Why is the ground prong always missing?!?!?!

jim109

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Ok.. I picked up another game yesterday and yet again the ground prong on the cord is missing. Every game I have picked up, the ground prong is missing from the cord and I have to replace with a proper one. Am I missing something?!? Do people pull them out on purpose for some reason or do they break off easy or something? I just can't figure out as I'm pretty sure the ground is important ;)

Jim
 
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My guess would be that the games are of an era before 3-prong outlets were very common, and were often installed in places without a dedicated ground plug. I have a few adapters from when I lived in apartments in the late 80s...
 
That's exactly it. Don't forget these games (the classics at least) were made in the 80's. Most outlets were not grounded and had the two prong outlets asn the buildings were older. Also the building codes were much more lax back then. I've had to replace at least 80% of my plugs because the ground prong is always missing. I've gone to extreme lengths to replace and ground the outlets in my bar and the apartments.
 
Ok.. I picked up another game yesterday and yet again the ground prong on the cord is missing. Every game I have picked up, the ground prong is missing from the cord and I have to replace with a proper one. Am I missing something?!? Do people pull them out on purpose for some reason or do they break off easy or something? I just can't figure out as I'm pretty sure the ground is important ;)

Jim

Yep, same here. More often than not the ground prong is missing. It usually doesn't bother me too much, since I like working on them anyway. The ones that suck are the ones that require HEAVY soldering like Defender.
 
Broken ground prongs really piss me off because its part of a plug that could be easily made stronger!!!

You would think that the metal would be strong and built all the way around the prong. NO its only 1 really small connection on each side of the prong that holds it on. Thats why it breaks all the time!!!
 

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That reminds me of an "out of order" sign I saved for my collection, it says:

"If you play this game bare-footed, you will get shocked"

!Wow! talk about liability, I don't know where to start on this one, but I can imagine a conversation in court:

Plantiff's Attorney: Did you have knowledge that this machine was shocking people at your establishment resulting in death?

Defense Attorney: Objection! Goes toward self-incrimination.

Plantiff's Attorney: Did you affix a sign to the game warning of electrical shock?

Defendant: um- yeah, but only if you're bare-footed.....

Judge: You lose!
 
Hey man, you guys are all better than me... Up until now, I always lived in apartments with two pronged outlets (some apartments were 50/50).

So I'd use an adaptor. Or plug it into a power strip that has the prong pulled.

But in a pinch, I'll say f it and pull the prong myself. I have a ton of PC AC cables... So no big deal. I'll just use another one when I switch things next.

Japanese cabs only have two prongs. Which is pretty crazy because they are metal.

They do have a grounding post, I ussually hook that up to an adapter of sorts.

But every once in a while, I'll be hooking it up and the built up charge will pass through me. Kind of fun.
 
The last 3 games I have bought are missing the ground prong. Its an ugly sight, but nothing a cheapo replacement plug from home depot and 5 spare minutes cant fix.
 
While I'm sure lots of people removed them themselves, working for an op I've noticed that they break very easily too. A major problem is that when the games are plugged into the wall behind a game, the games get moved around a lot and smashed into the plug. The two power pins bend to the side, but the ground plug tends to snap off in the wall outlet since it's round and not flat like the power pins. There's some locations that no matter how many times you replace it, somebody slides the game into the side of the plug and breaks the ground pin off again.

BTW a good way to fix that is to lay a 2X4 on the ground behind the arcade games, then voila the games don't slide all the way into the wall anymore.
 
While I'm sure lots of people removed them themselves, working for an op I've noticed that they break very easily too. A major problem is that when the games are plugged into the wall behind a game, the games get moved around a lot and smashed into the plug. The two power pins bend to the side, but the ground plug tends to snap off in the wall outlet since it's round and not flat like the power pins. There's some locations that no matter how many times you replace it, somebody slides the game into the side of the plug and breaks the ground pin off again.

BTW a good way to fix that is to lay a 2X4 on the ground behind the arcade games, then voila the games don't slide all the way into the wall anymore.

I use the 90 degree plugs from Lowes. Home Depot has them too but they are about twice the cost as the ones at Lowes and dont seem to be any better. Heres link to a pic.

http://www.happ.com/electrical_supplies/91400000.htm

Matt
 
Should it be normal for a game to have some stray voltage all the time???

I finally got around to hooking up the earth pin on my candy and it holds voltage as long as the game is plugged in. Even when it is off.
 
working for an op, i have heard stories of the people who worked there before me. they would actually remove the ground plugs to make service calls for themselves. mostly on change machines, cig machines, and vending machine. Bartops as well. It makes the machines loose their memory so things like free vend or price changes happen. It will also make bartops loose their connection to the jukebox for the selector or make a change machine give 3 quarters instead of 4. Also, just because an outlet is a 3 prong outlet does NOT mean that is actually grounded. We use a tester to make sure the outlet is actually grounded. You'd be surprised how often we run across outlets that are 3 prong and are not grounded.
 
I just can't figure out as I'm pretty sure the ground is important ;)

Not really; only if something goes drastically wrong inside the machine, i.e., a major source of current somehow shorts against something conductive that you can touch from the outside of the machine. Otherwise, the 3rd prong does nothing. Think of it as a safety net below someone walking a tight rope; except, instead of walking a tight rope, he's walking a 10' wide bridge with hand rails on either side. It is possible that he could fall, and the safety net would actually be useful; but not very likely.

