Aion Refractor Problem - LED always on

[bthomsen]

Hey guys,

New to the site.  Quick question.  I just completed my Aion Refractor Klon Clone and during my testing I have found that even when the pedal is in bypass the LED stays on at an extremely low level.  Just a very subtle glow.  I have looked it over until my brain hurt and I simply cant seem to find the reason.  I have tried swapping the the 3PDT and it made no difference.  Could it be a small bit of flux bridging 2 contacts or something?  The only mod on the pedal is 2 100k pots instead of the dual gang 100k.

Any help would be greatlyappreciated

[antonis]

Any help would be greatlyappreciated

A photo of your switch would be more greatly appreciated.. 

P.S.
WELLCOME...!!! 

(it's OK Stephen or I'll use bigger fonts..??)

[bthomsen]

[EBK]

Probably unrelated, but is your C16 tantalum backwards?  (Seems to be a common problem in Refractor builds). 

[bthomsen]

Probably unrelated, but is your C16 tantalum backwards?  (Seems to be a common problem in Refractor builds).

I sure did ... fixed that but the glow is still there.  Any chanced I damaged stuff by having it backwards somehow causing the glow?

[EBK]

Maybe.  You fixed it with a new tantalum cap, right (not just reversing the old one and resoldering)?

[bthomsen]

Maybe.  You fixed it with a new tantalum cap, right (not just reversing the old one and resoldering)?

Yes new cap ... I have yet to actually test the function of the pedal with my amp.  My electric is at the shop right now but should be back in a few days.  I have been racking my brain looking at the schematic and I simply don't see where the voltage could possibly be coming from to cause the glow.

[PRR]

The symptom says the switch is leaky. Since a leaky switch is pretty unlikely, I would look for flux residue on switch and board. While old LEDs would not light for a little leakage, the new ones just might.

Unless you are truly confused if the pedal is off or on, I don't see any harm in letting it leak dimly.

If you need to sleep and the glow annoys, try a 5K to 1K resistor directly across the LED. That will bypass most of the leakage.

[antonis]

If squared pad on switch PCB indicates GND, I should suspect of same column solder holes for flux residues..

[bthomsen]

If squared pad on switch PCB indicates GND, I should suspect of same column solder holes for flux residues..

Square is ground so far as I can tell.  This is the link to the diagram.

https://aionelectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/aion-3pdt-refractor-bypass-documentation.pdf

[bthomsen]

Well I got it all put together and for some reason my glow problem went away.  but ... I plug the pedal in and bypass works great but when I turn it on the pedal does not work.    I get a tiny amount of volume and as i turn the volume pot i get nothing -> a little volume where the other knobs do nothing -> back to nothing.  So am I screwed here or are there some suspect parts I can change out first?  starting to get frustrated here.

[thermionix]

If it worked outside the enclosure, but not inside, that usually means something is shorting to the enclosure.  Often it's a pot lug, the pot spins while the nut is being tightened.  If you're shorting your power supply out, that would get rid of the LED glow problem, but not in the way you want to.

[bthomsen]

If it worked outside the enclosure, but not inside, that usually means something is shorting to the enclosure.  Often it's a pot lug, the pot spins while the nut is being tightened.  If you're shorting your power supply out, that would get rid of the LED glow problem, but not in the way you want to.

Its not working in or out of the enclosure ... I built a second one with new components and same thing.  Dead as a door nail.  All I can figure is I have the wrong component somewhere.  Only thing I can think of is im using a disc type cap for the 390pf C8 due to availability.

[Slowpoke101]

Frustrating isn't it? Don't give up yet.
The 390pF cap is unlikely to be the problem.
Measure what voltages you are getting on the chips and post them here.
If you haven't got an audio probe together yet, do so as you may need it.
I know that this has been asked before but make certain that C16 is installed with the correct polarity.

[bthomsen]

Frustrating isn't it? Don't give up yet.
The 390pF cap is unlikely to be the problem.
Measure what voltages you are getting on the chips and post them here.
If you haven't got an audio probe together yet, do so as you may need it.
I know that this has been asked before but make certain that C16 is installed with the correct polarity.

BINGO... It was C16.  I guess it was just bad luck but the one I replaced it with the first time had the markings so askew that I read them backwards (facepalm).  Thanks for all the help everyone!!!!!!!  You guys ROCK!!!!

[EBK]

It's always C16 with these things.  Kevin should add a sentence about that in the build docs.

[aion]

It's always C16 with these things.  Kevin should add a sentence about that in the build docs.

I haven't seen this one before, but that's interesting, since yeah, tantalums have the positive side marked rather than negative - and most people don't encounter them very often so it wouldn't be obvious. I'll get the build docs updated!