trying to wire an arcade button to the power button on my pc

[katuuuz]

Ok, I stuck a piece of wire into both the holes ithat correspond with the pins outlined in red above.  (stuck the wires in the cable).  plugged my machine in, and upon touching the protruding wires with my DMM i got a shrt reading.  (without pressing the power button).  I'll go back and test each pair in case what i just explained is not what i'm looking for.

[katuuuz]

GOT IT!

Wow that was awesome.  I found the two holes in the cable that sound off when I hit the power button.  My final question to all of you wonderful people is how am I supposed to wire out of that and plug it back in to the daughter board?  

[Donkbaca]

how does the power button interface with the daughter board?

[Donkbaca]

the two wires you have coming out of the ribbon cable.  If you touch the ends together, does the computer turn on?

[Donkbaca]

IF you touch the ends of the wires (short them) and the computer turns on, then you have found your power switch wires.  You can then just splice two wires into the ribbon and connect those wires to a microswitch.

[BobA]

The wires are on a ribbon cable attached to the front panel daughter board.  He needs a way to connect a wire across the 2 points in the ribbon cable when he reattaches it. 

The two points in the ribbon cable now tell you what pins need to be shorted when the cable is plugged in.   You can either strip the cable to get at the wires to attach your wires or you can trace the 2 points back to the daughter board to see if there are pads where you can connect your wires or you could solder to the power switch on the daughter board. Another way is to use a wirewrap tool to put some kynar wire around the pins so you have room to plug the ribbon cable back in.   

If you do not need the plugins on the daughter board you can simply leave it out of the circuit.   Use a ribbon cable with the same connector or the one you are testing and pry the back off of the connector. This will expose all the wires and your you can get at the exact wires that need to be shorted to turn on your PC.

[katuuuz]

Bob, thank you that was a useful post i will be bookmarking for when I get there.  Turns out with my wires sticking out of the alleged power holes, touching them together doesn't turn the pc on.  i tried a bunch of different hole configurations and can't get it to power on by touching the wire ends together.  also upon further investigation, i was able to get the dmm to sound on another configuration or two.  it's not possible for there to be more than 2 inputs for power-on is it? 

Also, does everything have to be connected to power on?  or if i did get the right hole combination would it turn on by touching the wires without the rest of the daugter board connected?

this is frustrating.

[katuuuz]

Further prodding has me at this assumption:

I'm pretty sure the top right-most hole is the ground.  (green line in pic)Why do I think this?  Because when i have the green wire in, connecting my second wire to any other color slot pictured, DMM reads "short" when i press in the dell power button.  if i were to put the green where blue, yellow, or red is, the DMM shorts without pressing the power button.  I don't know why 3 seperate combinations  (green-blue, green-red, green-yellow) short the DMM when jumpered and the power button is pushed. 

do i have to resort on powering the arcade up on dc recovery, or wil i still be able to wire a button somehow?

Edit: I'm about to give up for the night and just figured.. because this connector I'm poking wires in isn't plugged into the I/O board, it's not connected to the power source either.  So even if I touched the wires together in the proper hole configuration, the pc wouldn't boot until the connector is back in place on the I/O.  So i have to determine which of the 3 "short-on-power button" configurations is the correct one a different way...  this sucks. 

[RandyT]

I know you've gone well past this point, but I urge you to look at the other board in that machine.  There should be another board with the power switch on it.   It should be a normal, simple tactile type switch, very similar in function to the switch you want to connect to it. 

IMHO, that's where you should be working.  If you can get that one out, take photos of it.

[katuuuz]

I know you've gone well past this point, but I urge you to look at the other board in that machine.  There should be another board with the power switch on it.   It should be a normal, simple tactile type switch, very similar in function to the switch you want to connect to it. 

IMHO, that's where you should be working.  If you can get that one out, take photos of it.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/17667049.aspx

read the first 4 posts.  unless this guys is as clueless as me, i'm not sure there is a microswitch.  i pray you are right though.  not sure how to get this damn front panel off either.

[RandyT]

read the first 4 posts.  unless this guys is as clueless as me...

Yeah, not much coherency going in that one.

See the attached.  Looks like another board up there to me.  It's highly likely that's where the other end of that cable leads.

[katuuuz]

See the attached.  Looks like another board up there to me.  It's highly likely that's where the other end of that cable leads.

