Grey Channel Malfunctioning

[ck3]

I bought a Grey Channel from a Reverb member back in January of this year. The seller misrepresented the pedal's cosmetic condition in his listing, used a stock photo, and shipped it in the original box with no additional padding or the original pedal bag.

We were able to come to a mutual agreement regarding a partial refund, and the pedal seemed to be fully functional until about an hour ago. There is now no effect when the Grey Channel is engaged, i.e., the clean signal continues to pass through it unaffected though all LEDs still illuminate properly.

I tried unplugging and reattaching cables, toggling modes, and twisting knobs to no avail. After setting the pedal aside for 15 minutes and reconnecting it to everything, it worked properly for about 5 minutes and then no longer produced an effect after being bypassed and reengaged a few times.

The Grey Channel has been powered by a 9V battery since it first arrived, and the LEDs do not appear dim. It has mostly been in storage and typically used for about an hour at a time before recently being out on my board overnight.

I paid with PayPal and am half-tempted to file a claim given the 6 month window is still in place, and there's a high probability the seller neglected to mention this problem. Does anyone know what might be causing it? A bad switch, perhaps? Given the issue is intermittent, I'm hesitant to mail it to EQD for repairs at this point. Thanks in advance for all replies.

[jrfox92]

The Grey Channel has been powered by a 9V battery since it first arrived

Use it with a dedicated power supply first (i.e. onespot).
If it still does it, maybe crack it open and take some pictures? It could be an issue with a component related to powering the circuit.

[Chankgeez]

I would take jrfox92's advice. It could possibly be a bad switch.

I'd also suggest e-mailing EQD customer service. They're very helpful. They could probably talk you through some potential fixes.

[ck3]

Thanks for the suggestions. After further testing, I made a few more discoveries.

The pedal will engage normally again for a brief period when the green channel fails if I toggle to the red channel while it is bypassed. Also, the problem does not seem to happen with DC power and only coincides with battery use.

I was able to reset things temporarily by connecting and disconnecting DC power before another prolonged period of circuit failure. Given the LEDs still illuminate normally with the current battery, I'm pretty sure it's got plenty of juice left.

The innards look normal, but I still attached a gutshot.

I'll probably end up emailing EQD at some point, but wanted to make certain there was a provisional diagnosis beforehand.

[jrfox92]

I was able to reset things temporarily by connecting and disconnecting DC power before another prolonged period of circuit failure. Given the LEDs still illuminate normally with the current battery, I'm pretty sure it's got plenty of juice left.

I wouldn't make that kind of assumption.
LED's don't need much to be nice and bright.
Test the battery, I'd bet it's less than 75%.

[ck3]

I have no means of testing batteries on hand, but no longer experienced circuit failure after replacing the prior battery with a fresh one. Looks like you nailed it, jrfox92. I'm starting to think that the Naccon battery brand has a 1 in 6 dud rate given how quickly some of them have depleted in dirtboxes with a 6mA or less current draw.