Broken Footswitch

[ZacJM]

I have one of these:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-S ... 1323844.gc

According to all the reviews I found online they are supposed to be very durrable, I checked all over for a solution but I can't find any issues with it.
It worked for months but not it doesn't
If its plugged into my amp,the gain switches on, but I can't turn it off unless I unplug the footswitch.
I opened it up and theres no wires loose, so I'm not sure what the problem is. Anyone have any solutions? I'd hate to buy a new one, but I guess I can if I have too.

[Mr. Bill]

The switch turns on the distortion and won't turn it off until you pull the plug? Then the switch or the wire is shorted and will not turn off.

If you have a meter read the ohms or the continuity from tip to sleeve on the plug. I'd guess that it will read as a shorted connection. It could be a bad switch or a shorted wire in the cable. Only way to find out is by unhooking one wire from the switch.

[ZacJM]

The switch turns on the distortion and won't turn it off until you pull the plug? Then the switch or the wire is shorted and will not turn off.
.

Yeah just like that. I don't have a reader on me but I can take another look at it.

Anyone have any suggestions for really good durable switches that might not have this problem?
Or is this more of something that could happen to anything?

[Veenture]

is this more of something that could happen to anything?

I once had a problem with a guitar cable that later proved to have one of its wires broken/damaged inside. I have no reader either; only by bending and twisting the cable (while it was 'on duty') I was lucky enough to be able to locate the general area where the breakage was but salvaging the cable meant having two short ones ...so I ended up buying a good quality cable with the desired length and it hasn't let me down once, in more than 10 years now (knock on wood )
Cables get trodden on etc. so they need to be flexible as well as durable. Good luck doing your 'Sherlock' bit!

[Dennisthe Menace]

Zac, make things simple. Go buy that identical footswitch and try it on your amp. If it works, then your original ftswtch is bad somewhere in the cable.
However if the same thing happens with the new switch, then the problem is in the amp.....it's not the news you might want to hear, but at least you
will know where the problem is.....

[Mr. Bill]

Good point Dennis, it could be the amp I suppose.

The fast test, is plug in a guitar cable does the amp switch? Then touch the tip of the open end to the chassis. Does the amp switch now?

There are hundreds of footswitches out there. I guess, I prefer the ones that just have a jack on the back so that you can plug in your own cable to the amp.

[ZacJM]

Good point Dennis, it could be the amp I suppose.

The fast test, is plug in a guitar cable does the amp switch? Then touch the tip of the open end to the chassis. Does the amp switch now?

There are hundreds of footswitches out there. I guess, I prefer the ones that just have a jack on the back so that you can plug in your own cable to the amp.

When I just plugged the cable in, the amp switched the gain on. If the problem is in the amp, where would I find it. Is it an easy diy fix?

[Dennisthe Menace]

There are hundreds of footswitches out there. I guess, I prefer the ones that just have a jack on the back so that you can plug in your own cable to the amp.

When I use my Ampeg GU-12 for smaller venues, I like using this:
Boss FS-5L Latching Footswitch (FS-5L)
This falls into the category that MrBill was referring to....

When I just plugged the cable in, the amp switched the gain on. If the problem is in the amp, where would I find it. Is it an easy diy fix?

Well, that depends on the amp....What make, model, is it tube, solid state? All these things come into play when repairing an amplifier......

[ZacJM]

Solid State Marshall Mosfet 100 Reverb

The foot switch plugs into that empty input on the front

[Mr. Bill]

Is the jack on the front a stereo jack, made to switch the channels and the reverb on and off?

If it is, you are using the wrong type of switch. You need a stereo dual switch with a stereo plug.

Edit:
Ok, I looked up the owners manual, and it is a stereo jack for a dual foot switch. The tip connection is for the channel switch, so if you don't care about the reverb, the mono pedal should work ok. When you plugged a guitar cable in did you try and short the tip to a metal part of the chassis?