Is this the place to discuss Pedal repair ?

[rocksteady Max]

I was just wondering ... since I'm trying to fix a wah pedal if that's the right place to post questions about our pedals shortcomings

[SixStringSlinger]

Yep, this is the place. Ask away.

I mean, I probably can't help you worth a damn, but there's plenty of people who can.

[rocksteady Max]

well the problem is : my wah doesnt work ! from the beginning it didnt ! It's one of these Snarling dogs thing with the big foot shape. The seller sent me another one free of charge and letted me keep that one. He told me, since he's the actual designer of the pedal, that the problem might be with the footswitch. But I tested all connection from the footswitch to the PCB and all the connections on the PCB. Everything is alright. So I just plugged the output to my amp, without having powered the pedal yet. And there is this sound, like there is a wrong connection in the output jack. and when I power the pedal with a 9v regulated power adapter : it's even worse. So am I right thinking the problem comes from the jacks ? The jacks are those little black plastic boxes directly soldered to the PCB

[rocksteady Max]

.d

[Lost_N_Austin]

It should not be too difficult to trouble shoot if you have a working one right beside a non-working one. First, CLEARLY TAG the GOOD ONE so you don't get confused later. Then do a visual inspection of the connections. Compare good to bad. Make notes as you go, this will help you begin to understand what is going on inside. If everything looks the same, start measuring the continuity of the wiring at different settings as you change switch settings and positions.

If you give up, put it on Craigslist for idiots like me that think they are smart enough to fix it. I've got two or three boxes that I bought cheap thinking I could fix them. I either can't, or I just haven't admitted it yet, but I still try.

Good luck.

L_N_A

[Guitar_Ninja]

Well if you have access to a schematic and can see how the signal path flows then you can build an audio probe to test the circuit. It'll allow you to see if any of the components on the PCB are faulty, or if there's a cold solder joint somewhere.

To build an audio probe solder a .1uF capacitor to the signal lead of a mono jack. Solder a wire with an alligator clip on the other end to the shield lead.

To use the audio probe plug your guitar into the pedal input as normal. Then plug another cable into your amp with the audio probe connected to the other end. Clip the alligator clip to ground somewhere on the pedal's PCB.

Now starting at the input, touch the leg of the capacitor on the probe to each component, moving through the circuit until you get to the output. If you strum your guitar occasionally you'll be able to hear if the signal is going through or not.

If you touch the first side of a component and hear signal through your amp, then no signal in the component immediately afterward, then you likely have a cold solder joint or a faulty component.

[rocksteady Max]

that's a neat trick !!

I might try to get my hand on the schematic 'cause I don't have the working one anymore : since I didn't like the sound of it , I traded it. I just want to repair it , as a challenge.

But, using this probe, is it the same thing using the continuity tester built-in my multimeter ?

[Guitar_Ninja]

Yeah. But by using the probe you can hear what each stage of the pedal does to affect the signal.