lug 2 of potentiometer

[Fndr8875]

man so frustrated, bought 5 9mm pcb pots to build a fuzz factory,matched germanium ac125s, all he primo parts. Did like 3 different etches bc i wanted it to be flawless. Anyway i couldnt get it to work. So i desoldered it. Turns out one of the pots will give correct resistrance when measured on lugs 1 and 3, but when you hook ground to 1 and positive to 2 , no taper, just sits at zero. All the pins are in tack and look damn near like they are still new. Im 99.9% sure nothing can be done but just seeing if anyone had any tricks. Its wired as variable on board, 2 and 3 to ground. was trying to do it jus like zvex does 1590 sideways, its super tight fit, but i took my time and got enclosure drilled perfect so no tension on pots. I didnt however test them before i started. Out of say 50 pots this has only happened once before, it was a 16mm pot. 9mm cant be taken apart as far as i know, what about 16mm I understand basically there is a carbon strip and lug 2 is the wiper and resistance idecreases( or is it increases as u u trn knob) any replies help full. small bear is only place i can get the pcb pins and i hate to spend like 8 or 9 bucks with shipping on 1 freaking pot. no chance a 16 mm will fit w layout

[Mark Hammer]

The rivet that holds the solder lug (each one) I place can sometimes not be compressed enough to make reliable contact with the wiper.  What I do, and have to do, sometimes is gently remove the back cover of the pot, so I can get better access, and use my needle-nose pliers to give each rivet a gentle pinch and secure them a little more. Sometimes it is exactly what was needed to make things right.  When you're done, put the cover back on.