Helix Floor EXP pedal crooked

[theElevators]

Hi peeps! 

 

Today I notice that the expression pedal was not aligned properly, and was actually scraping the left side of the gap in the metal.  The whole pedal was slightly off kilter off center. 

 

I took the included hex key and loosened the bolt a little.  Then I moved the pedal with my foot.  Nothing helped.  Until I pressed the pedal in (as in to switch between Exp 1 and Exp 2) and it re-aligned itself.  I then tightened the bolt and it seems to be back to normal.

 

So did I break it or is this normal?  I barely use this particular Helix, only when I play gigs. 

 

thanks!

 

[theElevators]

and now it's back to grinding against the left side.  I took off the back cover and the design is so simple--just a simple big bolt and a nut.  Anybody have the same issue where it gets out of alignment? 

 

This was also brought up a while ago here:

 

Maybe the solution is to add a thin washer to re-align the pedal? 

 

[datacommando]

On 4/25/2022 at 2:18 AM, theElevators said:

Maybe the solution is to add a thin washer to re-align the pedal? 

Hi,

 

That would seem to be the quickest, and simplest solution.
 

It’s purely a mechanical issue - nothing would be harmed by doing it.

 

Good luck.

[theElevators]

So I took apart the thing and came to a conclusion that there's not enough lubrication.  What was happening is that the screw.... was loose and there was too much friction because there was not enough grease, so that made it appear like the screw was tight because the pedal was hard to move, while since the screw was loose the alignment was off..... lol there.  I put some lithium grease and reassembled the whole thing and now everything aligns well and the action is smooth.  The whole damn thing is only 2 years old with minimal use. 

[theElevators]

Helix LT pedal was killing me with the squeaking, I used this product on it, just a few sprays and it hasn't squeaked in a year and a half: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007I9XUD0 dry graphite spray.  It's very good, but can be messy if you spray all over the place. 

 

A friend of mine just got the Helix LT and it was squeaking exactly like mine out of the box. 

 

Yeah, I don't know about the expression pedal... I have a plastic expression pedal that came with my Nord Electro and I used it for a decade and it never failed me.  Same with a Bad Horsie wah -- 14 years and zero issues, no squeaking, no alignment problems.