School me on repinning edge connectors

[ieure]

So I was swapping PCBs around in my Asteorids / Asteroids deluxe cabs to test them, and when I pulled one out, I smelled smoke and saw that I'd blown R29 on my Asteroids Deluxe's AR1. PCBs are all fine, but the +5v pins on the harness connector are beat. I don't feel like fixing this again, so how do you go about fixing these things? I've got Tempest(s), Asteroids, and AstDlx that all probably need it.

I see that BR carries a bunch of Molex edge connectors — are the 22/44 ones correct for these games? And then , how do you do this without going insane? Guessing one wire at a time, but I don't know if the connectors need soldering or crimping. Pull the harness out or leave it in? And so on.

 

[Radford119]

I usually go one at a time when re-pinning an edge connector, less chance to mess it up that way. Whether or not you solder them or crimp them depends on the edge connector you get. I prefer the Molex brand with crimp terminals. If you go crimp that means you have to have the correct crimp tool for the pins. I also recommend buying them from Bob Roberts if you need just a few of them.

 

[tron guy]

I changed both edge connectors on my battlezone mini. Left the harness in the cab, and just sat there facing the back of the cab, cutting and crimping 1 wire at a time.

tedious, but it's the only way to do it. worked out great for my battlezone.

 

[ArcRevival]

Crimping is enough. Crimp the bare wire first, give a slight tug to make sure it's on good and then crimp the wire housing.

 

[gunsablazin]

I crimp AND solder each and every pin - one at a time. It's a pain, but if done correctly, you will only have to experience this "pain" once. And not have to go back and repair this and whatever other part you might have blown up because you got "lazy":-(

Oh, and it's a no brainier for me. It Took me one time of me trying to disconnect a connector from a board and end up with a handful of wires while the connector sits still connected to the $&@! board!
Same way with capkits in monitors, just a good rule of thumb.... One at a time

 

[gunsablazin]

Do yourself another big favor and order that crimper from Bob Roberts. I think the part number is HT-1921 .

http://homearcade.org/BBBB/parts.html#tools

Best $16. I ever spent!

 

[AlexZander]

I also prefer crimping and like using the HT-1921 crimpers. The rubber grips slide off though when using, so I gorilla-glued them on. This split pin extractor tool comes in handy for popping out pins if need be.

Nice tutorial on crimping.
http://therealbobroberts.net/crimping.html

To go along with pinning the wires one at a time, I like having the schematic available for matching the original harness' wire colors to the location on the edge connector, and to see if my game's harness is matching the schematic. I also prefer making labels for the edge connectors. Might be overkill, but makes future troubleshooting easier for me.

 

[smalltownguy2]

I crimp AND solder each and every pin - one at a time. It's a pain, but if done correctly, you will only have to experience this "pain" once. And not have to go back and repair this and whatever other part you might have blown up because you got "lazy":-(

You crimp AND solder each one? Holy crap man.

I've got some grout in my bathroom that needs some toothbrush action if you're up for it.

 

[Boardjunkie]

I don't like crimp style connectors.....way too time consuming. I'd go for the solder tab type...shouldn't take more than 10 mins to change out a 44pin.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/22-44-Pin-C...358?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc8414c66

 

[TravisH]

Yes the 22/44 are the correct ones. I just replaced mine with Bobs parts 2 days ago. It was like $10 for the connector and the pins. Get a good crimper and do one wire at a time.

 

[tb lilley]

I crimp and solder too. Adding a dot of solder takes about 30 seconds. I know that adds up when you're doing the best part of 40 pins .... I solder because I don't have the correct crimping tool, if I did then I'd probably skip it.

 

[ieure]

So do you extract the old pins and replace them, or cut the wires, crimp to new pins, and put them into a new housing?

 

[tron guy]

So do you extract the old pins and replace them, or cut the wires, crimp to new pins, and put them into a new housing?

I clipped each wire one at a time, crimped it, and inserted it into the new edge connector housing. That afforded me the smallest chance at making a mistake (in my mind)

 

[joetechbob]

So do you extract the old pins and replace them, or cut the wires, crimp to new pins, and put them into a new housing?

I just replaced the edge connector on my Asteroids cocktail and I *had* to cut the wires. I couldn't get the damned pins out of the old connector to save my life--even with Bob's handy pin remover tool.

I even tried to use a small screwdriver for extra oomph, but I just ended up breaking the plastic on the old connector...At that point I just started cutting one wire at a time. I cut with just a smidge of the wire showing out the back of the old connector so I could double check pin/wire placement in the new connector as I went.

One tip: At first I was compelled to bend the pins up a little bit to make sure they got good contact. This is *NOT* necessary: Just stick the new pins into the new connector, as-is, without doing anything but crimping.

The new pins should install such that if they were bent up any further you might get a short across adjacent parts/solder side pins if the game board isn't connected.

 

[G-P-E]

I just replaced the edge connector on my Asteroids cocktail and I *had* to cut the wires. I couldn't get the damned pins out of the old connector to save my life--even with Bob's handy pin remover tool.
I even tried to use a small screwdriver for extra oomph, but I just ended up breaking the plastic on the old connector...

Be careful with them Molex housings -- they are obsolete and dissappearing fast.
For these plugs you need the correct pin extractor. You must use the Molex 11-03-0016 type extractor. The W-HT-1884 extractors, which look exactly like the 11-03-0016's, won't fit right and make it impossible to bend the contact's tang back properly.

Ed