Wiring Harness

Similar to an arcade board set, this project uses a wiring harness to connect the Fruit Jam to the control panel buttons. You'll build the harness using a section of seven raw M-M jumper wires, single and dual row wire housing, arcade button quick-connect wires, and a Wago connector for ground.

First, peel off a seven wire section: black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.

Then, add a single row 1x1 housing to one end of the six non-black wires. (The black ground wire will go directly into a Wago connector). The pin end has a small tab that locks into the housing -- you'll hear a satisfying snik when inserted properly.

Fruit Jam Connector

Use a dual row 2x16 housing to plug the button wiring harness into the Fruit Jam.

The pin end has a small tab that locks into the housing -- you'll hear a satisfying snik when inserted properly.

Follow the diagram below to properly insert the seven wires into the housing so that the connections are made, from left to right:

• Brown to A5
• Red to D6
• Orange to D7
• Yellow to D8
• Green to D9
• Blue to D10
• Black to GND

Ground Bus Prep

Use the Wago connector to distribute the ground wire to all of the buttons. First, lift one lever and insert the black jumper wire's raw end, then close the lever.

Use 0.11" or 0.187" arcade button quick connect wire pairs depending on the lug size of your arcade button microswitches. The 30mm Adafruit arcade buttons use 0.11" lugs, while many old-school arcade buttons with separate microswitches like these will use 0.187".

Button Ground Wire Prep

Use diagonal cutters to snip one wire from the JST connector end of one of the arcade button quick connect cables. This will be the ground wire, so if you're using the 0.187" or 0.25" cable pairs you can pick the blue wire for clarity.

Use wire strippers to remove about 1/2" inch of insulation from the bare end of the wire you just cut. The spade connector end will connect to one leg of your arcade button's microswitch.

Lift a lever on the Wago snap-action block connector and insert the stripped wire end, then close the lever.

Repeat the ground wire steps so you have six quick connect wires inserted in the Wago block connector. You can twist two pairs of the wires' ends together before insertion to make this work.

Button Connections

Plug the blue jumper wire into the JST connector on the intact wire side as shown.

You can now connect the two space connectors to the two terminal lugs on your arcade button microswitch (either separate microswitch or integrated arcade button depending on which you're using for the build.)

Button Wires

Connect the remaining JST-ended button wires to the color coded harness jumper wires as shown.

Wire Labeling

Want to stay super organized? Use a labeler or tape and a Sharpie to mark the wires before assembly. Place the lables a couple of inches from the space connectors.