HELP! Maestro Fuzz-Tone Battery Wire Disconnected

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PCK
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Post by PCK »

I need help! The black battery wire on my Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1B is disconnected and I have no idea where it goes.
I can't find the information online but hope there might be someone on this site who can help me.
Here are a couple of pictures. You can see where the red wire is connected in the second picture but I have no idea where the black wire was connected.
I know very little about this stuff but if someone has an idea where the black wire should go, I think I should be able to do the solder job myself.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1B 013 (2).JPG
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Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1B 015 (2).JPG

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CheapPedalCollector
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Post by CheapPedalCollector »

I've never seen this version, looks like a reissue?

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PCK
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Post by PCK »

I bought it sometime in the 70's.
Last edited by PCK on 05 Dec 2021, 02:20, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by PCK »

I bought it sometime in the 70's but can't remember if it was new. I see others online that look like it on the outside, but not on the inside.
Last edited by PCK on 05 Dec 2021, 02:23, edited 4 times in total.

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Post by PCK »

CheapPedalCollector wrote: 04 Dec 2021, 23:57 I've never seen this version, looks like a reissue?
I bought it sometime in the 70's but can't remember if it was new. I see others online that look like it on the outside, but not on the inside. And the footswitch on this one is also different than the others I've seen.
Here's what it looks like.
Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1B 016 (2).JPG

Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1B 026 (2).JPG
Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1B 025 (2).JPG

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mauman
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Post by mauman »

Looks like it was originally tied to the shield lead of the Input jack (green circle). I can see the stub of the broken wire there, and that location matches other versions.
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Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1B.jpg

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PCK
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Post by PCK »

mauman wrote: 05 Dec 2021, 23:47 Looks like it was originally tied to the shield lead of the Input jack (green circle). I can see the stub of the broken wire there, and that location matches other versions.
Thanks for your reply. Someone else also told me that it should maybe go to the ring of the input jack.
The wire touched some other parts while the battery was in and power was on, I hope I didn't do some serious damage.
I can do some really stupid things. I'm going to try it again by taping it to that spot that you pointed out before putting in the battery and turning on the power, but it may be too late. If it's not damaged beyond repair I hope I can pay someone to fix it. I don't have any tools to do any testing myself.

Thanks again, I'll let you know if I have any success.

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Post by FiveseveN »

PCK wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 00:23 taping it to that spot
:shock: I do hope you mean soldering.
Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge. (Charles Darwin)

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Post by Intripped »

here are the schematic and some pics of another unit: viewtopic.php?p=84227#p84227

the black (-) wire of the battery seems to be connected to the input jack sleeve (as already suggested by mauman), together with the shield of the input wire and the other black wire that goes to the PCB-ground.
FiveseveN wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 07:00
PCK wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 00:23 taping it to that spot
:shock: I do hope you mean soldering.
+1000! :shock:

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Post by PCK »

FiveseveN wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 07:00
PCK wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 00:23 taping it to that spot
:shock: I do hope you mean soldering.
I meant taping, so that I may test it first. But I did something really stupid before that.
With battery in and amp on, I went to touch the wire to that spot. and it touched some other parts. I think I may have ruined it. I don't know much about all this, and don't have any testing equipment (and wouldn't know how to use it).
Maybe it's not beyond repair, I have no idea. But I would have to find someone who can troubleshoot it, and don't know of anyone in the area.
Do you know of a reliable repair shop I might ship it to?
In the meanwhile, I'll go back to banging my head against the wall.:slap: It was such an easy fix, one that even I could have performed.
I hope I learned a lesson this rime. Music I understand, but not electronics. Now I'm going to do some playing and recording, that should help me feel a bit better.
Thanks for replying to my post.

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Post by FiveseveN »

PCK wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 17:06 don't know of anyone in the area.
What is this area called?

There are only a couple of places where a short to ground (your loose wire) could damage something and it's even harder to reach them from the component side. Are you certain it was working before you found the fault? When was the last time you used it?

Tape is useless because it cannot ensure contact, likely making your test a false negative. You're better off holding it in place with one hand and playing with the other. But more importantly, soldering is reversible and you need at least a multimeter to troubleshoot electronics.
Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge. (Charles Darwin)

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Post by PCK »

FiveseveN wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 18:17
PCK wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 17:06 don't know of anyone in the area.
What is this area called?

There are only a couple of places where a short to ground (your loose wire) could damage something and it's even harder to reach them from the component side. Are you certain it was working before you found the fault? When was the last time you used it?

Tape is useless because it cannot ensure contact, likely making your test a false negative. You're better off holding it in place with one hand and playing with the other. But more importantly, soldering is reversible and you need at least a multimeter to troubleshoot electronics.
I'm in Port Angeles, Washington. Maybe I'll take it in to the local store and have it looked at. I don't know the new repair person, but maybe he would be able to troubleshoot it.

I hadn't used the pedal in years. I put in a battery in the other day and it was working, but the sound would cut off sometimes when I stepped on the switch.
I opened it and saw that one of the wires going to the switch was loose so I soldered it back on. I did a messy job. I don't have much experience with that, and I couldn't find the small piece of solder I have so I just used what was already there Still, I think it would have functioned fine like that until I redid it. But when I was done, I must have pulled on the black wire and disconnected it.
I wish I knew which parts I should've avoided touching with the wire. I did try touching the wire to that spot while hitting the strings with everything on and plugged in, and just get a crackling sound. But I think the damage may have already been done before that.
Unless my solder job wasn't good enough. I will redo that first and then try testing it again.
But if it is seriously damaged, is it possible that it may be completely beyond repair?
I never used the pedal much. What hurts the most is that it's a vintage pedal.
I feel like such an idiot, but if it can be saved, I may be willing to pay to have it done.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply to me.

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Post by PCK »

mauman wrote: 05 Dec 2021, 23:47 Looks like it was originally tied to the shield lead of the Input jack (green circle). I can see the stub of the broken wire there, and that location matches other versions.
It's working again!
After letting it sit for 2 months, I finally got up the courage to try soldering the ground wire back to the shield lead of the Input jack and the pedal's now back to normal.

Thanks again the information.

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Post by PCK »

Intripped wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 15:49 the black (-) wire of the battery seems to be connected to the input jack sleeve (as already suggested by mauman), together with the shield of the input wire and the other black wire that goes to the PCB-ground.
It's working again!
After letting it sit for 2 months, I finally got up the courage to try soldering the ground wire back to the shield lead of the Input jack and the pedal's now back to normal.

Thanks again the information..

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Post by PCK »

FiveseveN wrote: 06 Dec 2021, 18:17
There are only a couple of places where a short to ground (your loose wire) could damage something and it's even harder to reach them from the component side.
I guess there was no damage done, the pedal's working again!

After letting it sit for 2 months, I finally got up the courage to try soldering the ground wire back to the shield lead of the Input jack and the pedal's now back to normal.

Thanks again the information..

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