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GuitarStv
Copper Member
Canada
39 Posts |
 Posted - 06/11/2006 : 16:11:29
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Hi all, I've got a bunch of boss pedals (DS-2, BD-2, CE-5) which are very finnicky about turning on and off. When I step on the pedal the led will sometimes flick on and off a couple of times. Is this a problem with the switch in them, or somthing else. Does anyone have any idea how to trouble shoot this? I really like the pedals, and don't want to get rid of them, but I can't keep them if they won't work in a gig. Thanks! |
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 06/12/2006 : 11:12:03
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It is unusual to see the same symptom on more than one pedal.
Have you tested with another power supply or with batteries? Maybe the problem is located outside the pedals. |
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svengali
Bronze Member
Australia
111 Posts |
Posted - 06/12/2006 : 11:39:38
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make sure the battery wires are not getting mucked up near the switch section. i have a couple of pedals where the battery leads have been replaced with wires that are too long..if im not careful, they mess the switching up.
regards
svengali |
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GuitarStv
Copper Member
Canada
39 Posts |
Posted - 06/12/2006 : 13:43:55
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It's definately not the power supply, as I've had them powered by three different ac adaptors and the problem still persists. Actually, come to think of it, my PSM-5 does the same thing . . . very finnicky about being turned on and off. I mean, if you stomp it really hard then it switches with no problems, but if you just tap it with your foot, no change (or it switches on/off sporadically). I've always bought my pedals used and for cheap, so they're usually pretty beat up by the time I get ahold of them. (I'm guessing that's why I've got so many that are acting up.)
What's this about the leads being too long? How do they mess the switching up? I can try tieing them down with an elastic band or somthing I suppose. Actually, when I get home from work today I'll see if the switch works when I just press it with my finger and report back to you guys. |
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starr36
Platinum Member
Canada
1172 Posts |
Posted - 06/12/2006 : 16:30:11
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| Another trick, if you exclusively use AC adapters, is to put some electrical tape on the battery snaps to make sure, they are aren't causing any grief by contacting the pedal spring - I know that the AC adapter jack has a switch built-in to open the batter snap circuit, but it may be sometthing that could flukely help. I dunno. |
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GuitarStv
Copper Member
Canada
39 Posts |
Posted - 06/12/2006 : 22:20:01
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| Well, I taped over the battery snaps, tied the leads up into tight little bundles and then played around with the switch with my hands a bit . . . it seems to have fixed everything. That's really weird . . . well, thanks for all the help everybody! |
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Sunburst
Silver Member
427 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2006 : 09:28:30
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| Perhaps the switch needs a little electrical spray for better contact...? |
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lightburst
Silver Member
Germany
158 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2006 : 09:55:12
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In my case changing the electronic switch with a new one always solve the problem. Using contact spray was only a temporary solution.
By the way: I�ve got only switching problems with pedals I�m using only occasoinally. |
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Sunburst
Silver Member
427 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2006 : 10:05:16
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If not used regularly chances are the switch will oxidize and this problem will occur, so keep on stomping those boxes!
On a non-vintage pedal it could be a solution to simply change the switch, but not on a vintage pedal. |
Edited by - Sunburst on 06/16/2006 10:07:00 |
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GuitarStv
Copper Member
Canada
39 Posts |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 22:44:43
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Sorry to dig up an old thread, but my problem is back again . . . after I tried working the little switch with my hands for a while it seemed to improve for a couple of days, but it's been getting more and more intermittent ever since then. Sometimes it takes 10-15 stomps to get the pedal working, sometimes it works right away . . . I need some way to fix them so that I can depend on them again!
I've found these switches: http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=36 which seem to be good replacements, so I was thinking of soldering them in and seeing if that fixes the problem. Will this switch work for all pedals that I'm planning to replace? (MIJ PSM-5, MIT DS-2, MIT BD-2, MIT CE-5)
Before I go to the trouble and cost of ordering these, I see that someone said somthing about electrical spray? What is this? Do you mean spraying compressed air at the switch to remove dirt/crud/dust that may be trapped in it, or some kind of cleaning solution like WD-40?
