Help: Boss DC-3 - no effects

[Plumerai]

I have a Boss DC-3 that worked when I originally bought it, but at some point quit working. Powers on, but in both on & off positions I'm only getting a dry signal. The knobs do nothing to the signal when the pedal is on.

Is there a common pedal component I could check/replace or is this a known issue with these pedals?

[somanytoys]

Boss pedals are typically built like tanks, it's one reason why they've been such a standard for so long. That said, I had an RC-2 completely die on me in the past year or so, so it can happen. But all of my other Boss pedals have never had any problems, and most of them are at least 15 years old, bought new.

The main thing that I can think of is a power issue. Are you powering this from a power supply, and if so, is it daisy chained with other pedals, or are you powering it all by itself? If you're daisy chaining multiple pedals, it could be that you don't have enough milliamps (mA) between all of the pedals for it to work correctly, or that the supply doesn't have enough for this pedal by itself. The mA requirements should be listed on each of the pedals (or you can look them up), and the total mA output of the power supply should be listed on it. You should have more mA available from the output than all of the power requirements added together, or you could have problems with some of the pedals powering up or operating correctly.

Another question, when you engage the pedal, does the light come on? If not, the pedal isn't engaging and it could be that the switch is bad. If the light comes on, then the footswitch is working and it's something else down the line.

I don't know that much about building/repairing pedals, but if no one else has any suggestions for easy fixes besides checking wires & solder points, it's probably something that you'll need to have it looked at & fixed somewhere. It would all come down to how much you spent on it already, and how much more you're willing to spend on it.

You may really like this pedal, but from what I've read, the sound of the DC-3 isn't as good as the DC-2. I have the DC-2 waza and it's great. Just something to think about if you're not all that jazzed about the sound of the 3, if it starts working again.

Hopefully it's something simple & easy (& cheap). Good luck.

[Plumerai]

Thanks.

I'm using a 9v one spot to power it. I'll compare the specs to see if they match. The red light does come on when the pedal is pressed. I feel like there is a bit of change to the dry sound when turned on unless it's a hum.

[somanytoys]

One Spot should be fine, as long as it's not powering a bunch of other things, too. Those usually supply around a full amp (1,000 mA).

I hope you can find the problem or get it fixed, that's really a bummer that a new (to you) pedal isn't working.

[BearBoy]

You could try asking over at BossAreaForum. There are some guys on there who know loads about fixing Boss pedals.

[BlueSparkle]

If they re-release this I hope they call it the DCX3.

[Plumerai]

You could try asking over at BossAreaForum. There are some guys on there who know loads about fixing Boss pedals.

Thanks. I'll check it out.