Squeaky Sustain Pedal - Any Fixes?

[Bass and Keys]

Hi all, I've had my Piano 2 with the triple pedal for about 1.5 years. My sustain pedal makes a mechanical squeak every time I depress it. Where this is mechanical, but also an electrical device (as opposed to an actual acoustic piano's damper pedal mechanism) - I wasn't sure if there were any safe ways to lubricate the pedal(s) and make the annoying noise go away. The noise is strictly mechanical - not coming from the amp -- coming from the triple pedal housing itself. The sustain works just fine -- it's just that I can hear the annoying squeak when in quiet practice situations. Thank you for any assistance!

[SingerNick]

The sustain on my triple pedal recently gave out after 3 years, and it appears the spring itself became dislodged. If I remember correctly, there was some squeaking going on before the sustain stopped working. I have yet to disassemble it and attempt a fix, so it may be a very easy repair. Regardless, if there are any strange sounds coming from your sustain, I'd definitely keep a small backup pedal in your bag at gigs until you diagnose/solve the issue.

[Bass and Keys]

Open up the pedal and carefully use a little WD-40 in suspect areas for a temporary fix. (Don't spray it around all over the place). If you can identify exactly what is causing the squeak, a little lubricating grease should make for a long term solution. I have had this problem with both my Yamaha sustain pedals, and since greasing the offending metal parts the problem hasn't come back after two or three years.

[Bass and Keys]

The last post gave me the courage to do what I didn't want to: disassemble the triple pedal assembly. I had some luck, but I kissed some frogs along the way, so thought I'd share how I finally cured the issue:

1) First, you may be tempted to just spray the visible spring/coil (I was) that you can see under the pedal, while fully assembled. Turned out, at least for me, that that wasn't the source of the noise. You'll likely just spray the circuitry inside if you try that, with no cure.

2) You need to remove "ALL" screws to be able to slide the triple pedal "guts" out of the housing. There were 5 screws securing the unit to the base, and then two more screws to allow you to slide out the triple pedal assembly and look inside.

3) I sprayed the spring, to no avail (other than accidentally over-spraying onto the circuit board). Yikes. I carefully wiped it clean. I sprayed other areas that I thought were making the noise -- again, to no avail. All that accomplished was to get more WD-40 collecting at the bottom of the housing (which I carefully absorbed using Q-tips).

4) Finally, I figured there was no turning back, and the noise was driving me nuts -- so I found the source. As you can see in the picture, I placed the WD-40's red straw into a tiny hole in the very back of the housing (in the picture, the pedals are in front, and that straw is aimed into a tiny hole on the side of the pedal (at the back of the assembly) where the pedal itself maneuvers on a pivot point. Despite the picture, I actually sprayed straight through that side hole (a little came out the other side) -- trying to avoid the circuitry that is positioned in front, and slightly under the pivot point. It immediately eliminated the bodacious squeak.

Hope this helps y'all!

[linda001]

A bit late, but it might be better to use silicone grease to lubricate plastic parts.

[RedLeo]

A bit late, but it might be better to use silicone grease to lubricate plastic parts.

Yes, I agree that WD-40 is only a temporary solution as it does evaporate eventually. Suitable grease is best for a long term solution, although I'm not sure how it can be applied in this particular case if the squeaky parts are mostly enclosed. I suggested WD-40 because I knew the squeak was probably driving him nuts.

WD-40 itself is advertised by the manufacturer as being harmless to plastics, but I would certainly caution anybody reading this to be aware that many products can easily damage or destroy plastics, so don't go around trying whatever you've got in the cupboard under the sink!

I should also mention that using WD-40 is highly addictive. In no time at all, you'll be stalking around the house, clutching a can and praying to find just one more squeaky door-hinge so that you can fix it good...

[pablomastodon]

+1 to Mr. G's suggestion to using silicone-based lube, either grease or spray. This is non-conductive, a good property to have when spraying around electronics. WD-40 is conductive, I believe, and it may not only interact with plastics in an unpleasant way over time, but also may interact with the rubber contacts used inside the pedal.

Kudos to Bass and Keys not only for plunging into the deep end of the pool without a life jacket, but also for documenting the operation nicely for others!

Note to Singer Nick: on a few rare occasions those springs have been known to break. Perhaps that is what has happened on your unit. I recently received a care package from Stockholm containing some spares, so please let me know if you need one gratis.

Bless,

Pablo

[linda001]

A bit late, but it might be better to use silicone grease to lubricate plastic parts.

Yeah you are right your given idea did worked for me too.

[pterm]

+1 to Mr. G's suggestion to using silicone-based lube, either grease or spray. This is non-conductive, a good property to have when spraying around electronics. WD-40 is conductive, I believe, and it may not only interact with plastics in an unpleasant way over time, but also may interact with the rubber contacts used inside the pedal.

The technical datasheet lists WD40 as a dielectric (non conductive) and its interactions with plastics (mostly ok):
http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/wd ... 952473.pdf

This in no way makes it the best product for this job, but it should not harm electronics.

[pablomastodon]

thanks for the correction