Volcano (Gottlieb, 1981): Faults & System 80 Replacement Boards

Is your Volcano pinball by Gottlieb (1981) freezing mid-game while the flippers still work, failing to reset between balls, firing a coil the moment you switch it on, or showing displays that have gone dim? None of that is unusual on a Gottlieb System 80 machine that is now well over forty years old, and very little of it means the game is beyond saving. On a Volcano the trail almost always leads to the same three places: the connectors, the grounds, and the ageing CPU and Driver boards. Here is what actually goes wrong on this particular game, what owners have found when they went looking, and which System 80 replacement boards fit.

About the Volcano (Gottlieb, 1981)

See it: full photo gallery for Volcano on IPDB (#2742) — backglass, playfield, cabinet and original flyer scans. Worth a look before you buy or sell one, if only to check your backglass against a good original.

Volcano left D. Gottlieb & Co. in September 1981 as model 667, with roughly 3,655 units built. Artwork is by David Moore. The design credit is worth a footnote: Pinside and Kineticist both list John Osborne and Tom Szafransky as the design team, while Pinball Rebel credits Tom Szafransky alone — the sources disagree, so treat it as a joint credit with Osborne on the mechanics.

Two things make it interesting. The first is that it is a proper widebody: four players, three flippers, four pop bumpers, two five-bank drop targets, two kick-out holes, a kickback, two captive balls, and a three-ball multiball — generous for 1981. Up in the top right there is a skee-ball style ramp with four "craters" to drop into, and the shooter lane has a cam-adjusted ball guide the player can move, so you choose your own feed. The backglass is a double, non-mirrored unit with lamps behind it that fire in sequence to simulate the eruption.

The second is that it talks. Volcano was the second Gottlieb machine with speech, following Mars God of War earlier the same year. Speech on the talking System 80 games comes from a Votrax SC-01 phoneme synthesiser — the chip Gottlieb introduced on Mars, which carried the largest speech repertoire of the System 80 run. If you have seen this article before, note a correction: Volcano was not Gottlieb's first talking game. Mars God of War was.

It also had a small moment on screen — the machine turns up in the 1982 Richard Pryor film The Toy.

As a collector's game, Volcano sits in the affordable middle of the System 80 range. Pinside's own estimate puts a Volcano at roughly $1,660–$1,940, well below a Black Hole or a Haunted House. That is good news if you are buying and a reason to do the electronics properly rather than part it out.

• Manufacturer: D. Gottlieb & Co.
• Released: September 1981
• Model number: 667
• Production run: approx. 3,655 units
• Design: John Osborne and Tom Szafransky
• Artwork: David Moore
• Electronic system: Gottlieb System 80
• Type: solid state, widebody, 4 players, with speech
• Playfield: 3 flippers, 4 pop bumpers, 2 five-bank drop targets, 2 kick-out holes, 2 captive balls, kickback, 3-ball multiball
• Known ROM revisions: 667/1A (export) and 667/1B (domestic)
• Theme: volcano, prehistoric adventure

That ROM line matters more than it looks. If you are chasing odd rule behaviour, check which revision is actually in your game before you assume a fault — an export 667/1A does not always behave like the domestic 667/1B.

Common faults on Gottlieb System 80

Before the Volcano-specific list, the platform-wide ones, because they catch every System 80 machine sooner or later.

The battery on the CPU board is the headline. Gottlieb fitted a NiCad cell directly to the board, and after four decades it leaks. The electrolyte creeps along the traces and under the IC sockets, and by the time you see green crust on the surface the damage underneath is usually worse. If your Volcano still has its original battery fitted, take it off now, whatever else you do.

The grounding scheme is the second. Gottlieb's System 80 ground design is genuinely poor — grounds daisy-chained through connectors that were never meant to carry that current. As they age you get noise, random resets and behaviour that makes no logical sense. The well-known "ground mods" (running proper heavy-gauge ground wire directly between the boards instead of relying on the harness) are not optional on these machines.

Third, the connectors. The System 80 uses 0.156" edge connectors and IDC-style pins that oxidise, lose tension and stop making reliable contact. This is the single most common cause of "impossible" faults on the platform.

After that: tired logic on the CPU board, a power supply that no longer holds 5 V under load, coil drive transistors that fail short, and displays losing segments.

