Pedal eats batteries even when off?

[tjcurtin1]

I recently got a Delta Labs overdrive pedal, my first and only pedal. I haven't used it much yet, maybe 20 minutes total. Should it be eating up 9volt batteries if it is just sitting there in the off position? They go dead after about 2-3 weeks - or is there something wrong with the pedal circuitry? Or should I just pop the battery when I'm not using it? I know, I should get a power supply (does it have to be anything special, or can I get a standard one at Radio Shack?), but if it were a bad circuit that might cause other problems I'd want to return it under warranty.

 

[Spudman]

If you leave the guitar input cable plugged in then it could cause a drain. Try disconnecting that cable after each time you use it and see if the problem persists.

 

[tjcurtin1]

Thanks, Spud - I have indeed left everything plugged in...

 

[Spudman]

My Crybabys will drain really fast if I leave them plugged in. All my other pedals I use AC adapters with, but I'll bet the same thing happens with most of them. It's been years since I've tried it though. The Crybabys don't have any jacks for external power. I spent a fortune on batteries while on the road before I figured this out. Just think...all that money that could have been spent on beer.

 

[mrmudcat]

Yep the cable from guitar to pedal needs unplugging to prevent battery loss.you can leave the out to amp cable without this happening.FIND OUT IF THE ADAPTOR IS NEG sleeve /POS tip or the OPPOSITE I HAVE SEVERAL PLUGS IF WE CAN FIGURE WHAT FITS ILL GIVE YA ONE FREE!!!




Ok I found the green tube overdrive specs where power plugs in it should look lke this.............(+)_______(._____(-) (word description=It should have a circle with pos sign in it,then a line from center of first symbol till it connects to a half circle(sleeve pos.)inside half circle is a dot with a line running from it to another circle with neg sign in it (neg tip) HOPE THIS MAKES ANY LICK OF SENSE!!! The way your pedal supply is set up it has the male part inside pedal power connection and a female end on the power side adaptor:socool...Anyways to keep it short:rollover ive got one chase says its a dunlap.pm a addy ill get it to ya!!!

 

[mrmudcat]

I am 100% the dunlab adapt will work that I have. Send addy now..or ill raise the price to a dime....................muddy:rollover:socool

 

[Tig]

My Morley A/B Y switch box uses battery only, and I have to unplug the input cable.
Everything else runs off a power supply.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Just a little background on the way the vast majority of pedals are powered: As long as there is a power source connected and a cable inserted into the input jack, the pedal is always powered, regardless of the footswitch position. Many people think that if the indicator LED is off, there's no power to the pedal--NOT SO! The function of the LED is to show whether the effect circuit is engaged or bypassed, and is not an indicator of whether or not power is present in the effect circuit.

The reason that having a cable in the input jack is necessary is because most pedals use a stereo jack for the input, which has three connection components--a tip, a sleeve and a ring. See photo below of an open-frame style stereo jack--the tip is the longer "finger", the ring is the shorter one, and the sleeve is the tubular piece that the cable tip inserts through. They each have a solder tab where the appropriate wire solder connection is made. The jack is then wired such that the ground for the power connection is through the ring, while the main ground path is through the sleeve. When a mono cable is inserted, the ground sleeve of the cable tip contacts both sleeve and ring of the input jack, completing the path to ground and allowing power to flow. So if you pull out the cable from the pedal's input, there's no longer a ground connection and your battery won't run down.

 

[tjcurtin1]

Thanks, Muddy, for your generous offer - man, you drive a hard bargain! And Vood, thanks for explaining the inner workings of the mystery.

 

[mrmudcat]

Still waiting for a addy!!!

Ill give ya today and then im going to have to charge you a dime:bootyshake

 

[tjcurtin1]

Sorry Muddy - I responded last night, but then must not have hit the send button... wouldn't be the first time. I'll try again right now!

 

[tjcurtin1]

Oh, oh - it wouldn't go to you cause it said that your pm inbox is full and you have to delete something first...

 

[mrmudcat]

Ok took care of it no excuses now brother!!!

I want to pave it foward............give back to the community that has given to me!!