Not everything on my panel seems to be working =(

[magiic]

I've been using a SlikStik CO2 controller for awhile and recently all the buttons except two of the joysticks and buttons responsible for right and left click on the mouse have stopped working. The trackball works, as does the spinner. Also sometimes if you press the P1 and coin 1 button a letter will register (I've been testing in notepad). Im using MAME32 I've loaded the custom thingy into MAME32 for the CO2 controller but in the games in just in windows nothing outside of the aforementioned buttons works. What can I do/try to fix this?

[DolansCadillac]

I'm not familiar with that stick, but when reading your post I thought that if it were my setup, the first thing I would look for would be a loose ground wire going to the keyboard encoder. If all of your ground connections are daisychained that could cause everything to go all at once like that. Might be worth a look

[magiic]

I'll open it up and see what I can see. I don't really know what Im looking for. Maybe I'll try and post some detailed photos

[magiic]

Ok so we opened it up and there was a loose green wire that we have since plugged back in where I think it's supposed to go but there was no sign of improvement. As it stands two 8-way joysticks workm one 8-way works if you move it "right" and if you push the coin 1 and player 1 button at the same time it produces the number 2. I have been testing the panel just by trying to use it typing in a notepad doc. I am including a bunch of high res photos I've put up on flickr and maybe some of you can spot a problem we're not seeing.

Thanks!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24449771@N07/sets/72157606387323778/

[scotthh]

I agree with DolansCadillac, the most likely culprit is a detached ground wire.

The encoder in there is an I-PAC 4, you can find out much more about it by following that link. Here are the key codes it passes. The two ground contacts on the board are labeled "GND", make sure the wires going into these contacts are securely fastened.

If you look at the microswitches, some of the contacts have only one wire going into them, the others have two. The ones with two are the ground (the silver curved unlabeled contact in the picture below, as opposed to the brass/golden colored NO and NC contacts). The grounds in your CP are daisy chained.


(Thanks efjayel, I swiped this picture from his thread.)

I'd start with the joystick that only goes right. You know that one of the three buttons on that stick work, and the other three don't. From your pictures, it appears as if the joysticks are daisy chained in a row. There is a chance the break in the chain is there (right after the right switch). Inspect these wires carefully to make sure they are all connected to each other at the switch contacts and aren't severed any where. If this isn't it, I'd trace the ground wires starting at the IPAC all the way around the panel.

See DeLuSioNal29's videos on wiring for more wiring basics.

If it's not the wires, you'll need to test the I-PAC, but this would likely require you to disconnect the wires going into it, I would recommend labeling all of the wires before disconnecting them as there are a lot in there.

[magiic]

One more thing I forgot to mention. There is a greenlight that is lit on the IPAC, there are two maybe three buttons on the controller that when pushed light up a second light. Does this mean anything?

[magiic]

I checked the ground wires from the IPAC and they seem to all be connected around the bored and terminate on either side. I'll take a look at the joystick wiring after dinner and report back. Thanks again for all the replies thus far.

[Franco B]

Do you have or could you borrow a multimeter? If so set it to test for continuity and you should soon be able to tell if you have a grounding/wiring issue.

[CheffoJeffo]

Do you have or could you borrow a multimeter? If so set it to test for continuity and you should soon be able to tell if you have a grounding/wiring issue.

 

Seconded.

It looks to me, before my first coffee and without my glasses, as if Christian used solid instead of stranded wire, which can break inside the insulation with little outward appearance of a break. Check for continuity with a meter.

[DolansCadillac]

It looks to me, before my first coffee and without my glasses, as if Christian used solid instead of stranded wire, which can break inside the insulation with little outward appearance of a break.

I think Cheffo's got it, this picture is a giveaway:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24449771@N07/2705372788/sizes/l/in/set-72157606387323778/

Yuck. Was this common with SlikStik stuff?

[RandyT]

I think Cheffo's got it, this picture is a giveaway:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24449771@N07/2705372788/sizes/l/in/set-72157606387323778/

Don't put too much stock in the appearance.  There's some stuff out there call "tinned stranded" which is stranded wire that is bonded together with metal.  It's much more resilient to breaking than solid, yet will hold it's shape like the wire in the picture. 

