NES controller plug

[yoshi64]

So I have this NES Zapper that I picked up from a thrift store that didn't have the cord (I'm guessing the previous owner wanted a toy gun and cut it off ). Anyhow, I have a broken NES controller that I salvaged the cable/plug off of to use with the Zapper. However, the wires for the Zapper are connected to different pins inside the plug then what the controller used. So I need to get inside the plug to rearrange the wires, but the only problem is I can't figure out how to open the plug. I noticed there are 4 small holes with what I are assuming to be tabs. I tried pushing them in but I still can't get it open. What would I need to do in order to get inside the plug?

[Compute]

Why not bust out the continuity detector on your meter and figure out which pin is which? The plug is molded around the wires, afaik.

[yoshi64]

The only problem is not all the pins are used. The NES controller uses 5 of the 7 pins, and the Zapper uses 4 of the pins (two of which are the unused pins from the controller) so I need to move the wires to said pin locations.

[Compute]

Eep. Does the cable have a wire for every pin?

[yoshi64]

The controller wire uses 5 wires (one for each of the 5 pins it uses), therefore there are no wires connected to the two un-used pins which are needed for the Zapper.

[goober213]

The controller wire uses 5 wires (one for each of the 5 pins it uses), therefore there are no wires connected to the two un-used pins which are needed for the Zapper.

Hm, did you try twist tying the unused/unneeded wires and electrical taping over the contacts of them? I don't know if that will work of not?

[jb143]

What I believe he's saying is that the regular controller plug doesn't even have the contacts inside it that the Zapper uses..pins 5 and 6 from the pinouts I've found on the net.

Those pins are generally lableled as "No Connection" on pinouts but they are used for the Zapper.

If you can't open the official NES controllers connector, you might be able to open the connector on some 3'rd party controllers/cables. Otherwise, try to find a busted Zapper and swap cables. Sounds like quite a bit of work though since I see zappers at thrift stores all the time for $2-$3 bucks.