You're exactly right.  As stated before, the other end of the "control panel" ribbon runs up the front and goes up and behind the metal wall blocking me from accessing it.  I've searched the net rampid looking for a guide to gain access to this portion of the case, but have come up with nothing but that useless article about the alleged magic power on.  there has to be a way to get in there without a damn hacksaw doesn't there?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Yet another reason not to buy a dell (:

[katuuuz]

Yet another reason not to buy a dell (:

I got it cheap, and trust me, after all of this if i have to cut this thing's ---smurfin---' face off with a dremel, i will.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

DO IT!

[RandyT]

You're exactly right.  As stated before, the other end of the "control panel" ribbon runs up the front and goes up and behind the metal wall blocking me from accessing it.  I've searched the net rampid looking for a guide to gain access to this portion of the case, but have come up with nothing but that useless article about the alleged magic power on.  there has to be a way to get in there without a damn hacksaw doesn't there?

It went on.  It must come off

Look for screwheads, or plastic latches from the inside of the case. If you don't see screws (or pop rivets), it's probably just snapped together.  If it's riveted, you can drill them out, but it won't go back together easily.  If it's snapped, carefully poke around the edges with a thin screwdriver and see if you make any headway.

If you really get frustrated, you can try the old "jumper the power on line on the power supply connector" trick.  Pin 14 on the power supply connector is a green wire that is labeled "PS ON" in this diagram.  Usually, when that green wire is grounded to one of the adjacent black wires, the system powers up.  If yours does this without any issues, you could use any on/off SPST non-momentary switch and bypass the front panel altogether.

[katuuuz]

Look for screwheads, or plastic latches from the inside of the case. If you don't see screws (or pop rivets), it's probably just snapped together.  If it's riveted, you can drill them out, but it won't go back together easily.  If it's snapped, carefully poke around the edges with a thin screwdriver and see if you make any headway.

If you really get frustrated, you can try the old "jumper the power on line on the power supply connector" trick.  Pin 14 on the power supply connector is a green wire that is labeled "PS ON" in this diagram.  Usually, when that green wire is grounded to one of the adjacent black wires, the system powers up.  If yours does this without any issues, you could use any on/off SPST non-momentary switch and bypass the front panel altogether.

You mean like a throw switch?  I would definitely fallback on that idea.  My double dragon cabinet has one mounted on top of it.  How risky of an route is that?  Is it bad for the PS?  I've seen tons of PS supply issues on this specific model. 

I also don't want to give up on this mystery board just yet.  I've got a personal vendetta now.  I had already looked for screws, all I came up with was the screw holding the pivital case sides together which would merely let me seperate the two.  I do see rivits, and they are in some weirdly angled places.  Why does this mystery board have to be restricted from the OP like this?

[BobA]

Careful prying and snapping of plastic front panel parts will probably get you access to the back of the front panel.  From what I have seen of your daughter board it connects to both the front panel and your motherboard.  Underneath that plastic that you push to turn on the computer has to be a simple switch of some sort.  It is alot easier to solder to a switch or get at its connectors than cutting into the ribbon cable so get out the heavy duty snippers and maybe even a hacksaw blade to work on the plastic.   A dremel would be great now.

[katuuuz]

To avoid a bloody mess, I think I'm going to try my hand at a hammer and chisel after work tonight.  Won't be in until about 7pm EST, and hopefully soon after I will have a picture of a faceless 4600c for all to see.

[katuuuz]

Dudes, I have conquered. 

Wish I had the sense to realize there had to be a switch, I could have saved a few nights...

Anyway, upon further inspection of the plastic casing, I noticed (2) 10x Torx screws attatching the metal casing to the outer plastic shell.  Ripped out my 10x Torx and removed them.  For revenge purposes, I Hulk Hoganed the plastic shell off, snapping about 3 plastic clips that, too, were securing the outer shell to the metal box.  So pic 1 is what my PC looks like now.  I'm hoping I can just put it in the cabinet as is, gonna need some feedback on that.

Anyhow, I easily unscrewed the single philips head attatching the power switch/led board to the front of the metal casing.  As you can see in pic 2, the little red microswitch is indeed attached to this tiny board (Randy, be sure to drink to that). 

