Soldering a hot rail on a mustang, please help

[nyer_racke]

hi there folks . .. so i decided to install the hot rail on my mustang . . . (it will be very hard to find a vintage mini humbucke for a jag here in brazil)

my question is the hot rail comes with 4 wires...and the mustang have that phase selector . . .how should I solder it?!?!?!

i tried to follow some schematic of the site...it sounds ok . . .but when i put both pick ups at the same phase...it sounds like just the neck pick up is working (at least is what i think)
btw i installed it on bridge position . . .

what i did is the following:
red and white wires soldered together
i think the green i put where the original white one was
and the black one is where the original black on was

there is another wire (it looks like an uncovered one) and it came tied with
the black one . . so i just solder them togheter . . .

please guys, anyone can help me?!?!

[Kent S.]

Re: Soldering a hot rail on a mustang, please help

hi there folks . .. so i decided to install the hot rail on my mustang . . . (it will be very hard to find a vintage mini humbucke for a jag here in brazil)

my question is the hot rail comes with 4 wires...and the mustang have that phase selector . . .how should I solder it?!?!?!

i tried to follow some schematic of the site...it sounds ok . . .but when i put both pick ups at the same phase...it sounds like just the neck pick up is working (at least is what i think)
btw i installed it on bridge position . . .

what i did is the following:
red and white wires soldered together
i think the green i put where the original white one was
and the black one is where the original black on was

there is another wire (it looks like an uncovered one) and it came tied with
the black one . . so i just solder them togheter . . .

please guys, anyone can help me?!?!

The bare wire gets soldered to ground ... you do not solder it along with any other wire, as you would be making it hot when you reverse the phase of the pup.
Follow the phase switch diagram for a humbucker on the site.
If the bridge pup cuts out you did something wrong ... what I'm not sure.
You should have the following flow ... blach and green pup wires to phase switch ... phase switch ground wire to ground, phase switch hot wire to pup selector switch (where the bridge pup hooks).

[nyer_racke]

Re: Soldering a hot rail on a mustang, please help

thanks everyone who stop and read this, and specially for your reply Kent!

with the bare wire grounded i had the same problem . . .so i just wondered about his output and tried to install it at neck position . . .

Voilá, everything works fine now . . .
thats ok in neck position...but i really rather like him at the bridge . . .
anyone have any tips to solve this mistery?!?!?!? Kent?!?!?

[nyer_racke]

Re: Soldering a hot rail on a mustang, please help

hi there folks, problem solved!

tnx anyway

[hecktic99]

Re: Soldering a hot rail on a mustang, please help

Hello,

I'm new to this forum and I realize this post is really really old, but I came across it in my search for an answer so I figured I'd continue it.


First, let me say, thanks for the previous comments, they helped some.

Next, I was hoping someone could clear up a few things for me?

What do you do with the red and white wires after soldering them together? Do they just sit there or do you go ahead and solder them to one of the prongs on the mustang switch?

The diagram the guy posted out above about the humbucker phase shift thing shows the white and red wires doing nothing, so I assume they in fact just sit there?


Also, the other guy who started this mentioned that his Hot Rails gave out when having both pickups on but then suddenly said he fixed it without explaining how.

I havn't tried putting this in yet, but I want to know if mine is going to do the same or what he did wrong to get it that way so I don't do the same.

Anyway, basically, I just want to know if it really matters where the black and green wires solder to as in which prong on the bridge switch.

Does it matter? Or can they just be soldered anywhere on the bridge switch?
I'd assume they replace the old white and black wires from the stock pickup I had.

Sorry about all this, I'm pretty new to the technical side of guitars and when I saw the 4 wires come from the Hot Rails and I only had 2 from the standard mustang pickup, it kind of dampered my situation, heh.

I was kind of just expecting a standard white and black wire, out with the old and in with the new kind of thing.


Anyway, if someone can explain this process in greater depth, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Much thanks in advance,

~Jason

[Toenail-Tommy]

Re: Soldering a hot rail on a mustang, please help

The extra two wires, when joined, completes the full humbucker. when you break them apart, you are splitting it, and using only one coil = lower output, no hum cancel. So if you have that break over a switch, you can toggle between the two modes = flexible.

[BlueGuitar]

Re: Soldering a hot rail on a mustang, please help

What do you do with the red and white wires after soldering them together? Do they just sit there or do you go ahead and solder them to one of the prongs on the mustang switch?

>>>Wrap them with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing so that they don't short out against anything.<<<


Also, the other guy who started this mentioned that his Hot Rails gave out when having both pickups on but then suddenly said he fixed it without explaining how.

>>>Probably just a coincidence unrelated to your guitar.<<<

Anyway, basically, I just want to know if it really matters where the black and green wires solder to as in which prong on the bridge switch.
Does it matter? Or can they just be soldered anywhere on the bridge switch?
I'd assume they replace the old white and black wires from the stock pickup I had.

>>>Try replacing the old white wire with the new black wire, and the old black wire with the new green wire. Check to see that the pickup select/phase switches are working properly. If not you may need to swap the black and green wires.<<<

...

[hecktic99]

Re: Soldering a hot rail on a mustang, please help

Thanks everyone!

I'll follow those ideas tomorrow and let you know how it went!

I really appreicate the replies!

~Jason