TS10 clone occasionally "maxing out"

[FDWguitar]

Hello there, I'm very new to the DIY stomp-box thing, and I've only ever built two pedals, and those were pcb clones where I just had to source parts. Now my Tea-S-10 (copyright free) clone worked great for a few months, but now occasionally it would max out its overdrive when I switch it on. Also happens when I fiddle around with the drive pot. Wiggling the drive knob or tapping the pedal against the ground makes it stop, but that's no solution. Any clue what the issue could be? Should I try and redo the soldering on the drive pot? Anything to help the thing become more reliable would be great.

[Mark Hammer]

Sounds like the drive pot needs either cleaning or replacing.

[ElectricDruid]

+1 agree. If wiggling the pot sometimes fixes it, it sounds like the pot has gone intermittant.

If there was any sign of cracking on the joints of the drive pot, it's possible that resoldering those joints would fix the problem. It could be the pot itself is not making good connections, either between the ends of the track and the pins (they're usually riveted on and the rivets can come loose) or between the wiper and the track (the wiper can lift off the track, especially if the shaft has taken a few knocks). In that case, the pot needs replacing.

HTH

[FDWguitar]

Sounds like the drive pot needs either cleaning or replacing.

+1 agree. If wiggling the pot sometimes fixes it, it sounds like the pot has gone intermittant.

If there was any sign of cracking on the joints of the drive pot, it's possible that resoldering those joints would fix the problem. It could be the pot itself is not making good connections, either between the ends of the track and the pins (they're usually riveted on and the rivets can come loose) or between the wiper and the track (the wiper can lift off the track, especially if the shaft has taken a few knocks). In that case, the pot needs replacing.

HTH

Gotcha, thanks a bunch for the advice, I'll give it a try later today.

[FDWguitar]

Let the solder flow and "bind" better to the lugs of the pots, opening the thing up made me realize how bad my soldering was on the pots. Here's hoping it functions well from now on.