Flickering side LED's on Tribute

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Author Message jx2638 Member Username: jx2638 Post Number: 62 Registered: 2-2008 Posted on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 - 9:22 am:    Having some issues with side LED's and on/off toggle on my Tribute. First off, there's a delay in flicking the toggle and the LED's coming on...LED's don't come on immediately. It seems that lightly moving the toggle arm, once it's in the ON position, engages the LED's and if you continue a light touch on the arm you get the flicker effect. Was wondering if anyone has suggestions before I open up the cavity? Thanks so much. lbpesq Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 4291 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 - 11:48 am:    Sounds like the problem is with the switch. First you might want to try "exercising" it. Quickly turn it on and off 30 or 40 times and see if this makes a difference. Sometimes switches get dirty or corroded and this may clean it up a bit. If that doesn't work, next I'd open up the cavity and see if anything looks out of place. I don't recall if the switch is sealed or not. If not, a little contact cleaner sprayed on it and then exercising again might do the trick. If it's sealed, or the contact cleaner doesn't work, I'd use a piece of wire to connect the leads (effectively removing the switch from the circuit) and see if the LEDs work properly. If they do, the problem is definitely with the switch and you may want to contact Alembic for a replacement. Bill, tgo jx2638 Member Username: jx2638 Post Number: 63 Registered: 2-2008 Posted on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 - 7:16 pm:    Thanks Bill..will try and report back. jx2638 Member Username: jx2638 Post Number: 64 Registered: 2-2008 Posted on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 11:01 am:    Bill, 50 toggle flicks seems to have worked on the LED's! Having similar situation with 3-way neck pickup toggle. Do you think I can try the same technique?? Thanks for the help! mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 6554 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 12:16 pm:    Yes, do try the same thing. The lubricant in the switches sometimes either has a small piece of debris from the manufacturing process or may slightly dry out, making a crust. If the crust or debris interferes with the contact, you get the behavior you are observing. The 3-position switches also sometimes have another problem that I descibe here. The mechanical cleaning by flicking to toggle back and forth usually fixes it right up. jx2638 Member Username: jx2638 Post Number: 65 Registered: 2-2008 Posted on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 4:04 pm:    Thanks Mica...I'll give it a shot tonight and report back. Thanks so much. jx2638 Member Username: jx2638 Post Number: 66 Registered: 2-2008 Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2010 - 10:16 am:    The plot thickens...I flicked the neck pickup toggle multiple times and realized quickly that the switch was a bit loose. Then I realized that the small black washer, in place on all other toggles, was missing. I plugged into an amp to check if the flicking exercise worked and slid a small socket over the toggle to tighten the nut very gently...again just to see if it was improved. Well, now I got NO signal pass from the guitar but I did get a radio station!! Is that what they call a "short" in the biz????? mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 6563 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2010 - 2:01 pm:    Look inside and see if when you tightened the nut the switch rotated or contacted the shielding in any way. jx2638 Member Username: jx2638 Post Number: 68 Registered: 2-2008 Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2010 - 5:13 pm:    Mica, The switch it is so far up in the cavity it's very hard to tell. That said, after loosening, it does not rotate freely.