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AC Wiring Question
DashRendar:
I checked the Wiki, but didn't find the answer I was looking for...
Scenario:
I have a Midway cab that has NFL Blitz 99 in it. Everything is hooked up in it and it works fine. My goal is to convert it to MAME, while using the arcade monitor inside it.
So I need power still to the monitor and marquee, but need to disconnect the power to everything else (PCB, speakers, etc).
I assume I'll still use the cab's power switch to turn on the monitor and marquee, but will use the PC's switch to turn that on (until I can figure out a better way to do that all at once).
For now, I'll be leaving the PCB and hard drive in the cab. But I need to disconnect them so they don't power up.
Is it better to disconnect the power at the cab's PSU, or at the boards themselves? And is there any issues I need to be aware of in terms of wattage changing by disconnecting these?
I want to make sure this is up to code and that I won't have a Tesla coil inside the cab, hehe. :dizzy:
Ed_McCarron:
--- Quote from: DashRendar on October 26, 2009, 10:42:07 am ---Is it better to disconnect the power at the cab's PSU, or at the boards themselves? And is there any issues I need to be aware of in terms of wattage changing by disconnecting these?
--- End quote ---
No electrical difference, however, if you disconnect at the PSU you won't have live wires flopping around the cabinet. Probably a touch safer in the long run.
Can you just pull the fuse for the existing PSU in the cab? Are there multiple fuses for the marquee light and monitor? This'd be my choice, if possible. Why power up the PSU if you don't need it?
The wattage shouldn't be an issue. The PCB is a small load compared to the monitor.
DashRendar:
I haven't seen anything in terms of fuses in the PSU, but I haven't really looked closely at it yet.
Still learning here, but would the AC be wired as-
_____ ________ ________
| PSU |-------| Flyback |--------| Monitor |
|____ | |_______| |_______|
Ed_McCarron:
Probably not. If theres an isolation transformer, power typically comes thru it to the psu and the monitor.
Looking at the pic, you could probably take the purple wires to the left of the power supply and disconnect them. Tape them up real well, and you've just disabled the power supply without needing to unplug anything.
The monitor and marquee should still power up fine.
There will be 120v on the wires under the tape, so be careful. You may want to snip them and put wire nuts on or something.
What does the label say where the purple wires are landed?
Ed_McCarron:
This might clarify. I'm not 100% familiar with that particular cab, so I've made some assumptions.