How to Troubleshoot Guitar Foot Pedals
- 1). Test your amplifier and your cables to make sure the problem is originating in one of your guitar pedals.
- 2). Test each pedal one by one until you find the faulty unit. A single malfunctioning foot pedal can break or muddy your guitar's signal to the amplifier. If you only have a single foot pedal, skip this step.
- 3). Replace the battery in the malfunctioning pedal and try it again. Oftentimes the problem with a pedal is simply a dying battery.
- 4). Tighten all of the nuts on the inputs and the outputs of the problematic pedal. Loose nuts can cause buzzing or sound loss problems.
- 5). Open the pedal using the proper type of screwdriver. Keep the pedal plugged into your amp, but don't bother keeping the guitar plugged into the pedal. Turn on the amp (keep the volume low) when the pedal is opened.
- 6). Probe any wire connections, jacks, pots and motherboard components with a non-conductive instrument. If popping, buzzing or a total loss of sound occurs when touching any of these pieces, it is safe to assume that piece is a faulty component.
- 7). Replace the faulty component and/or resolder any loose wire connections. Loose wire connections are one of the most common causes of foot pedal problems.
- 8). Test the pedal to make sure you have fixed the problem.
