124V to my Switcher even with the power OFF???

Steverd

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124V to my Switcher even with the power OFF??? VIDEO added!!

Is it normal to have LIVE 120V to the switcher even with the power switch off?
This is on my Sega Super Hang-on and I have putting in a new switcher PS today. So why is there 124v to the bottom two screws/plug? Do I have a power leak someplace before the power gets there? Is this normal?

Man this seems odd, shouldn't the power end at the on/off switch?

Steve
 
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Some numb-nut wired the power supply BEFORE the power switch.....this also means the gameboard is never turned off. Totally wrong.

Edward
 
hmm... i guess i need to see if i can dig mine out and snap a pic, so you can see if yours is miswired compared to mine.
 
Here's a short 3 minute video of the situation! After checking out the wiring, it looked good. The switch is After the power switch. The monitor powers does go through the Iso transformer. BUT check out my continuity test at the end. I think I found the problem??????



Embedding is not working?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29PuK6aTi1Q

It's the second time I got shocked this month!! But this one wasn't really my fault!!! :eek:
 
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First thing I see wrong is that the neutral is being switched and not the hot. The black wire in AC voltage IS NOT ground, its the supply voltage. By switching off and on the neutral your really not turning off the machine correctly if the Earth GND (aka the green wire) is wired correctly in the cabinet.

That continuity your seeing at the end of the clip could in fact be both white and black being wired to the hot side of the plug but may also be resistance across a primary transformer. Easy way to tell would be to unplug that two pin connector and measure again. If its still there its the cord/plug/switch/that box on the back of the machine. If it goes away it is a primary side of a transformer and obviously is fine or you would be blowing line fuses.

I wonder if maybe the green wire is wired to neutral, the white wired to earth ground and the black wired to hot inside that plug??? Or maybe black wired to earth ground.... Nah, that would blow stuff up.

Oh, those cabinet switches are known to go bad BTW.
 
First thing I see wrong is that the neutral is being switched and not the hot. The black wire in AC voltage IS NOT ground, its the supply voltage. By switching off and on the neutral your really not turning off the machine correctly if the Earth GND (aka the green wire) is wired correctly in the cabinet.

Oh, those cabinet switches are known to go bad BTW.

Since this seems to be wired wrong, when I replace the plug can I switch the neutral and hot? That way the hot goes to the on/off switch??

Thanks
Steve
 
Definitely do that, and check the rest of the AC wiring in the cab. Whoever worked on it probably looked something like this:

a.aaa-Funny-clown.jpg
 
Better yet, get a DPDT switch to switch off BOTH neutral and hot. That way, you are not dependent on an incorrectly wired plug, or a possibly miss-wired socket.
 
Better yet, get a DPDT switch to switch off BOTH neutral and hot. That way, you are not dependent on an incorrectly wired plug, or a possibly miss-wired socket.

Make that DPST:D

A DPDT actually gives you 3 positions.....off, "throw" 1 , and "throw" 2 (this would still work, but the second throw isn't needed/used).

Edward
 
I just watched your video.....along with what others have stated.....I'll add.....you can't always go by the continuity tester of a meter. Almost all meters will give a continuity "beep" at 100 ohms and under. It's not uncommon for the AC circuit between the hot and neutral poles of the plug to be under 100 ohms. Go test one of your 100% working games and see if you have continuity between the hot and neutral poles of the plug.....I bet most will give you a continuity "beep". It you truely had "continuity" between the hot and neutral poles of your AC plug, you'd be popping fuses/breakers/starting an electrical fire.

One other odd thing I noticed.....you measured your AC voltage from the earth ground wire. In the USA, when doing this, you should only see voltage at one side of the pole (the hot side/black wire). The neutral/white wire should give you zero volts. This makes me wonder what's going on inside that gold colored ""box".

Edward
 
Make that DPST:D

A DPDT actually gives you 3 positions.....off, "throw" 1 , and "throw" 2 (this would still work, but the second throw isn't needed/used).

Edward

Not necessarily. A DPDT center off will give you 3 positions, a DPDT switch will give you only 2. Still, you don't need a second set of "on" postions so a DPST is the correct switch.

Brian.
 
Oh God, how do you wire a DPST into an arcade game????
Any good diagrams?

Steve

The input 120VAC from your plug has 3 wires.....generally black, white, and green......though, this isn't always a standard. Your Double-Pole Sindle Throw switch has four lugs.....as opposed to the two lugs your original SPST switch as. When wired properly.....your SPST switch connects and disconnects the black/hot wire from the input voltage. On a DPST switch....the black/hot wire and the white/neutral wires are opened and closed.

Edward
 
Make that DPST:D

A DPDT actually gives you 3 positions.....off, "throw" 1 , and "throw" 2 (this would still work, but the second throw isn't needed/used).

Edward

Not necessarily. A DPDT center off will give you 3 positions, a DPDT switch will give you only 2. Still, you don't need a second set of "on" postions so a DPST is the correct switch.

Brian.

Isn't that what I said?

Edward
 
Yeah. images are down, I tried also.

Just did more work on the Super Hang-on. The plug was wired right.
Although I switched it to a newer plug. Then I switched the hot and neutral right after they enter the cabinet. Tested and now there is no live current in the cabinet past the on/off switch.

Wish I could upload some images this morning!

Thanks guys!
Steve
 
Isn't that what I said?

Edward

Only sort of. You said a DPDT switch will give you 3 positions : on - off - on. That isn't just a DPDT switch, its a DPDT Center Off switch.

A DPDT switch will give you 2 postions : "throw 1" and "throw 2"

I simply corrected the difference between the standard DPDT switch and the "center off" type. If you go to an electonics or hardware store for a DPDT switch you will most likely not receive one with a "center off" unless you specify that.

Brian.
 
In some early sega games the cord used brown/blue/green instead of black/white/green wire. Is that the case with this game?

Sounds like you have it wired right now. Is this the same machine with the ground wire on the monitor getting really hot?
 
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