HELP! Damaged pickup... can it be fixed?

[Sage]

I am trying to use a grinder to shave down the flanges on my pickup (Alnico II Pro) in order for it to fit into my guitar. I have accidentally brushed one of the coils against the grinder. It didn't cause much damage -- just ripped the covering tape and a little insulation off the green wire. None of the wires seems to be cut, and there looks to be no further damage.

Is this fixable? Is it even a problem? What can/should I do to reinsulate the green wire? Or am I just screwed now?

[Sage]

Re: HELP! Damaged pickup... can it be fixed?

Well, I've never replaced my own pickups before, and the pickup was $90, so I worry...

How does one do a continuity test? I assume when you say meter you mean multimeter?

[midnite_man]

Re: HELP! Damaged pickup... can it be fixed?

I'm not sure what would work best with the green wire you brushed up against, but to ensure there's no damage to any winding I'd use a multi-meter and make sure I still had continuity between the hot and ground wire-leads.
As for the green wire stripped of some of it's insulation, that is surely fixable as is the tear in the cloth tape. You can buy cloth electrical tape at a hardware store which would mean simply taking the old tape off and replacing it with new. The insulation issue might be solveable if you could slip a piece of wire-shrinkwrap over the damaged spot and take a hair dryer to it (cut a small piece of shrink-wrap to fit over the length of the damaged area, slice the s-wrap down the side and fit over the roughed-up spot hopefully overlapping itself enough to seal up good when putting the heat to it), or wrap a small piece of vinyl electrical tape over it and call it good.
But check the continuity first. The pup is no good to you if it doesn't have it. If a coil winding has been severed, that can be fixed as well.

[midnite_man]

Re: HELP! Damaged pickup... can it be fixed?

Oops, you beat me to it Lee. I was writing as you were posting.

[midnite_man]

Re: HELP! Damaged pickup... can it be fixed?

Well, I've never replaced my own pickups before, and the pickup was $90, so I worry...

How does one do a continuity test? I assume when you say meter you mean multimeter?

Anybody who does any kind of electronic work should have a good multi-meter that has a digital read-out for accuracy. They're fairly inexpensive for a good one, and can be bought at any Radio Shack, Sears-store, etc. I snagged a real nice new Craftsman meter on ebay for about $20.

[Sage]

Re: HELP! Damaged pickup... can it be fixed?

Okay, I ran a continuity test between the black (hot) and green (ground) wires, and it looks like it's okay.

Lee and midnite, thanks so much for your help, I was really panicked there for a few! If you guys ever stop by Austin, I'll buy you a beer.

[midnite_man]

Re: HELP! Damaged pickup... can it be fixed?

There you go, Sage! Just slap on a little electrical tape and you're back in business.
Next time you have to grind on a pup, you might want to wrap something around and tape everything (masking tape would be good for this) but what you'll be working on to help avoid any future damage.
Good luck!
-Bob