testing hacked dc control?

[krion]

anyone know a good way to see if it works?  I dont want to go through the hasstle of hooking it up to my cab as im working on it.  Just wondering if there is a way to test if a button works after you solder it etc.  Thanks

[TalkingOctopus]

If you have a multimeter, you can use it to test if each button has a good connection. 

1) Set the multimeter to measure resistance (ohms). 
2) Attach one of the multimeter wires to the ground wire.
3) Attach the other end of the multimeter to the button wire you are testing.
4) Press the button.

If there is no resistance then you have a good connection.  Otherwise, you should resolder.

[krion]

hrm,

i think i have a multimeter somewhere.  If not, im guessing the only way to test is to wire up the ground and hot to a button, turn on press to test... rinse and repeat?

[TalkingOctopus]

hrm,

i think i have a multimeter somewhere.

[pmc]

Someone wrote some controller testing software that runs on the DC. Of course, it won't work until you've already plugged in! I'll see if I can find the link.

If you are careful with your wiring, and use a multimeter to test, the only thing that I'd really worry about is the ground. If any of the other wires are touching or accidentally grounded or whatever, it'll just act like the buttons are being pressed when they are, in fact, not.

The ground is merely "extended" off the controller and into your control panel. Unless you mixed up wires or soldered to something you shouldn't have, there's very little to go wrong. Famous last words! 

Anyway, I managed to do it without frying anything and I rewired a LOT of different ways along the way. An incremental approach worked for me (e.g., wire up one button and ground and then test).

Good luck!