SOLVED Pile of non-functional builds

[andrewcx13]

So I decided to take up pedal building during the pandemic. I'll spare you all the long story version and cut to the chase.
Out of 20 pedals I have built, 9 of them do not function as they should.

Yep, not great numbers I know.

I've lurked here for a bit, learned what I could, and now I'm stuck on how to actively troubleshoot these and what the next steps are.

I'm only going to present 3 of them here as the issue with one is the same across most of them, so I'm hoping it's something stupid on my part and I can move these into the done pile.

So disclaimer, I have a breadboard set up to test the boards before I install them into the cases. I can promise you, a hundred times over that the input jacks were wired correctly, the 9v dc was wired correctly and the switch was connected correctly in all of these cases. 11 of these worked just fine, 10 on first power up.

Pedal 1 - ADHD - the one with the pink led
I know this has a funky jack wiring, and I originally did wire it wrong, but I fixed my mistake.
Bypass signal is fine. With the effect engaged the output is super low. LED lights up as well.
I've reflowed all the joints, ran a craft knife between the solder joints to make sure there were no unseen shorts.

I'm at a loss for the moment.
Pictures

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Yes I know, I need to get a tooth brush to clean some flux.

Pedal 2 - Caesar
This one is odd. So I'm building two of these, and both don't function for different reasons.
The one in these pictures I originally plugged in and powered up and heard the chorusy goodness, albeit distorted. I turned one of the knobs and then the magic was gone. I've tried the trim pot a bunch, to no avail. The bypass work, and with the effect on, the signal passes through without issue as well. The leds all light up, the rate led changes with the turning of the knob, and the two leds by the toggle, also keep rate with the rate knob's movement. the blend knob basically tapers the signal off to ground when the internal trim pot is turned to one extreme, and when turned to the other, it allows the clean signal to bypass until it hits this spot which sends the whole signal into distortion and static.

Pictures

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Pedal 3 - Awful Waffle
So I've got three of these that I'm building. None of them work.
Like a majority of the rest of the ones that are on my does not work pile, this one has a very specific symptom. Bypass works just fine, and the led lights up when the effect is engaged. With the effect engaged, there is only a high pitched whine that the tone can be manipulated by the volume pot. I've got 4 others that do the exact same thing, so I'm assuming this is something stupid on my part, but at this point I need a second set of eyes to see what it is I'm doing wrong.

Pictures

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I have a multimeter, though not sure how to utilize it to troubleshoot these issues. More than happy to learn, if there is advice or guides for me to read.

thank you for your help!

 

[giovanni]

The easiest thing to do to troubleshoot circuits is to use an audio probe to figure out at which point in the signal path the circuit doesn’t work as it should. Once you identify that area, we can help troubleshoot by suggesting some voltage measurements and such. You can find some information about how to make an audio probe on the forum. Good luck!

 

[PJS]

You may find over time that it helps to create a separate thread for each problem that you are having. I can see over time that it is likely that the multiple troubleshooting helps get mixed up.

 

[jjjimi84]

I will look at these when I am at my computer but i cannot recommend flux cleaner a tooth brush and a box of rubber gloves enough.

Without fail, I solder a board or five and scrub the hell out of them to clean them. Usually at this point I may notice a solder joint I missed or one that seems off. It is the best advice I can give.

 

[Nostradoomus]

Don’t run a knife across traces, that’s a trick for vero board only where there is no connectivity between tracks. If there’s a mess drag your iron across it quickly and it will grab the stray solder.

 

[Betty Wont]

For the awful waffle. Make sure the bypass is wired up according to the build docs. It is buffered bypass and doesn't line up to the conventional true bypass scheme.
The two LEDs by the toggle on the chorus are intended to be internal I believe. Most bbd chorus have a very small spot on the trimmer where the effect comes through. The misbiased extreme settings sound like you described.

 

[andrewcx13]

Good call on that Betty Wont. I've been using the 3pdt breakout boards for the switches in these, and thought the ADHD was my only weird one to watch out for. I'll rewire those again this morning.

Also built an audio probe last night, so once the house is awake and I can make noise. I'm going to see what I can figure out with this.

 

[andrewcx13]

Sunday update
3pdt wiring fixed the three awful waffles.
Didn't realize it was completely different than the rest of the ones I was building.

I got both choruses to the point where I can hear the effect, but there is a decent noise floor that sounds like fourth of july sparklers that I can't seem to be able to adjust out.

Out of 20 to start with, I've now got 5 in the non working pile.
2 Caesar choruses with the noise floor issue

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1 ADHD with the low effect level
(same pictures from yesterday)

2 Speedy Gonzalez pedals. Bypass passes through, but again when the effect is engaged all I'm getting is white noise.

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I made a makeshift audio probe this morning, I can't say I have an idea on how to use this to troubleshoot though. I prodded around on a few of these while they were in the breadboard rig for testing this morning and was able to get the non effected signal to pass through but a majority of the pokes and prods I did, had no effect.

 

[giovanni]

I would recommend starting separate threads for each of the remaining issues so that we can minimize confusion for everybody!

 

[Betty Wont]

Glad the Waffles got sorted. I see you made new threads for others. Hopefully we can get them sorted for you. DEFINITELY, start cleaning the flux off the boards before mounting pots and switches. And hit it with some canned air if you have any. Keeping everything clean will help everything in the long run. Maybe mark this thread as "Solved" and "Moved" and we'll get to looking at your remaining issues. Cheers!