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Post by Larry Madsen on Apr 4, 2023 9:58:33 GMT -5
I have this Tremolo pedal I received as part of my nephew Steve's collection. Steve passed away a while back.  IMG_4947 by Larry Madsen, on Flickr  IMG_4948 by Larry Madsen, on Flickr I have pulled the back and there is nothing clear and obvious that I can see as a problem.  IMG_4949 by Larry Madsen, on Flickr I am hoping someone can provide some guidance on where to look and how to go about trouble shooting this pedal and the power outage. |
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Post by Pinetree on Apr 4, 2023 10:19:00 GMT -5
Perhaps try it with a power supply instead of a battery.
If that works, it could be possible that the contacts for the power supply input are corroded or shorted out, making your pedal think that there's a power supply connected thus bypassing the battery.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Apr 4, 2023 10:46:26 GMT -5
Have you disconnected the battery and placed it on your tongue?
🤣
Sorry I got nothin' other than what Mr Tree suggested. Perhaps a short on the lead from the battery?
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Post by Larry Madsen on Apr 4, 2023 11:01:41 GMT -5
Perhaps try it with a power supply instead of a battery. I failed to mention in the OP that I have tried it both ways previously. Here is one more attempt at it though, just to be certain in the here and now   IMG_4950 by Larry Madsen, on Flickr In the PIC I know it "appears" the light on the right could be illuminated, but it's an orange lens/LED with the sunshine from a nearby window making it appear a bit lit. up. Have you disconnected the battery and placed it on your tongue? Yes, I took my licking just to be sure it was still ticking.  |
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Post by Larry Madsen on Apr 4, 2023 11:51:30 GMT -5
I had timidly attempted this previously but did not want to force things …
The 9v power lead has a 3 prong plug provision at the end.
I pulled it and turned it 180 then carefully got it to plug back in.
Just like that and the LEDs will now light up. Success, but only to a degree.
Plugging guitar to pedal input then pedal output to amp I can not get the signal to the amp.
I checked to verify cables are working. Tried both outputs from pedal, messed with knobs, wiggled the plugs to see if I got any reaction.
Nothing.
I’d like to think there might be some stupid simple issue I am missing. Wouldn’t be the first time I missed something idiotically simple.
I do notice on the outputs from the pedal. They are marked “output tip” and “output ring”.
Is there something there I need to pay attention to.
Never had this much problem with a pedal
Ever. 🤔
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 4, 2023 12:06:49 GMT -5
Pull the battery plug from the PC board and look very closely at the PC board. There should be a little + and - next to the pins. If not, there may be VCC next to one; that is the positive pin. Make sure the plug is the right way 'round on the pins.
There are diodes on the power input circuit. That prevents damage from reverse polarity that many older pedals suffer from. So that is not the issue here.
The mono/stereo switch carries all the signal to the jacks. Use CRC QD (nothing else...Deoxit will work too); blast the guts of that little switch and exercise it about 20 times (push push push push etc.). Blast it again and exercise it again.
Look closely at the tops of the jacks when you stick a plug in 'em. See that little moving tang when the plug goes in? That's a switch. Look very closely and you'll see a set of contacts in there. Use a little piece of stiff paper to scrub the contacts to make sure there are no bits of shmoo or fuzz in them preventing contact. Blast 'em with the QD when there's a plug in the jack.
See if these steps fix the issue.
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Post by Larry Madsen on Apr 4, 2023 13:13:45 GMT -5
Thanks Geno. I implemented your suggestions. Upon plugging it back in I was starting to get some signal to the amp. Not full and clear, but something. I now notice the 9v plug (blue in PIC) is crackling if I manipulate it. Power certainly surging depending on how happy it is in the instant.  IMG_4952 by Larry Madsen, on Flickr I have another 9v plug stashed in my "box of tricks" pictured there. I think I'll swap that terminal onto the power lead and see where I get with that change. Here we are. I'll see what difference it makes.  IMG_4953 by Larry Madsen, on Flickr With testing, When initially plugged in and turned on the LED for power shows bright red. As a little time passes it becomes dimmer and dimmer. This even if the wall power converter is plugged in. Also, still no signal making it to the amp. I found a new battery in the shadows around here and installed it. powers up and works consistently. I think I had a short in the battery connector, which is now fixed. then my battery was low enough to draw down fast. Steve had this pedal set up with an "adapter plug" for the battery connector that feed off a power converter. I'll get a PIC later. Considering that with the other battery and even connected to the wall power converter (as usual), it still did not want to wok. there seems to be a problem with the wall converter plug on the back of the pedal ... not working. I may just have to do as it appears Steve was doing. That being, run the power converter adapter cord into the battery plug and that's the only way this pedal works. |
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Post by Larry Madsen on Apr 4, 2023 16:34:20 GMT -5
It appears this is how I get this pedal to work:  IMG_4954 by Larry Madsen, on Flickr Replaced faulty 9v battery end connector. Use adapter to go direct from power supply to battery connector and power up the pedal. |
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 5, 2023 6:00:21 GMT -5
Ahhh...your experiments (the dimming LED) have pointed me at the probable cause: fatigued and fractured solder connections on the power jack. The dimming LED is a clue because solder fractures often act as PTC resistors; the resistance changes as temperature rises in the resistor. This temperature increase is due to current flowing across the poor connection, causing arcing over the gap. This issue will affect the power from an AC 9vDC power adapter as well as a battery because the battery current flows through the jack's switch. If you can get to the solder-pad side of the board, re-flow the solder connections. Here's how. Apply some flux paste/liquid to the pads on the jack pins, and use a clean/hot/tinned solder stick to reheat each connection. Add a dot of fresh 60/40 solder (don't use lead free) and it will be right as rain. Be fast with a hot stick, or you risk lifting the pad from the PC board.  Look here: |
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