Bad pot or bad solder job?

[Gtrjunior]

Last weekend I installed a brand new Gibson 500k audio pot in my LP. The other night at band practice I noticed that even with the pot rolled all the way down I still got sound coming out...not full volume but a significant amount.
I checked the wiring and it looks all good...I know that even new pots can be bad but just how likely is this?

I cant think of any reason that poor or incorrect soldering would cause this, correct? Is it possible that a stray piece of solder could have gotten into the wioer and is making internal contact?

 

[Artie]

Re: Bad pot or bad solder job?

Typically, this means you don't have either a solid ground on one lug of the pot. (The "ground" lug.) Or, the pot has dirt on it's carbon trace. Very common. Sometimes, a simple shot of Deoxit will clear this up. Alcohol or contact cleaner, if you don't have Deoxit. (The alcohol goes into the pot. Not into you.)

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Bad pot or bad solder job?

So I hit it with some contact cleaner and it cleared it right up.
I went ahead and reflowed the solder joints too...no harm in that.
Seems to be fixed now!
Thanks Artie!

 

[Artie]

Re: Bad pot or bad solder job?

Cool. You're welcome.