trikmorgan Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Bottom line, my expression pedal on my Helix Floor unit came loose after I'd bought it 2nd hand and had it for only a few weeks! Tightening via the bolt on the side using an allen key only holds it until the pedal is used again and if I tighten any more it'll break parts, it already squeaks when I tighten it enough to hold briefly. After some digging, it seems replacing the washers on the pedal assembly might fix the issue. Looks straight forward. However, I'm getting so little help getting a part. I've been told I can send the unit for repair which will cost £60 + postage just for a diagnosis plus whatever repair/parts costs. There is a kit for sale but I can't buy it anywhere here in the UK and after a couple of emails to Full Compass, I was eventually told they are not allowed to ship to the UK and I'd have to find it locally...which doesn't exist. The kit is $5 (https://www.fullcompass.com/prod/607336-line-6-97-001-0016-washer-kit-for-helix). I'm not about to spend what ...£100+ to have some washers changed which I can do myself very easily. To add insult, these parts, in the UK, have a lead time of 3-4 months so I'd have to send my unit off for 4 months?!?!? I'm a full time musician, I need this to work! I've just spent £1000 to buy the thing. I was directed to Sontec for parts in the UK but again, lead times are 3-4 months and would cost £22 HOWEVER there is a "minimum" order amount that would have to be paid (exact amount was not given) so who the hell knows how much it'd actually cost, not to mention they came back with the parts list I gave them and said in very confusing fashion that some parts numbers are "superseded to the same parts number, sorry I'm not allowed to give these out" which is not only confusing as I don't know what "superseded to the same parts number" means but massively unhelpful to not be able to have the actual part numbers. They also, apparently, aren't able to get certain parts which I may or may not even need. Basically I just need the washer kit as per the link above. Am I really going to get no help from Line 6 here?! This is incredibly distressing, I can't afford to throw away money on repairs that should cost so little and I CERTAINLY can't afford to go out and buy another unit! Any help from anyone here would be massively appreciated as Line 6/Full Compass/Sontec are of very little use unfortunately. PLEASE HELP. Anyone in the US maybe that could order the kit and send it to me, I'd pay full cost plus a little extra. Also attached a pic of the pedal assembly and parts numbers if anyone would like to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 On 1/13/2024 at 6:56 AM, trikmorgan said: Bottom line, my expression pedal on my Helix Floor unit came loose after I'd bought it 2nd hand and had it for only a few weeks! Tightening via the bolt on the side using an allen key only holds it until the pedal is used again and if I tighten any more it'll break parts, it already squeaks when I tighten it enough to hold briefly. After some digging, it seems replacing the washers on the pedal assembly might fix the issue. Looks straight forward. However, I'm getting so little help getting a part. I've been told I can send the unit for repair which will cost £60 + postage just for a diagnosis plus whatever repair/parts costs. There is a kit for sale but I can't buy it anywhere here in the UK and after a couple of emails to Full Compass, I was eventually told they are not allowed to ship to the UK and I'd have to find it locally...which doesn't exist. The kit is $5 (https://www.fullcompass.com/prod/607336-line-6-97-001-0016-washer-kit-for-helix). I'm not about to spend what ...£100+ to have some washers changed which I can do myself very easily. To add insult, these parts, in the UK, have a lead time of 3-4 months so I'd have to send my unit off for 4 months?!?!? I'm a full time musician, I need this to work! I've just spent £1000 to buy the thing. I was directed to Sontec for parts in the UK but again, lead times are 3-4 months and would cost £22 HOWEVER there is a "minimum" order amount that would have to be paid (exact amount was not given) so who the hell knows how much it'd actually cost, not to mention they came back with the parts list I gave them and said in very confusing fashion that some parts numbers are "superseded to the same parts number, sorry I'm not allowed to give these out" which is not only confusing as I don't know what "superseded to the same parts number" means but massively unhelpful to not be able to have the actual part numbers. They also, apparently, aren't able to get certain parts which I may or may not even need. Basically I just need the washer kit as per the link above. Am I really going to get no help from Line 6 here?! This is incredibly distressing, I can't afford to throw away money on repairs that should cost so little and I CERTAINLY can't afford to go out and buy another unit! Any help from anyone here would be massively appreciated as Line 6/Full Compass/Sontec are of very little use unfortunately. PLEASE HELP. Anyone in the US maybe that could order the kit and send it to me, I'd pay full cost plus a little extra. Also attached a pic of the pedal assembly and parts numbers if anyone would like to see. I checked out the Full Compass link... seems that ordering it here in the states is a crap shoot, too. Says "Out of stock, lead times vary". If you ask me that's code for "we have no f*cking clue when this thing will be back in stock", lol. I can try ordering it for you if you want, but for all we know, I might be firing up the BBQ for the 4th of July before it gets here. Your call... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theElevators Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 You could have loosened the pedal too much, and turning the Hex key clockwise won't do anything, because it's gotten too lose. The nut is too far away from the main screw/stem. Do not panic! If this is the only problem with the pedal (not being able to tighten it at all), simply remove the back panel, find the main nut, connect it to the screw and tighten it and off you go. However, I am almost certain you have some other issues with the expression pedal that you tried to solve by tightening/loosening the nut... so please read on, what I had wrong with my Expression pedal. For me: 1. the pedal would start getting crooked and start grinding against the metal. 