Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

[Inder_Cine_Mann]

Hey guys,

I have a Dimebag wah, that when engaged, is stuck in the closed position.

Ideas on what it could be? I hope it isn't dead, cuz it's a cool pedal

Thank you

[dd12939]

Re: Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

Is the actual rocker part stuck or does the sound just not change with the rocker?

[beaubrummels]

Re: Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

Or are you saying the switch is stuck? Just replace the switch. They do wear out.

[CTN]

Re: Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

I bet the rack/pinion mechanism that controls the pot is busted or might need to be realigned.

Open the back plate up and see if anything looks funny there

[Inder_Cine_Mann]

Re: Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

When the wah is engaged, the tone itself sounds like it's stuck in the closed position.

The rocker, rocks just fine

I'll double check the back, last time I looked, everything looked normal.

Replacing the switch might be it. Finally got around to doing some reading on wah pedals.

Thank you

[Rich_S]

Re: Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

If the sound is different between the "active" and "bypass" modes, then the switch is okay.

If I'm reading the problem correctly, the pedal switches from "bypass" to "active" but when active, sounds like it's rocked all the way back, no matter where the pedal is positioned, right?

If that's the case, either the pedal's rack and pinion are not turning the pot shaft, or the pot is dirty/worn out. Look at the mechanical bits first. If you open the back of the pedal, it's pretty obvious how they're supposed to work. The rack moves up and down, and makes the pinion gear turn around. The pinion is mounted directly on the pot shaft. There's a little plastic loop that's supposed to hold the rack engaged in the pinion. If the loop's come loose, the rack could slide up and down, but not turn the pot.

I see the Dimebag has a bunch of extras features, any one of those might cause the problem: pots and switches are always the first suspects. Try twiddling all those extra gadgets and see if they affect the problem.

[Inder_Cine_Mann]

Re: Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

If the sound is different between the "active" and "bypass" modes, then the switch is okay.

If I'm reading the problem correctly, the pedal switches from "bypass" to "active" but when active, sounds like it's rocked all the way back, no matter where the pedal is positioned, right?

If that's the case, either the pedal's rack and pinion are not turning the pot shaft, or the pot is dirty/worn out. Look at the mechanical bits first. If you open the back of the pedal, it's pretty obvious how they're supposed to work. The rack moves up and down, and makes the pinion gear turn around. The pinion is mounted directly on the pot shaft. There's a little plastic loop that's supposed to hold the rack engaged in the pinion. If the loop's come loose, the rack could slide up and down, but not turn the pot.

I see the Dimebag has a bunch of extras features, any one of those might cause the problem: pots and switches are always the first suspects. Try twiddling all those extra gadgets and see if they affect the problem.

Ok cool, thanks man. Lots of good info

[Hank-]

Re: Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

By closed position do mean when the pedal is in toe down position? Like when your foot is resting its weight on the toes making the underside of the foot to be in parallel position with the ground.

Probably the plastic thats supposed to push the teeth of the rack against the wheel has moved back or the pot itself has gotten loose & moved forward away from the rack, in either case the wheel isn't moving & stuck in the toe down position sometime when the pedal was switched off.

[Inder_Cine_Mann]

Re: Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

By closed position do mean when the pedal is in toe down position? Like when your foot is resting its weight on the toes making the underside of the foot to be in parallel position with the ground.

Probably the plastic thats supposed to push the teeth of the rack against the wheel has moved back or the pot itself has gotten loose & moved forward away from the rack, in either case the wheel isn't moving & stuck in the toe down position sometime when the pedal was switched off.

i should have explained myself better

i engage the wah, turn it on that is, and the tone i get, is as if the wah is all the way back on the rocker.

the wah turns on, but it doesn't go "wah wah!"

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Dimebag wah stuck in closed position

Just follow Rich's advice.