How do I get a sustain pedal to work on a Yamaha keyboard?
Answer
Most Yamaha keyboards need the sustain pedal plugged into the Sustain or Pedal jack with the correct polarity, and many expect the pedal connected before power-on. Reseating the plug, using the Sustain jack, and power-cycling with the pedal heel down usually restores sustain.
Follow these steps
Plug into the Sustain jack
With the keyboard off, plug the pedal fully into the jack labeled Sustain, Pedal, or Foot switch—not the headphone or aux jack.
You should see: The plug seats completely in the correct pedal input.
Power on with the pedal released
Keep your foot off the pedal (heel down / not pressed), then turn the keyboard on and wait until it is ready before testing a chord.
You should see: Pressed notes sustain only while you hold the pedal, then stop when you release it.
Reverse polarity if sustain is inverted
If notes sustain when the pedal is up and cut off when pressed, flip the pedal's polarity switch if it has one, or unplug, power off, hold the pedal down, power on, then release—only if your Yamaha manual describes that calibration method.
You should see: Sustain behavior matches a normal piano pedal.
Retest with a short known-good cable path
If it still fails, try another sustain pedal or cable if available, and confirm Function or Pedal settings in the keyboard menu have sustain enabled rather than a soft or assignable foot-switch mode.
You should see: You isolate whether the pedal, cable, jack, or keyboard setting is at fault.
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Extra tips
What to look for: A jack labeled Sustain, Pedal, or Foot switch; a polarity switch on the pedal if present; and whether notes stay held only while the pedal is pressed.
Before you change anything: Confirm the keyboard model and that the pedal uses a standard 1/4-inch plug. Turn the keyboard volume down before testing. Avoid forcing a plug into MIDI, Aux, or headphone jacks. If the pedal has a polarity switch, note its current position before changing it.