Wiring block ..

[BilldaCat]

I think my wiring block (the central point where all the wires run to) is bad .. all my controls stopped responding, I've replaced the IPAC, same thing .. I test wired one button bypassing the wiring block, and it worked ok.. so I'm fairly sure that can be the only point of failure.

The problem I'm having is, I don't know what exactly or where exactly to look for a replacement part .. what kind of wiring block I need, etc.. The cabinet is an old Mortal Kombat cabinet, standard arcade monitor ..  can someone point me in the right direction, or give me the right term to search for?  A search on google for "wiring block" didn't turn up anything that helped me.

[Smittydc]

Try 'terminal block" like at http://www.radioshack.com/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F005%5F003%5F006%5F000&Page=1


Can't imagine that's your problem, though.  Check the ground wire closely -- if ALL of your controls aren't working it sounds like it may be shorting.

[BilldaCat]

If it is indeed a short, what should I do?  Just replace the wiring?  Is there any kind of testing I can do to figure out if it's a short, or which wire is shorted?

I'm sorry if some of these are dumb questions.. I bought the machine off a guy who was going into the military, and have little wiring/electricity knowledge myself, so I'm kinda in the dark on a lot of this.

[eightbit]

Hmmm, yeah you can test for a short but somebody brighter than me is going to have to step up to answer that. It has to do with checking ohms and things or something. You would need an inexpesive multi meter (like $10) to check that way.

I don't see how a wiring block can go bad. I would bet its in the ground. Does your ground go from switch to switch? You could start with disconnecting the ground from a button and see if running a wire directly from the ipacs ground terminal to the button will make it work. If it does work use a continuity tester to find the bad link in the ground. Its almost got to be the first link coming off the ipac if all your buttons stopped working. A continuity tester is basically a light bulb with a battery that lights up if the wires complete the circuit. There like $3 at a big box or auto parts store. You can make your own with a flashlight bulb, 2 pieces of wire a little tape and a battery.

http://www.toolsource.com/ost1/product.asp?sourceid=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch%2Edogpile%2Ecom%2Ftexis%2Fsearch%253fq%3Dcontinuity%2Btester%2526cat%3Dweb%2526top%3D1&dept%5Fid=500&pf%5Fid=71264&mscssid=QWTCRGDQ3VSR2GMR00J74FSANR1G3625

[BilldaCat]

Cool, I'll probably pick up one of those and start testing the wires this weekend.  Thanks for the help!

[eightbit]

Post back when you find the problem.