New pedal day - Caline Big Dipper - and I've fried it already

thecolourbox

So I ordered some cheap pedals from Aliexpress on Singles Day (Chinese Black Friday apparently) and the first one has arrived...

It's a Caline Big Dipper pitch shifter. It was less than £30 so I was not expecting much to be fair, but I've fired it up tonight and it's already seemingly fried without even being used.

I had to use a straight angled power supply as the right angled one wouldn't go in, the input seems to be slightly recessed. When I plugged it in, the LED came on then quickly went off and now it smells burny.

I can't get the PCB to move so can't see the input barrel therefore also assume I can't replace it easily. Is it doomed before I've even begun?

I've got another octaver, a looper and a delay still to come so I'm dreading the pile of crap I've acquired on impulse

https://i.imgur.com/E5Xl9hQ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cxdRLr2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/oUZ0A2O.jpg

Thanks

Winny_Pooh

Ouch

clarkefan

Is it possible you plugged in 12 rather than 9v supply? That burn smell could be a protection diode going?

thecolourbox

Winny_Pooh said:

Ouch

That was my first thought too

clarkefan said:

Is it possible you plugged in 12 rather than 9v supply? That burn smell could be a protection diode going?

That was my second thought, well the voltage rather than the diode as I don't know what that is really. But no, it's a 9v DigiTech power supply that I normally use without issue with a Polara so I've no idea.

This was the most expensive (well least cheap) one I bought so it's basically knocked out the savings made on the others by failing so soon. I'll never learn

siraxeman

Can you not just send it back for a replacement....warranty n all that ?

Sporky

You'd think they'd spend a few pence more on proper PSU protection.

thecolourbox

siraxeman said:

Can you not just send it back for a replacement....warranty n all that ?

It's to China though so I don't suspect that would be an easy task - I can't even raise a dispute on Aliexpress until ten days after dispatch, which I'm sure it has been but there you go...

Sporky said:

You'd think they'd spend a few pence more on proper PSU protection.

I suppose not on a sub £30 pedal.

Well, a sub £30 painted metal box that smells of burn...

Sassafras

They'll probably just send you another one without you having to return the faulty one. That's happened on the rare occasions I've bought stuff from the Far East.

tampaxboo

according to the DT polara manual the output for the polara power supply is 1.3A. usually it will only draw what it needs, but 1.3A is unusually powerful for a 9v pedal supply (700Ma typical), so maybe that's relevant?

it may also be that the sleeve of the jack was shorting on the side of the case/enclosure rather than sitting in the jack socket neatly.

as someone above mentioned, the diode will usually pop before any serious harm can be done, effectively cutting power supply so current can't reach sensitive bits.
if you can locate and replace that diode (with whatever it was) you may find it's all good.

but that jack socket being out of line with the casing is something you may need to deal with. usually you can fine tune their posiition (if they are out of line) by adding-subtracting washers to whatever is holding it in place. usually the pots/3pdt/jacksockets hold the board in place.

(you will need to remove knobs, unscrew bolts on pots,3pdt and jacksockets to get the board out).

if you want to fix it, then maybe get the whole thing out of the box and post another pic for some group feedback. although bear in mind that if you are intending to send it back that may invalidate your warranty.

boogieman

Just tell the seller it was DOA and ask them to sort out a replacement. 

ICBM

I don't think it's your fault.

If the LED came on, even briefly, the polarity was correct.

Any '9V' power supply, even a completely unregulated one, should not put out more than 13.5V unloaded, which is not likely to be enough to fry a 9V pedal unless it's extremely badly designed.

It won't be a short between the PSU plug and the casing because that would short out the power supply not the pedal, and the LED wouldn't come on.

So I would send it back as faulty for a refund. (Not replacement, if possible,)

57Deluxe

I have several Aliex sourced pedals and not had any issue with any. It is not a common problem I find but we can all be unlucky at some point with anything. The good thing with Aliex is they are sit hot on customer satisfaction and any hint of an issue you get your money back and told not to worry about returning item.

thecolourbox

They have today resolved my "dispute" by refunding me which as others have said is good on them really, no idea if I will be able to fix it and I'd have preferred a working pedal but I think given the miles and postal systems between us it's the best overall result for me.

Will try and fix it if I can though as that will man a free pedal!

clarkefan

57Deluxe said:

I have several Aliex sourced pedals and not had any issue with any. It is not a common problem I find but we can all be unlucky at some point with anything. The good thing with Aliex is they are sit hot on customer satisfaction and any hint of an issue you get your money back and told not to worry about returning item.

Er, not always.  I bought a Nux mixer which was noisy as hell, I had to return it to China at my own expense (£11 was the cheapest I could find, for something about the same size as a standard pedal).  Aliexpress can go f... itself.