Session 500 Molex connectors, WTH?!? Problem solved on page

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 5 Jul 2012 3:01 pm

Ok, so I got the mouse-chewed power wires taken care of, and I went to put this back together.
All was pretty obvious, except the connection second from the right end.
There's five pins on the board, and the connector only has 4: 2 male, and 2 female.
How does this go on? I didn't think to take a picture, as they're usually keyed.

Here's another view that might make more sense, or it might cloud the issue.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 5 Jul 2012 3:23 pm

I may have flunked sex ed in school, but that doesn't look like it would work. The only way I see it would go on is just the 2 female pins in the plug on the 2 pins to the left in the group of 5. I don't know that the plug could fit the other way. But why would the other 3 pins be there?

Maybe an email to Ken Fox or Jack Stoner may be in order.

Good luck on that one pal.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 5 Jul 2012 3:31 pm

Right, Richard. It DOESN'T look like it should work. but either it came off there, or those pins AND the connector are just test points. There are no other possible culprits.
I will just play the Evans instead.

Rick Kreuziger · Post by **Rick Kreuziger** » 5 Jul 2012 6:34 pm

Did you unplug more than that one? Perhaps you've
plugged another one in the wrong spot.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 5 Jul 2012 6:42 pm

Looking closer, that plug looks like one that mates with another plug attached to wires, and not to pins on a circuit board. The little "latch" type of thingie on the plug looks like it would clamp to the mating plug. But, you would see that other plug in there somewhere and I doubt you missed it. I would still contact Ken or Jack. Of course, Peavey may have used that type of plug to connect to circuit board pins. It would work.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 5 Jul 2012 6:43 pm

I unplugged them all. But between the length of cable and #of pins, each cable can only go one place. There are no other 4 pin connectors and that one next door is coded three female one male. .
And no other connectors in reach, those two bring the nearest to the hole in the bottom of the preamp

Stephen Cowell · Post by **Stephen Cowell** » 5 Jul 2012 6:52 pm

The plug facing us has male pins... it only works with female pins. It is true Molex.

The pins on the board are pin-style, not true Molex... they should have side-fingers on the female end, not the triple-piece you see in the Molex male.

Good luck!

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 5 Jul 2012 7:03 pm

Right, Stephen. But I'm honest, I didn't switch out boards, I damn sure didn't swap cable ends.
Either that cable came off those pins or those pins had nothing and neither did that plug.
I'm gonna take another look Sunday when I get back home, but it's a puzzle.
And Richard, Ken said he doesn't work on the Hernia 500

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 6 Jul 2012 1:26 am

Lane, I'll pull mine apart and take some pics, pull some molex, etc. I might not be able to get to it until I get back to town on July 17; a lot to get done before I leave Sunday.

Dan

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 6 Jul 2012 1:49 am

That's cool. I have another amp or two.
I'm almost wondering if I've overlooked a connector on the power supply board, but I don't think so.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 6 Jul 2012 9:06 am

Have you tried Mike Brown? Or called Peavey. They have great customer service.

I can see the pins on the board maybe being test points, but for them to put an "extra" plug with wires seems to go against their target of producing lower cost amps (realizing too that there is not much cost involved in that plug or wires).

If we were to vote, I would have to vote this as one of the oddest problems I have seen here. Truly baffling.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 17 Jul 2012 1:49 pm

Lane, did you ever figure this out? What was the final word?

Bill A. Moore · Post by **Bill A. Moore** » 17 Jul 2012 2:13 pm

You have to tell us Lane, I'm as curious as Richard!

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 17 Jul 2012 9:10 pm

I still haven't found anything out. So I haven't put it together. I don't wanna fry anything.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 17 Jul 2012 9:28 pm

There's got to be a way we can help Lane out with this. Anyone???

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 17 Jul 2012 10:05 pm

Dan said he'd open his up and see what's going on there

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 18 Jul 2012 1:34 am

Just got home Monday night. I'll have a look today.

Dan

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 18 Jul 2012 2:50 am

Okay Lance, here ya go. It looks like that might have been one of the internal ones? It doesn't go with those five pins on the right (at least not on mine). Here are all my pics.

First, just to confirm that we are both looking at the later, two-piece-chassis version of the Session 500:

Here's the whole board:

Here's the right end:a molex connector goes on the four pins to the far right (labelled "1" by some previous owner), but none is attached to the pins directly next to them:

Judging by the wire color-combination on your mystery connector, it looks most likely from the left side of the board, one of those marked "3" or "4" or one of the ones to the rear of these (see below), but I can't imagine those reaching all the way over to the right where you are holding them. Sadly (stupidly), I didn't pull these off to see what configuration was underneath:

I'll claim absence of caffeine for my short-sightedness, but I closed the 500 back up after I took pics. But it's still on my desk so I could do another check if needed.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 18 Jul 2012 2:55 am

Thanks, Dan.
I guess I will assume that that is a test point connector.
I will button it back up without connecting it

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 18 Jul 2012 5:14 am

Okay Lane: just check to make sure there are no mice in there before you close it up.

Dan

Ken Fox · Post by **Ken Fox** » 18 Jul 2012 11:42 am

Sure that is not a reverb cable? Does it have two shielded cables going to it? I never saw a Session 500 with a test cable! Be careful, if hooked up wrong you can blow the outputs on this amp, been there and done it one time!

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 18 Jul 2012 12:52 pm

What gets me is the "ear" on the side of the plug in Lane's hand. All the pics of the boards that Dan posted, none of the plugs have the "ears".

Aren't those "ears" indicative of a plug that plugs into another plug?

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 18 Jul 2012 1:05 pm

You're right, Ken, I've never seen any, either.
I'll check for wires running down to the tank

Ken Fox · Post by **Ken Fox** » 18 Jul 2012 1:07 pm

Peavey used that type plug on some amp to plug into a cutout in a chassis, for reverb connections

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 18 Jul 2012 5:08 pm

In the second picture in my post you can barely see that the reverb has two plugs plugged into one another, but the wire bundle is unlike Lane's mystery plug. Another way to check this, Lane: what does the other end of that plug go to? I could trace it back on mine with that info.

Dan