Some Cobalt Flux Arrows Not Working

I have a cobalt flux dance pad that hasn't been used in 4 years that I pulled out today and tried to configure. Using Stepmania 5 beta 3 or OpenITG, I get the same bad results in the test input mode. Running the test input in both softwares, I find that it's only picking up the up arrow, down arrow, and the bottom-right corner panel. I am using Windows Vista. The pad worked fine 4 years ago with an older version of Stepmania on Windows XP.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

That seems most likely to be a hardware problem, completely unrelated to the software. You could try taking the panels off and cleaning out the inside. I typically use a scrubbing brush and a bit of water to clean mine. (with it disconnected of course)

Can't login to original account...

Anyway, thanks for the quick response. I really appreciate it.

I didn't think it would be hardware, considering it was fine last time I used it 4 years ago, but was completely dead on the sensors mentioned in the last post when i tried using it today. If it was just dirt build up, shouldnt I probably be able to get it to respond at least once, if I kept stepping on it? I also found it odd that up and down were working, but not left and right.

I hope it's just that. Do I just need to pry them off with a screwdriver?

Unscrew the screws in the corners of the panels, take off the lexan (set it aside in the same orientation, it might only fit on one way because the screw holes aren't perfect), then carefully separate the velcro holding the metal panel on.
Dirt build up blocking the circuit can be unpredictable, it's at least worth a try after 4 years of it gathering dust.

Thanks.

I cleaned my pad today. I also looked to see if there were any severed wires. The pad is clean with no broken wiring. I am still experiencing the issue. Any other ideas?

The only thing I have connected to it is a box that says Cobalt Flux Control Box V5.0. That is connected to my PC with the USB connector.

Do you remember why you set it aside for so long? Are any pins on any of the connectors?

Each panel has a wire attached to it by a circle of velcro, with the adhesive on the velcro keeping the wire in place. The velcro also keeps the bare end of the wire from making contact with the main sheet and reporting false presses.
The next thing I'd try is peeling off that circle of velcro on one of the broken panels to see if it's preventing the wire from making contact.
Have the pad connected and on the test input screen, and if the wire not making contact is the problem, you should be able to touch the wire to the panel and the panel to the main sheet and see the press result on the screen.

Thanks for the reply.

I lost interest in it for awhile. I want to play again and make it my main form of exercise.

I will check those, as you mentioned.

However, how did I go from all working, to just three working? That seems weird to me. I could see if 1 or 2 were messed up, but 6? What about the serial connector connected to the pad? None of the connectors look to be missing pins.

Yeah, wire trauma from the cord being stored in a position that gradually broke it is also possible, but more difficult to fix. I've hit the limit of what I could fix with my knowledge, so hopefully someone like PrayerWarrior can step in with advice on diagnosing a problem with the cord. Possible places where the cord could break internally are the short section that's attached to the pad, the long serial section that goes from the pad's connector to the control box, and the section that goes from the control box to the computer.
(Precision Dance Pads manufactures replacement control boxes, so if it turns out to be the control box, he could sell you a replacement.)

One other set of buttons I just remembered: The control box has start and select buttons on it (gray arrows on the V5.0 control boxes, green circles on the older ones I can't remember the version number of). Do those buttons work?
If those buttons work, it's most likely a problem in one of the sections of cable before the control box. If the buttons on the control box don't work, then it could be the control box.