Pic 3 is the underside of the board, 4 pins highlighted in red that are under the switch.  I'm pretty sure I'll be soldering to this back side of the little board, but I would feel comfortable if someone could clarify that.  (Also, I'm pretty sure I need to only solder 2 wires, so my guess is I'll need my DMM for finding out which of these 4 pins to solder to?) 

Anyway, thanks for your help gentlemen.  If you are drinking, sip your beers as you look at these photos and just know that someone Dell didn't want accesing this board effing did.  And I broke their stupid clips in doing so.

[RandyT]

Dudes, I have conquered.

Congrats

(Also, I'm pretty sure I need to only solder 2 wires, so my guess is I'll need my DMM for finding out which of these 4 pins to solder to?)  

Nahh, see how the points on the left two pins are connected and the two pins on the right are also connected?  Well, the idea of a switch is to connect two of it's terminals together at one point or another, and the only combination that is left is any of the left being connected to any on the right.  So one wire from your momentary switch goes to either pin on the left and one goes to either pin on the right.  Make sure you get a good solder joint, but don't overheat the pins.  You don't want to melt the switch in case you still want to use it later.

RandyT

[katuuuz]

Nahh, see how the points on the left two pins are connected and the two pins on the right are also connected?  Well, the idea of a switch is to connect two of it's terminals together at one point or another, and the only combination that is left is any of the left being connected to any on the right.  So one wire from your momentary switch goes to either pin on the left and one goes to either pin on the right.  Make sure you get a good solder joint, but don't overheat the pins.  You don't want to melt the switch in case you still want to use it later.

RandyT

Cool.  I have to pick up some wire tomorrow, so I can't try just yet.  I drew wires on that pic just to verify I follow what you just said...

[DillonFoulds]

Errr... nope. See that green line between them? it means your connection would be fruitless.

Put on lead to that pair, and the other lead to the other pair.

[katuuuz]

Errr... nope. See that green line between them? it means your connection would be fruitless.

Put on lead to that pair, and the other lead to the other pair.

ok so move the bottom wire to the top left pin then, correct?

[RandyT]

ok so move the bottom wire to the top left pin then, correct?

Yes.  Like I wrote above, Left and Right.

(Jeez, I just re-read what I wrote......I should have just posted the photo I had half-done.  It would have been a lot clearer.  )

[Donkbaca]

Congrats!
+1 for Hulk Hogan-ing anything!

[katuuuz]

Congrats!
+1 for Hulk Hogan-ing anything!

Thanks brotherrr

[Hituro]

wow... you guys are making this out to be more complicated than it has to be.. with multimeters and all this soldering and stuff.  It's simple.  I did it to my cabinet

That wire connector someone posted a pick of.  That connects to the motherboard.  And the two wires then connect to the PC button.  What I did was took an old computer case, pulled the front out.  And pulled the button out.  I then took the wires, cut them from the actual button, and rewired them to a happ button switch.  Simple as connecting the ground and then then connecting the other wire to the prong that is triggered by the button press.  Once that's done and you plug the computer in.  Press the button and the thing should kick on   It's just a button.  It's just connecting it to a different button :p  All the button does is bridge the connection.  Heck if you just soldered the two wires together you wouldn't need a button.  When you plug it in the wall it'll turn on automatically.  But I like having a button

[RandyT]

wow... you guys are making this out to be more complicated than it has to be.. with multimeters and all this soldering and stuff.  It's simple.

Normally it is.  But there was no single wire pair going to a button in this case.  It was a ribbon cable with other functions on it as well.  The actual board on the other end where the switch is located was also buried under the plastics.  Did you read the thread?

[katuuuz]

+1 Randy

[severdhed]

  Did you read the thread?

apparently not

[katuuuz]

Mission accomplished.  Although my soldering skills could definitely use some work, I have successfully powered my pc up with an arcade button.  I can't re-screw the little power board back to the case without snapping the wires free of the soldered connection, so I'll just let the board stay suspended by the ribbon connecting it inside to the I/O panel.

I started with solid 18 gauge wire, which IMO isn't flexible enough.  I then used what I believe to be 18 gauge stranded wire (had some extra hanging around from 06) and there was a significantly more amount of bend to the wires.

I just hope the case fits in my cabinet which was designed around the case itself.  It is going to be a tight squeeze with that power panel hanging out, but I'm confident I'll find a way to jam it in there. 

Tomorrow I will assemble my MDF panels and hope to end the day with a functioning arcade.  of course I still have to order a small coin door and t-molding, but I should be able to play and only have cosmetic details left.  Will create a build blog for anyone interested.