I've got a pedalboard with 10 pedals on it, and I'd say that it gets some action at least once a week. I don't understand how these pedals could be the ones with a problem with oxidization because they are the ones used the most! I used to use the BD-2 about 10 times as much as any other pedal on my board, but then it started to act up . . . leading me to buy a DS-2 for my main distortion (which then started to act up). |
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starr36
Platinum Member
Canada
1172 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 07:49:37
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| its called TV TUNER contact cleaner, or POT cleaner. it is a liquid spray that evaporates, cleaning the contacts. I don't think this will help with the FET switching incorporated into the pedal. you may want to purchase a replacement boss switch once, and swap it in one of the pedals that is acting up to make sure the problem is the physical switch and not the electronic FET switching on the circuit board. I dunno what else. |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 17:17:16
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There is also a pretty good chance that spraying a petroleum-based solvent on a switch that's primarily constructed of plastic will end up destroying the switch, if you aren't careful. As far as I can see, the switch is pretty much a sealed unit (I don't think hermetically sealed, though) and I'm not sure how you could get the cleaner where you need to -- and it doesn't appear to me that the switch can be disassembled/reassembled.
Oxidation on switch contacts is a serious issue, depending on which equipment you're talking about -- Panasonic shortwave receivers from the '70s/'80s have a really bad problem with it, but mainly because the switch contacts on these are exposed... they're copper plated, and over the years they've developed a stubborn layer of black oxidation that causes them to eventually fail, and it's really tough to clean.
There's always the option of an ultrasonic tank -- smaller ones made for cleaning jewelry aren't too expensive, and since they work by mechanical action it isn't necessary to use solvents. Back in the old days when television sets had mechanical tuners, an ultrasonic bath was part of the process whenever you sent one in to be remanufactured.
But I seriously doubt that there some sort of a contact oxidation issue here -- if there was, then just about everyone who has or has ever had Boss pedals would also have had it, not just one person.
/worked on television sets back when they had mechanical tuners
//damn kids, get off my lawn
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diggum12
Silver Member
USA
282 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 18:14:11
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Something entirely different to consider: static.
Are your pedals on a pedalboard using carpet/velcro? That can easily create/hold/discharge static. If you are using a daisy chain to power your effects, and one of the barrel connectors doesn't go to a pedal but is just exposed to the air, you can get a poltergeist effect where the pedals pop on, off, and at half power all by themselves. |
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strat714
Silver Member
USA
156 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 21:32:51
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| Couldn't it also be the switching circuit? There are resistors and capcitors and JFET transistors in the "switching" circuit section of Boss pedals. I would guess that the biasing of the JFET or the JFET itself or the circuit path could also cause intermittent switching problems. Of course the switch itself is the most likely culprit..but...??? |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 22:26:29
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That it's several pedals that are all having the same problem suggests that the switching is not the problem.
How about if we conduct a poll here for anyone that's ever had a problem with the switching of their pedals, and what the solution was, if one was found?
Perhaps once in a great, great while you might run into the occasional defective switch, or an even rarer instance of something in the silent switching support circuitry failing and causing a problem.
But one person with five or so Boss pedals, and they all have the identical problem -- and no one else here has ever experienced a similar trouble? It just isn't statistically possible; no one's luck is that bad.
My money is on diggum12 here. Something external has to be causing this.
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diggum12
Silver Member
USA
282 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 23:27:19
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Stahlhart, I forgot to mention this DID happen to me, which is how I offered up that conclusion.
GuitarStv, if you DO find out it's static, mix a little Fabric Softener w/ water and lightly spray it onto your pedalboard. Do I have to say remove everything from the board first? Let that dry. It will help keep static down. |
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Topic |
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Pedals not turning on/off properly
