new cts pot faulty?

bandmaster188

hi ya folks,

have just been changing a few bits on my strat and have changed the horrible tbx tone control for a proper one. i have also changed the volume pot too as its about 2 inches thick with solder now (reminder, must buy solder sucker). i'm not sure if the new volume pot, a 250k cts is faulty or heat damaged, but when you roll off the volume it completely goes off by about 3 and then comes back on again slightly just before 1.

what do ya think chaps!

ICBM

Probably faulty - CTS quality has taken a nosedive over the past few years or so - but it could be that you've stressed the riveting at the ground end, particularly if you bent the terminal back to solder it to the casing rather than using a wire to join it. Normally that causes it not to go to 'off' at all, but it's just possible it could do what you're describing.

Try getting a pair of fine-nose pliers and squeeze the ground terminal hard onto the track board - you should be able to without unsoldering anything. Worth a try before you change the pot anyway.

Van_Hayden

I'd agree - CTS quality is a bit up and down. The wiper's not making contact with the track, I suspect faulty rather than heat damage. I've never managed to damage a pot with heat....

bandmaster188

ICBM said:

Probably faulty - CTS quality has taken a nosedive over the past few years or so - but it could be that you've stressed the riveting at the ground end, particularly if you bent the terminal back to solder it to the casing rather than using a wire to join it. Normally that causes it not to go to 'off' at all, but it's just possible it could do what you're describing.

Try getting a pair of fine-nose pliers and squeeze the ground terminal hard onto the track board - you should be able to without unsoldering anything. Worth a try before you change the pot anyway.

yeh, i did bend the terminal back so will take a look at that.

who's pots are worth buying in the future if the cts stuff has gone down the pan?

cheers for the assistance!!

Van_Hayden

They're still the best manufacturer available. Just not quite so good. Some of the premium selected ones are even worse - the WD ones are really stiff, & once sold a set to one customer who sent them back as he couldn't get solder to stick to them.

bandmaster188

Van_Hayden said:

They're still the best manufacturer available. Just not quite so good. Some of the premium selected ones are even worse - the WD ones are really stiff, & once sold a set to one customer who sent them back as he couldn't get solder to stick to them.

it seems to have fixed itself at the moment. very weird cts pot voodoo going on. i will leave it alone for now!!

Van_Hayden

Could have been contamination.