The volume knob / dial has fallen off my laptop. After taking the laptop apart, I find that the volume control is not the simple 3 pin side mounted vr, but a 5 pin device with multiple tracks and multiple contacts in the sheared off top. What I wanted to do is to short out the vr with the volume on max and control output only through the software volume control
Thanks?.
Well, based on the description, It sounds like a "slider" type pot, rather than a "twist" type?
If so, and I was going to try going at it "blind", I'd try jumpering the top left end pin to the top right end pin, and bottom left to bottom right, ignoring the 5th pin entirely.
I'd prefer to start out knowing what's what, though... Break out a meter, and see if there's continuity (regardless of the resistance value) from the end pins to each other. If so, and the resistance is high, then jumpering them as described should give you full volume. If not, I'd assume that the wiper is the "odd" pin, and try jumpering that to *BOTH* pins on one end or the other - One end should give you full volume, the other should give you zero volume.
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Are you sure it's actually a variable resistor? It might be a rotary encoder.
Do you think it might be a stereo pot? That would normally have six terminals (three per pot) but they might have decided to share a single ground terminal for the two pots which would give a total of five pins. As the other poster said, why not get out a meter and test it?
Chris
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