2. it would either get too stiff, or too loose, nothing in-between. How I solved it. 1. took the back off 2. tightened the 2 screws of the "claw". The "claw" is how you control the aliment of your pedal (tilting to the left or to the right). For me, those 2 screws were not tightened all the way, and the pedal would start moving left/right. 3. lubricated all the friction points with lithium grease liberally. Basically, without taking the mechanism apart, I just applied a blob of lithium grease at every single point.... however it is essential that grease does not go anywhere near the big nut of the mechanism -- the main nut must stay intact and does not need any lubrication, or else you will be constantly tightening the pedal. After this procedure, my pedal has been absolutely fine for 2+ years. The alignment has been great. The pedal moves as much or as little as it needs to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trikmorgan Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 On 1/13/2024 at 10:21 PM, cruisinon2 said: I checked out the Full Compass link... seems that ordering it here in the states is a crap shoot, too. Says "Out of stock, lead times vary". If you ask me that's code for "we have no f*cking clue when this thing will be back in stock", lol. I can try ordering it for you if you want, but for all we know, I might be firing up the BBQ for the 4th of July before it gets here. Your call... That's not overly surprising re. stock. I can't see much choice other than paying through the nose for a repair shop to have it for who knows how long :I I'd be incredibly grateful if we can make this happen somehow if you have an idea of how to proceed! In the meantime I may open it up and see what I can do, including @theElavators suggestion. I have been in once to check things are in place but I was on a contract (on a ship) and couldn't spend much time on it at that time. I can't thank you enough people, any more suggestions, I'm all ears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theElevators Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 I built all my presets to use only EXP 2 btw. That way if the onboard pedal dies, an external pedal can work with all the presets seamlessly. So that's a good idea to keep an external pedal as a backup for those situations: you simply connect the expression pedal and it will always work as EX 2, so no need to modify your presets. But from what you describe, this is a simple case of the nut being loosened to the max. I've had the same exact thing happen to me, so most likely you have the same problem. The expression pedal mechanism is very simple. You keep the pressure of how tight it is with the nut/bolt. The washers are your friction points. If there is not enough lubrication, the washers will get caught and start loosening the main screw as you use it. Simple lithium grease lasts forever on those washers. After doing this simple procedure, as I explained above, I put my Helix through many hours of use onstage, and the screw needs slight tightening maybe once a year or less. And my Helix was brand-new when it started exhibiting these issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trikmorgan Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 On 1/15/2024 at 1:17 PM, theElevators said: I built all my presets to use only EXP 2 btw. That way if the onboard pedal dies, an external pedal can work with all the presets seamlessly. So that's a good idea to keep an external pedal as a backup for those situations: you simply connect the expression pedal and it will always work as EX 2, so no need to modify your presets. But from what you describe, this is a simple case of the nut being loosened to the max. I've had the same exact thing happen to me, so most likely you have the same problem. The expression pedal mechanism is very simple. You keep the pressure of how tight it is with the nut/bolt. The washers are your friction points. If there is not enough lubrication, the washers will get caught and start loosening the main screw as you use it. Simple lithium grease lasts forever on those washers. After doing this simple procedure, as I explained above, I put my Helix through many hours of use onstage, and the screw needs slight tightening maybe once a year or less. And my Helix was brand-new when it started exhibiting these issues. Yea I thought about resorting to an external exp pedal as a fall back. This might make a lot of sense for me to do (lubricate the washers) as I noticed when I tighten it enough for it to hold and then move the pedal, it also turns the nut and loosens itself so this may in fact work. I'll try it ASAP (hopefully within 24hrs) and post results here. As always, I'll say thank you so much for the contribution, I'm genuinely grateful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theElevators Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 On 1/15/2024 at 10:33 AM, trikmorgan said: Yea I thought about resorting to an external exp pedal as a fall back. This might make a lot of sense for me to do (lubricate the washers) as I noticed when I tighten it enough for it to hold and then move the pedal, it also turns the nut and loosens itself so this may in fact work. I'll try it ASAP (hopefully within 24hrs) and post results here. As always, I'll say thank you so much for the contribution, I'm genuinely grateful! If the nut is loosening by itself, you can always put plumbers tape on the screw to prevent it from slipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trikmorgan Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 Alright, I cleaned the bushings/washers including a little sanding with 800, 1200 and 2000 grit, then used GT-85 PTFE spray to lubricate the bolt, being careful not to lube up the thread, then friction points on washers (I saw somewhere that lithium grease can degrade certain plastics, I'm sure it's fine but I had GT-85 anyway and thought I'd give it a shot). It's been two days now and it seems to be working well! If that changes I'll post updates but for now, looks like I've made it through unscathed thanks to you good folks! Thank you so much for the responses 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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