pacman power cord replacement, easy?

[unix4hire]

I can't wait a week for a replacement power cord so I've decided to use a thick computer cord.  I cut off the female end to expose a brown, yellow, blue cable which I believe to be hot, ground, neutral (please correct if I'm wrong).

However, I can't discern which prong on the 3 prong pacman connector is the hot (brown).  Anyone know?  The middle is ground, so the hot goes either left or right.  If you know for sure please put a big fat arrow on the picture below pointing to which side should be hot.  THANK YOU.
--Erich

[Ken Layton]

In a flat power cord the conductor with the "ribs" on it is the neutral side of the power line.

[MonitorGuru]

In a flat power cord the conductor with the "ribs" on it is the neutral side of the power line.

Just make sure that the pacman is still wired correctly (who knows if it was converted and converted back)

Getting hot and neutral swapped will result in the game not working AND likely sending voltage into the coin door and control panel metal. (It happened to me when a room in my home had been illegally wired without a permit and sure enough, they swapped hot and neutral)

I would download the schematics for Pacman and check which colored wires inside the cabinet are hot and neutral, then follow it back to the noise filter and out to the connector.

As Ken said, the ribbed side SHOULD be neutral, but always double check with an ohmmeter inside the cabinet that it is correct.

[Ken Layton]

The hot side is always the side going to the fuses and a power switch.

[richms]

Getting hot and neutral swapped will result in the game not working AND likely sending voltage into the coin door and control panel metal. (It happened to me when a room in my home had been illegally wired without a permit and sure enough, they swapped hot and neutral)

So they dont have a proper earth to the control panel, but instead use a current carrying conductor as the ground for the chassis ground connection? Thats crazy!

[unix4hire]

I couldn't tell exactly which one went to fuses (too many wires, too many fuses) but I followed the advice of ribbed=neutral and it works great!  Here's a pic to satisfy you pacman lovers (t-molding arrives monday).  Thanks to Ken and guru for their help!

---Erich

[MonitorGuru]

The hot side is always the side going to the fuses and a power switch.

If it hasn't been improperly hacked by someone. I've seen some real messes and wrong connections myself.  I never assume and always test to ensure I dont hurt any electronics or myself