Suddenly stopped working

[dmraco]

I have a bass build I recently completed.  I used active pickups, pre-amp and hardware from a Warwick bass.  I put it all together and it was working fine.  After about 2 weeks it stopped working.  Just a tiny bit of volume is coming out of the bass. 

First I changed the battery.  No difference.  I pulled the cover to expecting to find a dropped wire.  No issue there either. 

The sound of the bass seems to be sensitive to the volume knob.  All the way up, no sound.  All the way down, no sound.  However there was a bit of volume when the knob was someplace in the middle.  I replaced this knob but the new ones produces the same result

I confess I am horrible understanding electronics and switching, especially with active stuff and pre-amps.  Any ideas here on where to start??  There is a CAP on the volume knob...could that be it?

 

[mayfly]

got a wiring diagram for us?

 

[dmraco]

I am pretty sure this is it.

 

[Cagey]

It has happened to me more than once where I replaced a dead battery with a dead battery (without realizing it, of course) and went nuts looking for another problem thinking I'd eliminated a variable.

 

[dmraco]

It has happened to me more than once where I replaced a dead battery with a dead battery (without realizing it, of course) and went nuts looking for another problem thinking I'd eliminated a variable.

Good tip.  My son swears it is a "NEW" battery.  I will give it a shot.

 

[Cagey]

Most people look at batteries like loved ones: they're always good and they're never gonna die. But, if you didn't pull it out of an unopened blisterpak yourself, put a meter on it.

 

[Pelagaard]

Most people look at batteries like loved ones: they're always good and they're never gonna die. But, if you didn't pull it out of an unopened blisterpak yourself, put a meter on it.

AKA your tongue for a 9v.

 

[TBurst Std]

Most people look at batteries like loved ones: they're always good and they're never gonna die. But, if you didn't pull it out of an unopened blisterpak yourself, put a meter on it.

Amen
That bug bit me about 10 months ago. It was also an active bass. I'm pretty good about tossing old batteries.  When I experienced this I was like huh?  Figured since it was out of packaging, it somehow connected the terms in my gear box against something else.  All batteries go into zip lock bags by type now in the gear box.

 

[dmraco]

its not the battery.  I am going to check all my leads to the battery box.  Before it utilized a "snap on" batter lead.  I installed a fancy battery box.  Maybe something is off.

 

[Cagey]

Just a heads-up... One of my battery boxes is a problem child. The sprung/crimped terminal on a standard 9V battery is larger in diameter than the square hole in the holder it's supposed to clear to make contact internally, so the preamp never gets powered up. What I've been doing is squeezing the crimp on the battery terminal so it'll fit, but ultimately I'm going to have to pull the battery box and do a little creative carving ensure clearance is available with an unmolested battery.