Mysterious- 9V Adaptors not working with pedals all of a sudden. Why?!?!

whoatherechunk · #1 12-21-2008, 08:13 PM

OK. So is there any reason why my pedals are not being powered by my 9V power adapters (Boss, Digitech)?!?!?! It's not the pedals ad it's not the wrong power requirements, etc..that's for sure. For instance.....lets say I have a Boss Pedal (9V powered)....it has a full energized battery and it works perfectly but now when I plug the adapter into it.....it just does not power up. This has never happened before and I'm just baffled. hahaha. Do power adaptors short out easily? Help me. thanks.

Chris.

niftydog · #2 12-21-2008, 08:27 PM

First things first, be clear and methodical about what you've tried and what happened when you tried it. (There ought to be a "troubleshooting" FAQ...)

You must remove all the variables - get one pedal you know is working, plug a single patch cable into the input jack and start testing your power adapters with a working mains outlet.

whoatherechunk · #3 12-22-2008, 07:23 PM

so yea um.....they are not the pedals and not messed up power requirements. its definitely the power adapter. any reason as to why it would just stop working?

bongomania · #4 12-22-2008, 09:43 PM

Dude, "definitely" doesn't cut it until you have done exactly what nifty said. Go do that, then get back to us.

fightthepower · #5 12-22-2008, 09:45 PM

Try plugging into a different socket? Maybe the wart killed the wall?

niftydog · #6 12-22-2008, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoatherechunk

they are not the pedals and not messed up power requirements. its definitely the power adapter.

What tests did you do to come to this conclusion?

Not trying to be an ass about it, but in order for us to help you you have to offer up ALL the information otherwise we are wasting our time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoatherechunk

...any reason as to why it would just stop working?

Wall warts are usually quite well protected from short circuit, and from short term overload. In fact, they're damn near indestructible, except for the cabling and the connectors.

One dying on you I can understand, but you seem to imply you have tried several power supplies and the odds of them all dying on you suddenly and synchronously are very slim. So, have you tried other power supplies?

Trevorus · #7 12-22-2008, 11:49 PM

Sometimes they can go bad. I had a 1-spot go out on me, it would surge voltage from 0 to 9 constantly. Try a different adapter.

McHaven · #8 12-23-2008, 12:43 AM

I'm on my 2nd onespot now. The wire in the first chain near the attachment to the wallwart was going bad, as well as the wires in the Wall wart itself. Your power supply could just have gone bad.

whoatherechunk · #9 12-23-2008, 03:35 AM

yea no problem niftydog......i definitely get where you are coming from so you are definitely not being an ass. a lot of kids just say like whoa.....my stuff just went blah blah blah...and haven't gone back and taken all the factors into effect.

first off it's not the pedal. second i have a fully charged 9v and the pedal does work perfectly. third....i am plugging into the output jack. fourth...i am using the right adapter ( i dont have a dc brick/voodoo/etc....just a Boss PSA adapter for 9v operation with correct polarity blah blah blah).

i have the effect engaged and when i plug the power adapter into the pedal it just kills it. no more pedal signal ...leds shut down. i actually misstated that they were multiple adpaters ( i have a few 9v adapters ...digitech) it is actualy only one that doesnt work. it's a boss. the digitech will work but the boss won't. 5th.....i am using multiple wall outlets/surge protectors.

i really feel like a complete idiot and don't want to look like a newb hahahahha but the SOB doesnt want to work. i guess the damn adapter just went bad. i honestly dont know what else i can try hahaha.

rratajski · #10 12-23-2008, 04:56 AM

From what I just read, it would appear that since the Digi supplies all work with the pedals, but the Boss one doesn't, ditch the Boss. Does this power supply do the same thing to other pedals, or just that one you were testing w/?

bongomania · #11 12-23-2008, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoatherechunk

i actually misstated that they were multiple adpaters ( i have a few 9v adapters ...digitech) it is actualy only one that doesnt work. it's a boss. the digitech will work but the boss won't.

Well OK that is kind of useful information.

If you have other power adapters that do work, and it's just the one causing you problems, then yeah it probably went bad. Likely a broken wire near one plug end- can happen from being stepped on, dropped too many times, using the cord to pull Indy up out of the snake pit, etc.

niftydog · #12 12-23-2008, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niftydog

First things first, be clear and methodical about what you've tried and what happened when you tried it.

Hmmm...

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoatherechunk

...first off it's not the pedal.

...i am plugging into the output jack.

...i honestly dont know what else i can try

Just because the pedal works on a battery doesn't mean there's no faults - it's not uncommon for the DC jack or the protection circuit components to fail. Just saying "it's not the pedal" doesn't give us enough information to help you troubleshoot.

Plugging into the output jack won't do you any good - input jack on the other hand...

You could try buying a cheap multimeter and measuring the output of the power supply directly.

But now that the facts are out there, it's pretty obvious that the Boss supply is cactus. It could be just the wiring in the plug, so if you're keen you might be able to fix it.

whoatherechunk · #13 12-23-2008, 06:22 PM

yea i meant to say input. stupid me. anyways...i feel like a dummy and have probably pissed off some people here. stupid me ha. thanks guys.