Originally Posted by
Appzalien
Some potentiometers have two functions. The first is a switching mechanism to turn the power off and it would be at the lowest volume setting if you go any further it clicks and the power is shut off. The second function is as you turn the volume up the resistance gets lower and lower as the dials connector slides along a winding of wire. Near the off position the resistance is greatest and very little juice gets through to the speakers. In the other direction resistance is lower and a lot more juice gets through and the volume gets louder. If you replace the potentiometer with a switch all juice gets through and the speakers will be at max volume. If the volume works but you cannot turn the speakers off any more you can add a switch to manually turn them off and let the dial do its thing. If it doesn't function at all check for loose or broken wires at both ends at the dial and the board. They're not that hard to replace if you can find the right size and variable resistance. If you go to radio shack you might find what you need there. If you want to remove the dial make sure you draw a good diagram of what color wires go where before you remove it or cut the wires real close to the potentiometer so you leave a little color showing for later reference. They can be as round as a quarter and smaller than a dime in circumference and fairly deep as well but as long as it fits the hole and doesn't touch anything inside you can try almost anything. Sometimes you can take one out of an old radio or go trash searching around the neighborhood to see what you can find. The switching type will typically have two sets of connectors, one for volume and one for off and on.
I have to chime in here... because there is a huge misconception out there that a volume control is like a water valve holding back the water that wants to get out.
That could not be further from the truth. First they can not handle much current before they burn up. A Potientiometer is not a rheostat... they may look remotely alike and operate in much the same way..
But a volume control works to tell the amplifier to work harder to put more out. Or work less to put less out...
For the non-electronic engineers... compare it to a gas pedal in a car... its hooked to the carb or throttle body and basically tells the engine to go faster or slower.
Your engine isn't running full throttle all the time while using your brakes to determine how fast you can go.
It control's voltage levels to the pre-amplifier... any current changes are coincidental. The pre-amplifier makes a low level audio signal bigger... the final amplifier is what puts the punch behind it. But its not controlled by the volume control at all.
Also putting a switch on the output of an amplifier is likely to kill it over time... if going from a nominal 8 ohms load to infinite resistance doesn't kill it... the voltage spikes generated from abruptly switching it between the two will eventually.
Turn the power on or off if you want to do it... but trying to do it in this manner is going to turn it into junk over time.