which have a tendency to fail the most. Some Smart Switches are still available; however, the many different configurations, especially with stationary targets, are becoming limited. On the plus side, a standard, stationary target can be used in place of one which used a Smart Switch. Likewise, any other Smart Switches can be replaced with standard leaf switches or microswitches.

Smart Switches are unfortunately non-adjustable. When there is a switch failure, there really is nothing which can be done, except replacement of the switch.

4 Problems and Solutions

4.1 Ground Updates

Even though Gottlieb got most everything else right with the System 3 platform, it was plagued with ground issues just like every other Gottlieb platform. The System 3 ground connection at the transformer panel are very similar to System 80B. Therefore, the ground updates are equally similar.

4.2 Power Problems

Power issues start with the +5vdc power supply. A simple fix is to replace the 500 ohm 1 watt pot used to adjust the +5vdc. The original factory pot was a not a sealed pot. Dirt, dust and contaminants can get into the pot and foul it. The result is either dead spots on the pot, or total failure.

4.3 MPU boot issues

A very common issue with the System 3 platform is a message displayed on the DMD upon turning the power on. It can be common to see a "Check U3 error" upon attempted booting of the CPU. In most cases, this message is essentially telling the user that the lithium battery on the CPU board has failed.

4.3.1 Relocating the battery from the MPU board

The System 3 platform is probably one of the rare occasions where is it not recommended to move the battery off the CPU board. The System 3 CPU board's memory can be a little finicky, and in some instances a remote battery pack will not work. The best method is to cut the existing battery off the CPU board, and solder a lithium battery holder in its place. After the battery holder is in place, a common replacement "button" type lithium battery can be used. <cr clear=all>

4.6 Lamp problems

If your game is burning up lots of lamps quickly, check your voltage setting underneath the playfield. A setting of 110v can cause bulbs to burn out too quickly, 120v fixes the issue.

4.10 Flipper problems

Flipper flutter--Check the EOS switch to verify that the wires don't have a cold solder joint issue. Flipper weakness--The EOS switch and flipper button switches can cause issues if they're not clean and adjusted properly. Replacing the EOS switches can improve strength dramatically.

5 Repair Logs

Did you do a repair? Log it here as a possible solution for others.