You'd have to check the actual conductors to be certain as to the type used.

RandyT

[Turnarcades]

Sounds like a combination of wiring issues. maybe the wire has fried if it's been subjected to a surge, maybe there's many bad grounds, maybe the plug/socket is damaged, maybe some of the microswitches are damaged internally, maybe there's a small amount of metal-to-metal contact causing a short circuit.

Try them all, or rip it all out and start again. 

[deadsoulz]

Are both Green Lights coming on on the IPAC4?

[magiic]

Are both Green Lights coming on on the IPAC4?

Both green lights are on. As for the multimeter I'll see if I can get one, not sure what do with it though when I get it. Is there any other info/pictures I could provide you fine folks with that would provide a clearer idea of whats going on?

[Franco B]

Ok, if you buy a multimeter you should be able to look at the manual to see how to set it to test for continuity. If you borrow one, ask the person you borrow it from to set it for you. Basically you want one of the probes plugged into the COM port and one into the Volts/Ohms mA port. There are many types of multimeter but you want to set the dial (if there is one) to something like the yellow circle the picture below:



The first thing I would do would be to check your grounds.

Have a look at the CP wiring and you will see there are wires connected to each microswitch like the diagram below:



With the multimeter set and turned on check that its working by touching the probes together, you should get a BEEP and/or a display on the screen telling you that there is continuity between the two probes.

Then touch one of the probes onto one of the GND (Ground) screw terminals of the IPAC and hold it there. Then go round and touch the metal part of each quick disconnect that is attached to the microswitches common tag (refer to the diagram above). You should get a strong BEEP when you touch each one like you did when you touched the two probes together. If one or more microswithes don't beep when you touch them that means there is no continuity (i.e a broken wire / connection). You will then need to repair/replace that wire or possibly a whole ground loop depending on how it has been wired.

If you find faults and repair them test the new connections with the multimeter and if all is well test the controller in MAME etc.

If you didn't find any faults or it did not fix all of the faults you may have faults with the wiring connected to the NO tag on the microswitches.

To test these you need to do a similar check to the ground check but you don't keep one probe one of the GRD terminals like you did before, you will have to move the probes for each microswitch.

If you can see/trace the wires from each microswitch back to the IPAC that will be helpfull but don't worry if you cant. If you can see where the two ends of the wire terminate (IPAC terminal and each microswitch) then probe the appropriate screw terminal on the IPAC and the NO tag of the microswitch. You should get a BEEP as before.

If you cant trace the wires (it does look to be an organised mess!) then hold one probe on the NO tag of the microswitch and then with the other probe, go round the IPAC and touch each screw terminal. One of them should beep (but hopefully not the GND terminals, unless you have a button/joystick depressed). If you don't get a beep with a/some wires then you know you have a problem. Your best bet then is to try to trace those problem wires and repair/replace as necessary.

If all of that does not fix it you either have a/some faulty microswitches or a faulty IPAC.

To test the microswitches remove both disconnects from the tags and then put one probe on the COM tag and one on the NO tag. You should not get a beep but when you press the appropriate button/joystick direction you should get a beep. If you do check the microswitches I would do them one by one as you could soon get in a mess if you remove all of the disconnects.

Im no expert by any means but thats what I would do. Hope that helps a little.

[magiic]

Thanks Franco, when I get ahold of a multimeter I will follow your guide. I really appreciate you taking the time to write that out for me!

[magiic]

I finally got around to buying a Multimeter. I'll let you all know how it goes. I really hope I can get this thing to work. It sucks having a 95% finished cab (only thing that hasn't been put in is the marquee and the thing that goes over/around the monitor) and the controller stops working 

[magiic]

Alright so I ran some tests following the guide and I *think* the IPAC is dead or partially not functioning. The only two buttons on the board that work are not connected to the IPAC they are run through the trackball. I moved the wires from the "right mouse button" to a nearby "non functioning button" and that NFB became the RMB. As far as I can tell all the connections on the board seemed to check out fine including grounds. I also tested a few of the NFB at random and the micro switches checked out fine. Is it safe to assume I need a new IPAC? I'd like to get some kind of confirmation from you great folk here before I shell out money on a new one.

Cheers!