Picked up a broken Whammy 4, hate myself.

[AntKnee]

I'm sorry. I may have given you the idea that I know what I am doing.   

I've built some pedals, fixed some pedals, but I don't know anything about these. I don't know what parts are regulators nor do I know where to test the power. There's a lot of components on here I have no experience with.

[AntKnee]

Just probing around and taking measurements. I get 0 reading for C7. Maybe that needs to be replaced?

[wgc]

It definitely looks like someone touched up or replaced the regulators, there's residue from solder wick on the bottom side in the first picture. I don't think its from getting too hot during use since the traces and surrounding pcb seem fine. I'd verify that the correct regulators are in place and not subbed with something "close enough."

There is a part on the the top, a Motorola dsp chip xcb56362, with all the fine pitch leads, that looks funny to me but hard to see in your picture.

A short on an ic like that can definitely cause issues like the ones you're having.

[AntKnee]

It definitely looks like someone touched up or replaced the regulators, there's residue from solder wick on the bottom side in the first picture. I don't think its from getting too hot during use since the traces and surrounding pcb seem fine. I'd verify that the correct regulators are in place and not subbed with something "close enough."

There is a part on the the top, a Motorola dsp chip xcb56362, with all the fine pitch leads, that looks funny to me but hard to see in your picture.

A short on an ic like that can definitely cause issues like the ones you're having.

That regulator, U2, looked suspect to me when I first opened it. That residue really stood out to me. That particular regulator, if you can tell in the photo, has more of a chrome finish. U1, on the other hand, looks unmolested and has a brassy finish.

I will post a part number for them a soon as I know what they are.

[wgc]

One other thing I'd think about is making sure you have the right power supply, it appears from anther thread I read elsewhere that some are 12vac and some 9ish vac

[AntKnee]

One other thing I'd think about is making sure you have the right power supply, it appears from anther thread I read elsewhere that some are 12vac and some 9ish vac

Yes, I have the correct one. First thing I did was order a new correct AC power supply, which was the same as the one the pedal came with, but I wanted to rule that out and got a new one. Its a 9V 1.3A

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Really, really, really suggest AGAIN that you take measurements from ALL of the regulators (Inputs, Outputs, and continuity to GND)

[AntKnee]

Really, really, really suggest AGAIN that you take measurements from ALL of the regulators (Inputs, Outputs, and continuity to GND)

I hear ya, Lacky. I really want to get that, but there is a learning curve on my part. I've never worked with these, and have little experience troubleshooting or using meters. I'm working on it though. I'll post up as soon as I have the numbers. I appreciate the help!

[Govmnt_Lacky]

OK. Lets start with identification. Your regulators will look like this:


Look inside the pedal for these and write down ALL of the information that is printed on each one and post it here.

[AntKnee]

Here they are. I had to remove the heat sinks to expose them.
From left to right they are U3, U2, and U1. U1 is the brassy looking one, the others are chrome like.

[AntKnee]

Also just tested the regulator grounds for continuity, using the diode tester of my multimeter. I get a reading of less than 10 on all the grounds. Looks good there.

[AntKnee]

Well...
I was in the process of testing voltage, and when I plugged in the AC supply, D6 exploded! I am pretty sure I accidentally shorted out something on the bottom side of the pcb. I don't think it is related to the current issue I am dealing with. I wasn't very careful about my work surface. I may just scrap it now. I removed the diode and will put in a new one when it arrives, but if it seems any different after that, I am going to trash it. I will update when I am at that point.

[AntKnee]

Got the blown diode replaced, and it is behaving the same as before.
So, I'm open to instruction on what to check next.
I was going to go ahead and check voltages on the regulators, but I'm not sure how to do this since the pedal is AC. I don't know if I can check it with my multimeter.

[wgc]

It's not ac, rectification happens on the pcb shortly after the power jack.

As far as I can tell you haven't ruled out all of the other possibilities already posted. Very likely your issue can be one of those.

[GrindCustoms]

I also have a non-working whammy4....

The problem is kinda weird, when powered, everything is normal it will scroll through all the different modes, goes in bypass and Effect In.

The only problem is that the expression does nothing, always sounds like it's stock in a position.

I did the reset/calibration thing, when i move the expression pedal it reads it, but it still does'nt work when i then play it, anyone have a cue about that problem?

Hope it's ok to ask here, did'nt feel to start another thread since this one was already going.

Rej