Many thanks to the fine people of this thread, Randy in particular, for helping me crack the case (literally) of the dimension 4600c power switch.  My advice to anyone in the the market for an arcade powered by this particular machine: just opt for the big 4600.

[Hituro]

No, I did read the thread.  Maybe not every freaking post, because I thought it was ridiculous.  Like I said.  Why make this more complicated than it has to be.  You just buy one of these!

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Motherboard-Cable-Switch-Button/dp/B00345WH4A  I mean wow it's $4!  All that ribbon cable is, is a combination of the power switch, reset switch, grounds, PC Speaker etc.  All you need is that power switch.  That's all I was stating.  It doesn't have to be rocket science.

[katuuuz]

No, I did read the thread.  Maybe not every freaking post, because I thought it was ridiculous.  Like I said.  Why make this more complicated than it has to be.  You just buy one of these!

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Motherboard-Cable-Switch-Button/dp/B00345WH4A  I mean wow it's $4!  All that ribbon cable is, is a combination of the power switch, reset switch, grounds, PC Speaker etc.  All you need is that power switch.  That's all I was stating.  It doesn't have to be rocket science.

Relax hi-terdo.

[RandyT]

No, I did read the thread.  Maybe not every freaking post, because I thought it was ridiculous.  Like I said.  Why make this more complicated than it has to be.  You just buy one of these!

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Motherboard-Cable-Switch-Button/dp/B00345WH4A  I mean wow it's $4!  All that ribbon cable is, is a combination of the power switch, reset switch, grounds, PC Speaker etc.  All you need is that power switch.  That's all I was stating.  It doesn't have to be rocket science.

No, but this scenario is different than what you think it is, and reading the rest of the posts (and clicking on some links) would probably have illustrated that.  The OP is dealing with an oddball mini-pc, and the part you linked to is worthless here.  But perhaps someone else with a standard PC motherboard, wishing to do the same, will benefit from it.

I agree that it's not "rocket science" in a normal situation, but this one isn't normal.

[Silverwind]

I started reading the thread.. and reading about your frustration and determination made me want to find out the ending!  Nice work.

Like your avatar, BTW!

[Donkbaca]

To sum it up so you don't have to read every post:
Frustration
Rocket science
Hulk Hoagnizing
Randy FTW

[katuuuz]

To sum it up so you don't have to read every post:
Frustration
Rocket science
Hulk Hoagnizing
Randy FTW

If I wasn't on my iPhone I would make that my signature.

@silver: blondes definitely have more fun.

[Hituro]

No, but this scenario is different than what you think it is, and reading the rest of the posts (and clicking on some links) would probably have illustrated that.  The OP is dealing with an oddball mini-pc, and the part you linked to is worthless here.  But perhaps someone else with a standard PC motherboard, wishing to do the same, will benefit from it.

I agree that it's not "rocket science" in a normal situation, but this one isn't normal.

OK, so just to appease you I went and read every post in this thread.  I clicked the links, I read about hulk-hoganing to get to the actual switch.  And even read my posts and maybe they seemed harsh.  But I still think you are wrong.  I do not think soldering needed to be done to complete this task.  Granted it's already been done, so congrats on getting it to work.  I'm just saying it could have been done in a much more simple, and less frustrating way.  And here's how.

So judging by the photos posted, there is a daughter board that is connected via an IDE cable, an audio cable that attaches to the audio pins on the motherboard and it also looks like that same cable with the audio has some type of power connector as well, like a molex, but it's a 2 in 1.  Not sure, hard to tell from the photo, but just taking a guess based on the look of the wires.  Also on the daughter board, is a set of pins labeled "CNTRL_PANEL".  These pins then have a ribbon cable that is composed of wires used for the power switch, reset switch, etc, that run to a control pannel that contains the switch which when connected, will power on the PC when pressed.  So to simplify:

2 Cables connect Daughter Board to Motherboard and 1 Cable connects Daughterboard to a control panel.    Correct?

Now, all that I/O panel is.  Is a glorified switch spread out on a circuit board.  I realize this is a mini-pc, and thus components are spread out and compartmentalized.  However, the only things that need to be focused on, are those pins for the "CNTRL_PANEL" on the daughter board.  The control panel is not required for booting up the PC in this project.  There is no power cable that runs to the control panel board, it's just the ribbon cable.  All this cable is doing, is spreading the contact points to the button, so that when the button is pressed it bridges the connection.  The ribbon cable isn't necessary either.

