Ernie Ball Volume Pedal - noisy pot

[cassius987]

My guitarist gave me this pedal to work on for him so he can put it back in his signal chain. In my band I am the resident tech... but really I just know a little, and in this case I'm not sure what to do. When the pot is turned by pressing or releasing the pedal, it makes an extremely noisy sound. I have tried going back and forth for several minutes to manually clean the pot but there are no improvements. I would also be willing to clean the pot with a rust cleaner, however there is not a clear opening to spray cleaner in. I am tempted to take the pedal apart but the way it is rigged to turn the pot is a bit delicate. How should I attack this?

[rottenramone]

There's a video on YouTube showing u how to take apart the pedal. But I tells ya it's a right bitch to do so!!

[cassius987]

Did you mean this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ2QyzReVak

Unfortunately he doesn't talk about fixing the pot. What kind of pot is that if I need to replace it?

[cassius987]

Bump. Any help? What pot could I order to replace the existing one?

The EBMM forums don't have a section about effects or I'd bother them over there.

[Ba55Man1ac]

Heya. Before changing the pot, get your hands on some contact cleaner/lubricant. Many manufacturers do a contact cleaner/lube but I have found the best to be Caig Labs DeoxIT. Spray some into the pot & work the pedal a few times then repeat. I just had a look at my VPjr & the pot is easily accessible to squirt some gear into. If however your unit has a sealed type pot, you could try (very carefully) drilling a small hole in the back of the pot to squirt the cleaner/lube into. Probably then a good idea to put some tape over the hole to stop gunk getting in.

Good luck!

[MNAirHead]

Yes.. no need to disassemble it..

Hopefully you didn't go down this long and unnecessary road

[cassius987]

The pot is sealed so I guess I'll have to drill a small hole. Thanks for the idea.