LED Light is Not Working on Marshall Channel Switch Pedal
LED Light is Not Working on Marshall Channel Switch Pedal
The Symptoms:
Last night at a gig my Marshall DSL40CR footswitch LED stopped working. The channel switch pedal was still functional but the LED light had ceased operation. This was the left “channel switch” button LED that had the issue.
The good news is the footswitch was clearly working so I knew it had to be either something to do with the switch or the LED, the switch, or the soldering points.
How to open the Marshall Footswitch
You need a Philips Head Screwdriver to remove the 4 screws on the bottom of the footswitch. Once you have done that the case comes apart without any effort at all.
Inspecting the inside:
After opening up the pedal I felt all of the connections with my finger and then it was obvious that one connection was damaged. I am not sure if my heavy foot had hit the button too hard or if it was just a bad or dry solder joint.
How I fixed the broken LED on the Marshall Footswitch:
After it was abundantly clear that the joint needed to be re-flowed. That’s exactly what I did and the pedal was back to normal and functioning as expected.
LEDs last a long time so my first thought was “there was no way its the LED and it has to be something else?”. I wasn’t too far wrong. All I needed to do was heat up the soldering iron and reconnect the pin on the resister and it was sorted out.
Simple Troubleshooting and Diagnosis
If your footswitch is still functional minus the LED light then this guide should help you sort it out easily. Just make sure you feel around with your finger on the solder joints and see if anything is not connected or barely connected.
The connections to the LED lights are very obvious so just follow them back with your finger and see if they are loose.
If you’re unable to fix it, you can buy one on Sweetwater.
