What causes a Piezo to go out???

[fignewton]

So i was playing a show on Friday Night, and about 1:30 i start noticing my head trigger on my 12 in Pintech started cutting out. The Rim was triggering fine, but my head trigger sounded like it was choked.
Since my CC has the EZTune on it i throttled the head down; but eventually the head trigger died.
I checked the cable and ended up throwing a Ddrum trigger on to finish the night.

When i replaced the trigger about 4 months ago, I installed it a tad off center so i would avoid a direct hit (I use this as snare), could that be the culprit?

I am going to call Pintech today to see if i can get a replacement, but i would love to see what caused the malfunction.

[cheapthrill]

From experiences with DIY projects, I can tell you that piezos are rather hardy components. If nothing physically broke away from the piezo, like ceramic or soldering, I can't imagine what would "kill" a piezo. I am not sure how pintech adheres wire to piezos, but maybe one of the contacts barely jostled loose, just enough to miss contact with the current.

That's a really smart idea to have a back-up method handy though.

[fignewton]

I spoke at length with Axe Grinder yesterday, about this and we are both stumped.
A couple good ideas but looks like i need to do some testing.

[Hellfire]

I spoke at length with Axe Grinder yesterday, about this and we are both stumped.
A couple good ideas but looks like i need to do some testing.
If I had to guess, I would say that the ceramic is pulling away from the brass. You may not be able to see this. Especially if it is in the very center of the piezo. Another possibility could be a very small hair line crack. Again, you may or may not see it. This is all assuming the wire are still well attached. I have only once had a piezo fail on me in the last 10 years, but it does sometimes happen.

[fignewton]

What I think is crazy is that the trigger was replaced about 4 months ago.
I think it might be time to DIY a 12 inch snare....so any takers?