Fuzz Face clone short circuit when jack sockets mounted to case

roberty

Hey I'm a newbie to pedal DIY and I'm making some Fuzz Dog clone kits.

Managed to get the Rat and Warp Sound kits working, this Fuzz Face clone has me a bit flummoxed though.  It works, but when I mount the jack sockets to the case the whole thing shorts out and the battery goes hot.  I'm doing the NPN Silicone version

Have I messed this up in a big way?  I believe this type of troubleshooting requires a fundamental understanding of electricity, which I mostly lack.

Thanks!

springhead

When you put it in the case or just when you put the lid on?  Either way sounds like you've got a terminal touching the case.  Or are you mixing positive and negative ground and maybe switching the battery positive via the input jack? 

Double check your wiring vs the instructions paying particular attention to the grounding and battery switching.

roberty

Got it... all the wiring was correct so I removed the board and attached the jacks and it worked.  I reattached the board and it is still working.  So must have been a mechanical short rather than a wiring issue

Those mini enclosures are not for the faint of heart (1590A).  Must have added an extra 2 hours onto my build time.

Thanks @springhead ;

springhead

Hey it happens! Sometimes you need to bend solder tags in, snip solder joints flatter to the tag or board, put bits of tape on the lid or wherever. Glad you found it. 

roberty

@springhead isolated it to a couple of tabs on the bottom of the pots shorting out against the board.  Managed to either snip them all or bend them out of the way with a mini flathead screwdriver

I think my soldering and wiring is alright but the actual building part is where I struggle.  And desolding is still a struggle for me

Here it is, it was much tidier before I started troubleshooting!  A bit melty in places now :-(  Hopefully I won't be looking at the inside again anytime soon anyway :-)