Think of all the electrical devices you can still buy new that have no third prong. Also think about how we went for nearly 100 years of in-home electricity without the third prong on most devices or outlets. Breaking the third prong off a plug was common in the '80s because most general purpose outlets didn't have the third prong hole and the risk was small.
 
It was a given to me, years ago, to replace the entire cord on any game I completely go over. 80% of the time, either the ground prong is missing, or the cord is ragged. Cheap thing, order a bunch from Bob Roberts.
 
I remember finding out at the local Pizza Shop that if youtouch a bare part of thier 1-Slot MVS cab and the metal trim on FUnhouse, it would give you a nice ride....

After we ran out of quarters we would have contests to see who could do it the longest.
 
It's often cheaper/easier to just pick up a 20-25 foot outdoor extension cord and wire than in than dealing with new ends on a 30 year old dirty and often damaged cord.

One of the local hardware stores (Menards) often puts cords on sale for around $.50 to $1.50 after rebate ($4 before rebate) for these cords. Just chop off the female end, wire nut or crimp on 3 new ends into the Amp or Molex connector and fasten it in and you have a brand new cord.
 
Scan that bad boy. I'd like to print that out. ;)

Ask and you shall receive! There is so much nicotine lurking in that old masking tape, you can get a contact high just looking at it.

Shocksign.jpg
 
That reminds me of an "out of order" sign I saved for my collection, it says:

"If you play this game bare-footed, you will get shocked"

!Wow! talk about liability, I don't know where to start on this one, but I can imagine a conversation in court:

Plantiff's Attorney: Did you have knowledge that this machine was shocking people at your establishment resulting in death?

Defense Attorney: Objection! Goes toward self-incrimination.

Plantiff's Attorney: Did you affix a sign to the game warning of electrical shock?

Defendant: um- yeah, but only if you're bare-footed.....

Judge: You lose!

My stovetop's electric burners do the same thing. I researched it online and found someone asking about the same thing on a forum, and it seems that stovetops were commonly wired that way in years past; with a 3 prong plug rather than a 4 prong, and it wasn't considered to be a big deal at the time (I still don't consider it to be a big deal):

Question
I have an electric stove,removable Burners elements on top, and when I cook,and lean up against the stove I get a shock, enough to get your attention, I'm not sure where to start to look for the problem. do you have any suggestions?
Thanks.
Skip

Answer
Hi Skip,

Based on your description...it sounds like your body is providing a portion of the ground path for this stove when you touch it ( a common problem on 3 wire stoves and dryers....the Code recognized this and changed wiring regulations for them both to now require 4 wire to help avoid this type of incident)

Years ago it was a common practice to wire stoves and dryers with 3 wire...typically 6/3 or 8/3 for the stoves and 10/3 for the dryers....so that the units had 2 wires for the 240 volts with 1 neutral only (a ground strap on the stove provided a jumper for ground to bleed back down the neutral.). New Codes now mandate that all new stoves installed after 1-1-2005 MUST have a 4 wire assembly....having 2 wires for the 240 volts, 1 seperate neutral....AND a seperate ground....and the ground strap or wire on the stove is no longer bonded to the neutral lug. This helps to avoid accidental energizing of the metal frame of the stove or dryer....and eliminate user shock when touched....usually mild - but definitely noticeable. (and in the wrong situation - potentially lethal if you are handling water or have health conditions)

We've been installing 4 prong 4 wire assemblies for stoves and dryers for years..(in the interests of customer safety)
but the Code just made it mandatory a year and a half ago in all new homes (old homes are grand-fathered...but I HIGHLY recommend the change to 4 wire)

Without being able to examine the wiring for your stove and do some testing...it's hard for me to say for sure if this is your problem...but it sure fits the symptoms perfectly....and it's something we've seen in MANY homes.

I HIGHLY recommend you shut down the breaker for this stove...(and confirm that it is off...it will be either a 50 or 60 amp double pole breaker)....check your wiring to the stove receptacle outlet to see if 4 wire was run and if the receptacle outlet is indeed 4 prong...if not - I HIGHLY recommend you change it out (or have a local electrician do it for you) so that it is (and on your dryer as well...if it isn't already 4 wire) The extra safety path and user shock protection that the seperate ground and neutral provide can not be understated.

I hope this helps Skip...if you need more details, please follow-up.

Best Wishes,

Bob Osgood
Master Electrician / Owner


RKO ELECTRIC

www.rkoelectric.com

The shock is obviously not lethal, nor even painful. It is just enough to be noticeable, and only happens when you are barefoot on the wooden floor (in the past there was linoleum on the floor which prevented it from happening even when barefoot). Maybe something similar was happening with the arcade machine that had your sign on it.
 
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<snipped> Think of all the electrical devices you can still buy new that have no third prong. Also think about how we went for nearly 100 years of in-home electricity without the third prong on most devices or outlets. Breaking the third prong off a plug was common in the '80s because most general purpose outlets didn't have the third prong hole and the risk was small.

The reason UL allows appliances without a ground prong is because they are double insulated construction- big difference between that design and the old stuff designed to utilize a grounding plug.

In fact, the added grounding installations in some old games actually makes them more prone to shocking someone with the grounding prong removed, than if they didn't have it (extra grounding installations). Just look at your typical Williams cab with it's generous flat ground braid running everywhere, nicely connecting the coin doors, control panel, speaker, and marquee hardware together.

If you have a failure or even something as simple as a loose fastener that completes the circuit, and no ground prong there to trip the breaker, then anyone that touches that machine can receive a lethal shock.
 
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