footswitch light up

pathology knight · Dec 5, 2015

Hey guys! Forum newbie here.
I've been playing my triple rect for about 6 months and so far so good. It takes a little while to learn this beast, but I'm getting there.

I noticed the other day that when I turned my amp on, the footswitch didn't come on. For some reason I remember when its first powered on, the FX led came on and it defaulted to ch2.

Is the foot switch supposed to come on when you turn the amp on? If so, and it doesn't...what's going on?

pathology knight · Dec 8, 2015

Anyone?

afu · Dec 8, 2015

Channel 2 is default in the switching. The only time mine did not light up, it was not entirely plugged in and it swapped over to the switching defaults. Check your pins and plug it back in on both ends. If that doesn't work, call Mesa.

pathology knight · Dec 9, 2015

Alright.
Sounds like there may be a hidden problem. It no longer lights up when I turn the amp on.

afu · Dec 9, 2015

If it follows normal power circuitry, pins 1 and 7 will be the phantom power to the footswitch. A multimeter set to DC could be touched to those pins to see if the power is working. The probes with insulated clips might be best, so a person can clip them on with the power off and then turn the power on to check. If you do it yourself, be careful not to touch bare metal with your hands. It's only 3 volts, but the current could be high enough to zap you (unsure of the current) and amplifiers contain deadly amounts of electricity.

To troubleshoot, check the amp, then plug in the cable to check the end that goes into the pedal. If one doesn't work, it's the culprit. If both are good, it's the pedal. If you can't do it yourself safely, have an experienced person whom you know do it.

The pedal or the cable can be repaired or you can buy replacements. Personally, I'd buy a new cable in that case, but the pedal might just be a simple case of a loose connection. If it's from the amp, a tech should repair it. If it's under warranty, call/write Mesa first. If you or anyone you know have any qualms about testing the pins, a qualified repair person should do it.

Good luck, man.

pathology knight · Dec 11, 2015

Cables brand new.

The foot switch changes the channels, it just doesn't light up when I turn the amp on. I'm pretty sure the fx light and ch2 lights used to turn on as soon as I turned the amp on.

Now they don't. I have to manually turn the fx switch in and then everything seems to work fine. Its just not doing what i used to.

afu · Dec 11, 2015

I thought you meant it didn't work at all. Well, the LEDs probably have wire/PCB track going to them from the power pins. Then wires or a PCB would go between them. Depending on the way it is constructed, all the power supply track might need to be checked. One faulty part would short them all, if the ground is one, long, floating, piece that terminates to ground at the end of the line.