So my suggested solution.  That part I mentioned earlier.  It will fit on two prongs on that connector labeled "CNTRL_PANEL".  Even though it's on a daughter board, most full size boards have those included on them, and the pin connectors look exactly the same.  Once that is connected, if you push the micro switch on the end, it will do the exact same thing as soldering wires from the control panel to a separate micro switch.  Unless the main power from the power supply doesn't run into the motherboard and runs somewhere else, which I've never seen but anything is possible, then it should have no problem working.  You haven't tried my suggestion, but I'm pretty sure it would work.  Heck, if I had that same PC I'd be willing to try it.  I'm almost even tempted to buy that same model just to test it out.  I'm not trying to step on toes, I just think there is a more efficient and easier approach to accomplishing this.

[katuuuz]

OK, so just to appease you I went and read every post in this thread.  I clicked the links, I read about hulk-hoganing to get to the actual switch.  And even read my posts and maybe they seemed harsh.  But I still think you are wrong.  I do not think soldering needed to be done to complete this task.  Granted it's already been done, so congrats on getting it to work.  I'm just saying it could have been done in a much more simple, and less frustrating way.  And here's how.

So judging by the photos posted, there is a daughter board that is connected via an IDE cable, an audio cable that attaches to the audio pins on the motherboard and it also looks like that same cable with the audio has some type of power connector as well, like a molex, but it's a 2 in 1.  Not sure, hard to tell from the photo, but just taking a guess based on the look of the wires.  Also on the daughter board, is a set of pins labeled "CNTRL_PANEL".  These pins then have a ribbon cable that is composed of wires used for the power switch, reset switch, etc, that run to a control pannel that contains the switch which when connected, will power on the PC when pressed.  So to simplify:

2 Cables connect Daughter Board to Motherboard and 1 Cable connects Daughterboard to a control panel.    Correct?

Now, all that I/O panel is.  Is a glorified switch spread out on a circuit board.  I realize this is a mini-pc, and thus components are spread out and compartmentalized.  However, the only things that need to be focused on, are those pins for the "CNTRL_PANEL" on the daughter board.  The control panel is not required for booting up the PC in this project.  There is no power cable that runs to the control panel board, it's just the ribbon cable.  All this cable is doing, is spreading the contact points to the button, so that when the button is pressed it bridges the connection.  The ribbon cable isn't necessary either.

So my suggested solution.  That part I mentioned earlier.  It will fit on two prongs on that connector labeled "CNTRL_PANEL".  Even though it's on a daughter board, most full size boards have those included on them, and the pin connectors look exactly the same.  Once that is connected, if you push the micro switch on the end, it will do the exact same thing as soldering wires from the control panel to a separate micro switch.  Unless the main power from the power supply doesn't run into the motherboard and runs somewhere else, which I've never seen but anything is possible, then it should have no problem working.  You haven't tried my suggestion, but I'm pretty sure it would work.  Heck, if I had that same PC I'd be willing to try it.  I'm almost even tempted to buy that same model just to test it out.  I'm not trying to step on toes, I just think there is a more efficient and easier approach to accomplishing this.

First, thanks Hituro for not being sarcastic in this post, it was much easier to take seriously.  I understand what you are saying, and thought the same before gaining access to the board in front. 

In that photo of the ribbon with the green, blue, red, and yellow lines drawn on it... each of those combinations shorted my multimeter.  Also, i stuck wire in the holes (tried all 3 combos) and touched the wires together which should have booted the pc but didn't.  i think it would have worked if i spliced into the ribbon and found the right pair while that ribbon header was plugged into the IO panel which would have enabled power to be connected to the board as well.

IMO it was easier to solder to the 2 pins on the control board, instead of tearing up the ribbon and possibly ruining it in the process.  I would have taken this risk if only one pair of holes in the ribbon shorted my DMM, but there was 3 different combinations which did so while pressing the power button.  So there was no way for me to tell which 2 actually would power the pc without ripping the ribbon to shreds and making more of a mess than i did with the solder.

Anyway, got it working, and I'm putting it to rest.  If I was to come across another 4600c, (I'd have to receive it for free for that to happen) I would go the solder route again.