Problems specific to the Volcano

This is where a Volcano differs from its siblings. The following come from owners posting on Pinside and Pinball Nirvana — recurring reports rather than one-off oddities. Threads are linked in Sources at the foot of the page.

It freezes mid-game, but the flippers still work

This is the signature Volcano complaint, and it is worth knowing because the symptom points somewhere counter-intuitive. The game plays for a few minutes, then stops responding — kick-out holes will not eject, scoring stops — while the flippers carry on working normally. Power-cycling clears it temporarily.

Owners chasing this have replaced power boards, tested every coil and inspected drive transistors before finding the real cause: dirty switches under the playfield, several of them, with the ones around the fire pit the usual offenders. A switch that is not closing cleanly leaves the CPU waiting on a state that never arrives, and the game sits there. Because the flipper circuit is driven separately, the flippers keep going and disguise what has happened.

Go into the switch matrix test (test mode 18) and work through the playfield switches one at a time before you suspect a board. Clean the contacts, check the gaps, and confirm each one registers.

A coil is live the moment you switch on

Several owners report the ball release energising at power-up, before the start button has been touched and with no credit on the machine. Do not leave it running like that — a continuously energised coil will cook its winding or take out a fuse within minutes. Switch off, then look at the drive side: a drive transistor that has failed short holds its coil on permanently, and that is the usual explanation.

Drop targets: a shorted 2N3055 and a backwards diode

Two concrete finds from the owners' club thread, both on the drop target circuits. One machine had the right-hand drop target bank drive transistor (a 2N3055) shorted. Another had a diode fitted backwards on the drop target reset circuit — almost certainly a previous repair done in a hurry rather than a factory error. If a bank will not reset, check the diode orientation before you order parts.

Power supply: check TP2 and TP4

A reported failure had the 5 V rail at TP4 reading 0.41 V — effectively dead — with the playfield lamps still lit, which makes it look like the machine has power when the logic does not. Another had TP2 sitting at 51.7 V against a 42 V spec. Measure both test points early; a low 5 V explains a game that will not boot, and a high unregulated rail explains displays and drivers dying repeatedly.

Displays running hot — and taking the backglass with them

A nastier Volcano-specific one. Owners have found the displays running extremely hot, hot enough that after about half an hour of play the green transparent score ink on the backglass begins to melt away, particularly around the credit and player windows. Suspicion in the thread falls on failing UDN6118A display driver chips drawing more than they should. This is cosmetic damage you cannot undo, so if your displays feel hot to the touch, stop playing and investigate before you lose backglass artwork.

Note also that Volcano is a plain System 80, not an 80A or 80B, and its displays are not interchangeable with the later ones. Owners regularly get caught out ordering the wrong replacement.

Tilt relay firing with the ball save — probably not a fault

One to save you a weekend. An owner found the tilt relay energising at the same time as the left-outlane ball save, cutting solenoid power. After a long thread — including ruling out the 667/1A versus 667/1B ROM difference — the consensus from experienced repairers was that this is normal designed behaviour for the feature, not a fault. Verify it against a known-good game before you start pulling the driver board.

The rest of the list

• Cabinet fuse F6 blowing — repeatedly, on some machines.
• Subway kicker and subway flap — a common mechanical wear point, and the flap is a frequently sought spare.
• Top target bank coil failures.
• Diode board problems, and clock-signal faults that stop the game booting.
• Edge connector trouble across the board set — see the platform notes above.
• Backglass delamination — widespread on surviving machines, independent of the display heat issue.
• Playfield wear — Volcano saw heavy arcade route use, so honest wear is normal.

Replacement boards that fit the Volcano

Volcano is a Gottlieb System 80 game, so the standard System 80 / 80A / 80B board set applies. We test every board before it ships and support it afterwards — if you are unsure which you need, send us the part numbers printed on your existing boards and we will tell you.

• GottFA80_Plus (Light) — all-in-one CPU + Driver + power supply, without sound.
• GottFA80_Plus (Full) — the same board with the sound section integrated, keeping the original speech.
• Gosof — replacement sound board, with or without speech. Relevant here: Volcano is a talking game, so if you are replacing the sound section you want the speech version.
• Godri80 — replacement Driver board, which is where the failed coil drive transistors live.
• Lisy80 — CPU board with web-based diagnostics. Genuinely useful on this game, because it will show you switch states from a browser and make the dirty-switch hunt above far quicker.
• GoPOP80 — pop bumper driver board, replacing the original MA-922 / A-19741.

