Old CryBaby wah pedal nnot "wah-ing"

[Fred G.]

Here are some photos. This wah is an old one, pre-AC adapter. I'm not sure if it's a Vox or Dunlop. It merely has the CryBaby logo printed on the front. I see there is an electrolytic cap that's shot.

[Helmholtz]

NIce!
Pot looks like a replacement.

I have (almost) the same. Mine is an Italian made Vox wah, uses the same board with Ducati capacitors but maybe different transistors (mine has BC109B and BC107B). Best wah I ever had.

Try to identify transistors, find base, emitter and collector and measure DCR of inductor.
I will dig out mine and try to post some voltages the next days.

[vintagekiki]

The wire for 9V is broken.

[vintagekiki]

Ultra rare very early original 1968 Crybaby Wah VOX Clyde McCoy

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRA-RARE-VERY-EARLY-ORIGINAL-1968-Crybaby-Wah-VOX-Clyde-McCoy-Guts-REAL-DEAL-/264234091096


Judging by the built-in components (Ducati cap), pedal paint, wah is most likely an early JEN Italian made cry baby wah.

https://reverb.com/item/4244026-vintage-jen-italian-made-cry-baby-wah-pedal-fasel-inductor-made-in-italy

[Helmholtz]

Ultra rare very early original 1968 Crybaby Wah VOX Clyde McCoy

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRA-RARE-VERY-EARLY-ORIGINAL-1968-Crybaby-Wah-VOX-Clyde-McCoy-Guts-REAL-DEAL-/264234091096


Judging by the built-in components (Ducati cap), pedal paint, wah is most likely an early JEN Italian made cry baby wah.

https://reverb.com/item/4244026-vintage-jen-italian-made-cry-baby-wah-pedal-fasel-inductor-made-in-italy

Yes that's mine from the picture, though mine says Vox on housing and seesaw. No Fasel but halo (=cup core) inductor.

Eagle eyes .

The red (+9V) wire needs to connect to the solder pin above the screw.

[Fred G.]

I'll double check the battery connection. I may have disrupted it when I was mucking around with it and took out the "good" battery I replaced the original dead one with. That ecap is definitely deceased, though. As I said earlier, the pedal was working, just not wah-ing. I'm out of town until Sunday, so I can't check it out until then. My friend will be delighted to know his wah is somewhat collectible!

[vintagekiki]

In order that later not to have a headache when you check the battery connection, replace the existing 9v battery connector. High probability that the contact has oxidized or lost elasticity, so it may occasionally break.

[mozz]

Electrolytic capacitor could be bad.

[vintagekiki]

It doesn't have to mean. Appearance can be deceive.
Thus look Ducati caps from the ’60s.
1)

[Helmholtz]

In order that later not to have a headache when you check the battery connection, replace the existing 9v battery connector. High probability that the contact has oxidized or lost elasticity, so it may occasionally break.

Very good advice!

Just broke one of the leads of my original ~50 years old battery clip.

[mozz]

Ducati caps

I have seen them like that and also seen them with the rubber plug pushed in. Even if that measures ok, i 'm gonna say they have swollen and/or vented. Wah's are known to be made in volume pedals by disconnecting the electrolytic cap, that's why i mentioned it as there ain't too much to go bad in that circuit other than the pot which is often abused.

[Fred G.]

OK, I finally got back to this task. Replaced the 4.7uf electrolytic and re-soldered the battery lead. The wah has a nice strong signal - when engaged, a tiny bit of volume drop, but I think that's mostly because some of the low end drops off. This thing just WILL NOT WAH. I'm thinking it's the inductor itself. This thing is driving me nuts! I cannot get the circuit board out - there seems to be a nut glued to the bottom of the circuit board, and there is a metal strap apparently across the axle of the treadle that is bolted to the circuit board in front at the glued down nut, and also another bolt and nut at the back. It is impossible to fit any kind of tools in there to loosen these bolts and remove the treadle just to get the damned circuit board out!!!! It doesn't appear to be physically possible! I've tested the pot and it appears to be working OK, I guess. About 130K across the outer lugs, resistance is moving up and down between center lug and each outer lug as the treadle is rocked. WTF?? HELP!!

[Mick Bailey]

There's no reason to dismantle the wah to check it out. If you suspect the inductor, measure the ends of the resistor in parallel to it (maybe 33k or so depending on model). The inductor has a very low DC resistance so will read low ohms - maybe 50 ohms or so if it's all good. If open circuit you'll get a resistance reading of the parallel resistance only (several K Ohm).

[vintagekiki]

Unscrew metal screw (1) and disconnect toothed rod from gear on the pot.
Check by hand whether gear on the pot turning the pot shaft, and whether wah pedal "wah-ing"
Check wires from the PCB are properly connected to the pot (view schematics).

To inspect the PCB unscrew the metal screw (2) to disconnect the PCB from the chassis.
May be a cold solder joint on the PCB.

Both screws (1, 2) are only "heavily" screwed.

[Helmholtz]

I repaired several of these late 60s wahs.

Apart from the pot it's mostly the switch which causes problems. Does yours work properly?

The board is only held down by 1 flathead self-tapping screw (as shown by VK). Boards were not glued. I never had to remove the treadle/metal strap and I don't think that could help to lift the board.

Troubleshooting:
1) Check inductor resistance by connecting Ohmmeter to the 33k ("Q") resistor as advised by Mick Bailey.
2) Make sure no two transistor leads are touching/shorting. Sometimes they were mounted with crossed legs.
3) Connect fresh battery, insert guitar cable and measure battery current. Should be about 0.5mA. Connect battery clip to one of the battery poles and connect Ammeter between the other pole and the free clip contact.
4) Measure transistor collector voltages. If BC107/108/109 types are used, the collector is connected to the can. Q1 (close to ecap) should have about 4.5V and Q2 about 8.7V wrt ground.