My belly light WIRING...on a Bally Game Maker - internal breaks

[shortrackskater]

I just had the weirdest problem. My belly florescent light (Bally Game Maker) would not stay on consistently. I checked the starter, bulb, connectors etc. It kept going off when the the door shut, or at certain points of the door being opened.
Soooooooooooooooo my first thought was the wiring. Long story short, I was right - it was the wiring. It had breaks in two wires. The stock wire was 18 awg solid wire. The only thing I could find in solid wire at home depot was 14. So it's a little stiff.
I did fix my problem but it did it again. I'm sure another wire is breaking.
I'm not an AC person. Is there a stranded type of wire that I could use to rewire this fixture? I'm afraid this wire will eventually do the same thing and break.
And... when I clip the wire from the socket end, I'm leaving an inch or so. I crimped on the replacement but I'm not sure about using crimps for AC.
Should I just solder it and use heat shrink tubing?

[shortrackskater]

I'm replying to myself...
I'm just going to cut out all the wire, that moves with the belly door,  and replace it with a piece of an inside extension cord and just twist and cap the ends together.
There! Now no one needs to respond.   


I wonder why Bally used that type of wire in the first place and not something more flexible?

[rokgpsman]

Are we sure the solid wiring is original from the factory in that particular location on the machine, have you seen it used on other similar machines? I'd think that stranded wire would be a better choice for reliability. Maybe that's what Bally did back then and your door has lots of opens & closes over it's life.

As far as I know crimps and wire nuts are fine for ordinary ac wiring. On very large stranded wires like the service cables coming to your house they use compression fasteners sorta look like metal u-joints. And on high current fasteners like an elec cook stove they use special fasteners that are crimped & silver soldered.

[shortrackskater]

Yes it was very stock looking - nice neat wire ties that were rotted from the heat too!
It was just strange though - at first it almost seemed to be the belly door switch but then the light would go out at different points of closure. I'm thinking this machine may have been in storage for some time too.

[shortrackskater]

UGH! Okay I tore out all the wiring I did and the rest of the old stuff too.
Replaced it with nice flexible "former" extension cord. I feel a LOT more comfortable with this set up. It flexes when the belly door is opened and closed. I actually thing Bally should not have used the harness tie-down at the lower left side. I think that put the already too stiff wires into the same exact flex pattern which lead to the internal breaks.
And... it works too!
Now for the non working change light dilemma...