The Lisy80 is built on LISY, a free DIY project by an independent developer — full credit to them, and the project documentation is at lisy.dev.

A replacement board takes out several of the faults above in one go — the rebuilt supply fixes the TP4 problem, fresh drive transistors fix the stuck coils, and running battery-free removes the corrosion risk permanently. What it will not fix is a dirty playfield switch or a worn subway flap. Do the mechanical work too.

Installation is Plug & Play, no soldering, with tutorials and free support. Get in touch if you are not sure which board you have.

FAQ — Volcano (Gottlieb, 1981)

Why does my Volcano freeze mid-game when the flippers still work?
Almost always dirty switches under the playfield, often around the fire pit, rather than a board fault. The flippers are driven separately, so they keep working and mask it. Run the switch matrix test (mode 18) and clean the contacts before suspecting the CPU.

A coil is energised as soon as I switch the Volcano on. What is it?
Usually a drive transistor that has failed short, holding the coil on permanently. Switch off straight away — a few minutes will burn the winding or the fuse. The drive circuitry on the Driver board is what needs attention.

How many Volcano pinball machines were made?
Roughly 3,655, between September 1981 and the end of the run, as model 667.

What is a Gottlieb Volcano worth?
Pinside's estimate is around $1,660–$1,940 depending on condition. Backglass condition moves the number more than anything else on this title, since delamination is common and originals are hard to find.

Was the Volcano Gottlieb's first talking pinball?
No — that was Mars God of War, earlier in 1981. Volcano was the second Gottlieb machine with speech.

My Volcano displays are dim, or running very hot. What should I do?
Dim usually means oxidised connectors or a sagging 5 V rail; check TP4 on the power supply. Hot is more urgent — owners have had display heat melt the green score ink on the backglass, with failing UDN6118A driver chips suspected. Stop playing and investigate before you lose artwork.

Can I fit System 80A or 80B displays to a Volcano?
No. Volcano is a plain System 80 and its displays are not interchangeable with the later 80A/80B units. Check before ordering — this catches people out regularly.

Does a battery-free board keep the settings and high scores?
Yes. Modern replacement boards use non-volatile memory, so settings and scores survive being switched off — with no battery and no corrosion.

Step-by-step diagnosis

1. Powered off, look for battery corrosion on the CPU board. If the original NiCad is still fitted, remove it before anything else.
2. Measure the power supply at TP4 (5 V) and TP2 (should be around 42 V). A dead 5 V explains a machine that lights up but will not boot.
3. Do the ground mods — proper heavy-gauge ground wire directly between CPU, Driver, power supply and sound boards.
4. Re-pin the oxidised edge and Molex connectors, especially on the CPU-to-Driver link.
5. Run the switch matrix test (mode 18) and clean every playfield switch that does not register cleanly. Do this before condemning any board.
6. Check drive transistors for shorts on any coil that is live at power-up, and check diode orientation on the drop target reset circuit.
7. Never plug or unplug a display with the machine powered on. Test with a known-good display, and check whether yours are running hot.
8. Final test: start-up, credits, coils, displays, speech. If you are stuck, contact free support.

See also

• Black Hole (Gottlieb, 1981)
• Haunted House (Gottlieb, 1982)
• The Amazing Spider-Man (Gottlieb, 1980)
• Mars God of War (Gottlieb, 1981) — the first Gottlieb talking game
• Counterforce (Gottlieb, 1980)
• Panthera (Gottlieb, 1980)
• Circus (Gottlieb, 1980)
• James Bond (Gottlieb, 1980)

Sources & further reading

• IPDB — Volcano (#2742)
• Pinside — Volcano, game details, production and credits
• Pinball Rebel — Volcano (model 667, production figures, features)
• Pinside — "Gottlieb Volcano freezing up??" (dirty playfield switches, test mode 18)
• Pinside — Gottlieb Volcano Club (TP2/TP4, 2N3055, display heat, backglass ink)
• Pinside — "Gottlieb Volcano: logic problem?" (tilt relay and ball save, ROM 667/1A vs 667/1B)
• Pinside — Volcano owner forum index
• Kineticist — Volcano (1981) design credits
• LISY — the independent open DIY project behind the Lisy80
• OPDB — Open Pinball Database

Own a Volcano? Send us a photo and we'll add it here with credit — get in touch.