How To: Repair A Broken LED On Compact BOSS Pedals

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A super-quick tutorial for you today - showing you how to repair a non-functioning LED on a vintage compact Boss pedal. I bought a 1982 CE-3 on eBay, and when it arrived the pedal worked and sounded great, but the LED wasn't lighting up. So I set to work with a screwdriver to investigate...!!
Come to find out, the LED had cracked in the post - and it just needed replacing. So today, I'll show you a step-by-step guide of how to replace a broken LED in a compact Boss pedal. It's mostly just a case of dismantling the little circuit board, de-soldering the broken component, installing the new one, and putting it back together...and checking that everything is still working as you go! :-)
What do you think? Could I have done anything better? Comment below!
joeperkinsmusic
[e-mail]
Vector images by freepik.com

[@johnmaher5887]

I was looking for exactly this. I have a GE-7 Equalizer with a broken light. I'll get a replacement LED and give this a shot. Thanks for the walkthrough!

[@johnmaher5887]

My LED replacement worked, thanks! Accidentally replaced it with a green one instead of red, but I kind of like it.

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

​@@johnmaher5887Gives it character 👍

[@henrikryegard5043]

This is great! I bought a CE-3 online some weeks back and had exactly this problem. Pedal works just fine, but no light. I will give it a try.

[@steveturner6770]

Useful. I've always got one thing or another going wrong with pedals!

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Aha same here...knowing basic repairs can save a fortune on tech fees :-)

[@simon_patterson]

Thank you kind sir! I just picked up a CE-2 with a broken LED. Will follow your advice!

[@mahoganymarco9199]

Got lucky enough to buy a boss oc 3 so cheap because the led won't work, will do this step by step. Thank you

[@kevon217]

Thanks for demo. Led went out on my octave pedal so gonna give this a whirl.

[@willowfearns4589]

Great informative vid but the music is something else 😂

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

Oh, c'mon, it's fun.

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

Good job! 👍 Boss pedals are awesome, nice to see one get repaired.

[@cameronpatrickscott]

Useful shit my friend, subbed

[@delboy2524]

Can you play lake of fire by Nirvana

[@pgoni8446]

Hi Joe. I don't get it, I have 10 boss pedals but I cannot remove the baseplate screws from any of them. I've tried different types of screw driver all to no avail. I'm gonna spray them with a metal lubricant. I'm just surprised how tight they are screwed in there. Cheers mate, love your channel, all the best.

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

That's odd :/ That said though, I got the impression this particular pedal had never before been opened, and the screws were jammed in pretty tight...I had to use a very high quality screwdriver to get one of them out without rounding it off as the one I used in the video wouldn't do it. First time I've had that. (I actually opened it up the day before shooting this to scout it out and then didn't put them back in too tight...shhhh!) But it might be the case that Boss used to ram them in there pretty tight in the factory - it's just that almost every vintage Boss pedal out there has been opened up at least once before!

[@pgoni8446]

Yep, I'll keep trying. I'm careful not to round off the screws. It must be the factory torque. Thx.

[@AbComp870]

Oh hey I know your channel. Thanks I’ve got a DOD pedal with a non-functional LED.

[@borealico]

Very helpful! Thanks!

[@o_o0_x914]

I have to do this to my boss ph-2 super phaser. Hopefully it’s the same procedure

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Fingers crossed!

[@mikeroadblock]

You rock kind sir!

[@Dwoed]

Will a 3mm fit in a marshall guv'nor, does voltage matter? Many thnx.

[@fernandoandreoly4359]

Tenho o CH1 Boss. E o led as vezes acende, outras vezes nao.

[@sarahhey8654]

Very useful Joe, thanks. Is there a way to reduce the brightness of an LED such as in an MXR Carbon Copy?

[@monkeybrains]

Rockboard diffusers, masking tape or sharpie

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

@monkey magic might be right! I'm sure there probably is, but that's a little beyond my dire grasp of electronics :P The LEDs on some pedals can be seen from space; it's crazy!!

[@dr.diegoarredondo3893]

If you can get the schematic, there´s a resistor that can be changed to suit your taste in brightness, very easy task!

[@sarahhey8654]

@@dr.diegoarredondo3893 Thanks dude ✌👌

[@MonsieurVersatile]

Where did you buy the new led from? Need to do this on my boss eq pedal so thanks for the vid!

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

It's just a standard LED - pretty much any electrical supplier will stock them. I believe I bought a box of 100+ of mixed sizes off Amazon, from memory.

[@MonsieurVersatile]

@@JoePerkinsMusic ok cheers

[@aldanino]

Thanks Joe - I have the same problem with an old pedal where do I get the 3mm leds from I've seen them on Amazon

[@aldanino]

Just saw your earlier post got it!

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Yep - Amazon for me! :-)

[@aldanino]

@@JoePerkinsMusic Thanks Joe really helpful video man

[@markeythesharkey6153]

Hi Joe, Been looking all over for help with this. My problem is the LED in my BOSS chorus C-3 is on but it's illumination is so low, it's hard to read if it's on. What's causing this and how do I make it brighter?

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

If it's a vintage one, I would guess (though please DOUBLE AND TRIPLE CHECK this on the label on the back!!!) it probably requires ACA power - which is basically a 12v input. Many vintage boss pedals were designed to receive 12v which is then stepped down internally to 9v - so if you use a standard 9v adaptor, it's only running on about 6v internally which can make the LED dim and decrease the pedal's headroom, amongst other quirks. A quick way to check is to try powering it off a 9v battery in the compartment (which isn't stepped down if it's an ACA pedal) rather than using a power jack - if the LED is then bright, it's likely wanting a 12v input. You can modify the pedal to turn it into a 'standard' 9v pedal if you want to (I believe it's just snipping a resistor). But PLEASE CHECK what the label says before trying anything other than 9v input/9v battery...as higher voltages CAN fry a pedal if it's not designed to take them. Some vintage Boss pedals were ACA (12v), others were PSA (9v) - the only way to know is to check the label (which is also sometimes a small silver sticker by the power jack saying 'Use Boss ACA adaptor)

[@markeythesharkey6153]

@@JoePerkinsMusic Right you are! I tried testing it with a 9v battery before but stupid me, I didn't complete the circuit by connecting the input and output cables...DOH!!! Thank you, Joe.

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

@@markeythesharkey6153 No worries! I _believe_ the CE-3 was always an ACA pedal, but please don't quote me on that....go by what the label says before trying a 12v input!!

[@vincenttesla]

Is the led size 5mm?

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

See 1:46 - most pedals are 5mm, but old Boss' are 3mm.

[@vincenttesla]

Learned the hard way and bough a 5mm, I just drilled a bigger hole. Lol thanks thanks tho.

[@dr.diegoarredondo3893]

Name of the song in the background?

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

One of mine from a few years ago: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJDLfZ2fe5pmnKM

[@dr.diegoarredondo3893]

@@JoePerkinsMusic Nice one! you should be proud.

[@cedarbay3994]

Intro music is incredibly irritating

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Skip it then.