Knee lever issue

[Jacob Marcus]

Hello friends, I have a 2007ish Carter d-10 and my left knee right lever feels like it’s not engaging, as soon as you go to press it it moves a twitch before it feels like it hits the stop, pitch doesn’t change at all. Nothing obvious like a broken rod or anything I can see ( I’m not mechanically inclined with these things at all lol) the finger does move a smidge though when I watch it. Any help or tips would be appreciated!

Jacob marcus

[Jerry Overstreet]

Couple questions. Is this a new guitar for you?
Otherwise, was the lever working OK and then this started all at once?

Usually, what you describe is a lack of travel. If you can flip the guitar over on it's back and operate the lever, you can observe the action of all the linkage train.

Some common problems are the stop, or the screw which contacts the bracket when the lever is at the end of it's travel, sometimes can get loose and back up so that it doesn't have enough distance to make the change.

On Carters, the connecting linkage on right moving levers has a tongue on one part that lifts the linkage on another part can fracture and bend away so that it doesn't move enough.

carter crack.jpg

Just some basic examination and operating the lever while it's upside down may show the issue.

[Jacob Marcus]

Thank you Jerry I’ll dig deeper. It’s my first steel I bought it off here back in 2020 I think, never had an issue until now. It sat for a few months, life got really crazy , it worked perfectly when I put it away before the months long break and when I pulled it out to get back in the saddle I discovered it.

[Bob Sigafoos]

If what’s shown in the reference picture is your problem then you need to replace the bent lever piece. I had a Carter 12 string and that same piece on mine self destructed also. It drove me nuts as it very gradually started to bend. I had to touch up the tuning nut at the changer frequently until the little finger broke off. This taught me that every so often turn your guitar over and check for loose screws and anything that doesn’t look right and poke and pull things while you’re at it. Seems to me that maybe this part should be machined with a radius or chamfer at the crack location.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Don't wanna be premature, but there is a way to repair those parts by using a steel L bracket.....but we'll wait and see what Jacob finds.

[John Hyland]

90deg internal corners are a bad design as it concentrates the forces into that corner. A small radius is the cure.

[Jacob Marcus]

Thank you all for the input and help! Turned out to be the short hook rod that holds that part down towards the mechanism that pulls when you engage the knee lever had moved a little over time I’m guessing so I just loosens the tiny screw and slid the rod a little for that part to have some down pressure again works like a charm now!!