Problem after replacing battery clip with DC Jack

[myucka]

Hi,

I have a AB/Y Box that had a battery clip in it.  I decided that I wanted to hook it to my pedalboard, so I replaced the battery clip with a DC Jack.  According to the circuit board, black is negative and red is positive.  I bought a Panel Mounted Coaxial DC power jack and wired the center terminal to red and the outer terminal to black.

When I placed it on my pedal board and plugged a cord into any of the 1/4" jacks, my other pedals led's went out.  I did some searching and found that the tip is negative, so I switched the black (negative) to the center pin and the red to the outer terminal.  Now when I plug a cord into the in/out jack, the other pedals on my board go out.

I mean, it is two wires, I don't understand what I have done wrong and I have come up with nothing on other searches I made.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[armdnrdy]

My first question to a problem such as this is usually....is the DC jack that you added metal?

[myucka]

Actually, yes it is.  That didn't even cross my mind.  The jack is metal and the case is metal.  So I'm guessing, I'm going right to ground then?  I'm still pretty new and not sure how I can even rectify the situation.

Thanks for the quick reply

[armdnrdy]

Replace the DC jack with a plastic insulated jack like this:

[myucka]

Figures.  The only jacks they had at the time were the metal ones.  I will do that.  Thanks for the response.

[Invertiguy]

You can also drill out a bigger hole and mount the metal jack on a piece of etched plexiglass... a little more work, but you don't have to wait for parts, it looks cooler than a black plastic jack, and you can illuminate the panel for further awesomeness.

[davent]

Small Bear had/has a tutorial where an oversized hole was drilled for the jack, filled with Bondo, left to set, levelled then redrilled to fit the jack, an insulated/electrically isolated hole.

You can also drill out a bigger hole and mount the metal jack on a piece of etched plexiglass...

I believe The Tone God uses this setup on his pedals, looks quite sharp!

[myucka]

Nice ideas!  I will probably just go with a different jack though, but I am intrigued.