Please help me identify this laptop variable resistor

[springer]

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
1. Is this possible?
2. What pins would I short
3. Or where could I get a replacement 5pin variable resistor

Thanks….

 

[Don Bruder]

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
1. Is this possible?
2. What pins would I short
3. Or where could I get a replacement 5pin variable resistor

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.

 

[Walter Harley]

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.[...]

Are you sure it's actually a variable resistor? It might be a rotary
encoder.

 

[Chris Jones]

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
1. Is this possible?
2. What pins would I short
3. Or where could I get a replacement 5pin variable resistor

Thanks….

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