Diagram help: 2H 1V 1 on-on toggle (split) 1T push-pull switch coils, 3 way blade

[sparkplug]

Cool, let us know how it turns out

I plugged in my PRS, cranked the gain and treble and grabbed my loose tremolo arm and started tapping pickup coil magnets with it while adjusting switching. Coil split engaged, middle blade position, the 2 inside coils (slugs) are engaged. also, in neck or bridge blade position there is noticeable hum while coil split (facing the electronics/power stuff along the wall, that is) but when I put it in the middle position it quiets right up. Both of those coils are (probably?) North polarity, and are both slug coils (though one of them is 180 degrees of the other, hence the slugs coils being both inside coils). Does that check out...? verifying my understanding.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Did you convert the wiring color code that i used in my diagram (seymour duncan) to PRS wiring color code?

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

[No message]

 

[sparkplug]

I just popped open my wiring compartment to check out how it's wired now that I have a little more context. It's a bit tricky to make out from this pic, but the heavy black wire with the red shrink wrap tip is the neck cable, and the one with the green shrink wrap is the bridge cable. the neck cable is sending red+black to split, green to ground, and white to the blade. the bridge cable is sending green+white to split, red to ground, and black to blade.

That pic you just posted of a PRS pickup wire legend confirms my suspicion that the PRS 85/15S pickups have a South/North/South/North current pattern (going from neck towards the bridge) but have the slugs and screws reversed on the neck pup just for aesthetics. The wire colors are different on these than in the pic you posted, but regardless, this is very telling!

 

[sparkplug]

If my analysis is right, I think that this means I want to wire the neck's red+black and the bridge's green+white to my on/on switch middle poles, and wire one end of that on/on switch to the middle poles of the tone pot switch, wire the top poles (i.e. "down" position) of the tone pot switch to the blade switch and the bottom poles (i.e. "up" position) to ground. (edit: basically the hand drawn partial diagram you made for me, except different pairs of series joint wires going to the on/on switch)

That should make it so that when the coil split switch is engaged, the outside coils (Neck screw coil, south; bridge screw coil, north) will be active, and when I pull up the tone pot, the inside coils (Neck slug coil, north; bridge slug coil, south) will be active. And since I'll have opposite polarity in either mode, I'll have hum bucking in the middle blade switch position while coil splitting.

Is that right/wrong?

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

I've been looking at various wiring diagrams of PRS pups online but have not found any that match what you describe (neck White wire = hot wire, and bridge black wire = hot wire).

I will resume research in the morning.

 

[sparkplug]

I've been looking at various wiring diagrams of PRS pups online but have not found any that match

Just so you know, this is a 2020 model. thanks Jack
edit: I also got it used (technically) but in basically pristine condition and the wiring looks factory, not custom, so I don't think it was touched before.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Sparkplug,

Took me awhile but i finally found a diagram that describes the wiring color code for 85/15 pups. Now you can do the color code conversion from my earlier diagram.

 

[sparkplug]

That diagram makes great sense I think. So the neck pickup is just wired with reverse polarity out the gate.
I'm 100% likely to confuse myself trying to map that to the first diagram and verify that it's what I want... I think I'm better off thinking about this re-wiring as a modification of the existing circuit. To clarify, since the neck pickup is being run with reverse polarity (so that screw coil is north and inside/slug is south), my wiring of the tone pot will look (mostly) like the hand drawing you sent, correct? As opposed to the first diagram you sent which has the left and right lugs of the tone pot switch soldered asymmetrically instead of mirrored.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

That diagram makes great sense I think. So the neck pickup is just wired with reverse polarity out the gate.
I'm 100% likely to confuse myself trying to map that to the first diagram and verify that it's what I want... I think I'm better off thinking about this re-wiring as a modification of the existing circuit. To clarify, since the neck pickup is being run with reverse polarity (so that screw coil is north and inside/slug is south), my wiring of the tone pot will look (mostly) like the hand drawing you sent, correct? As opposed to the first diagram you sent which has the left and right lugs of the tone pot switch soldered asymmetrically instead of mirrored.

reviewing your question, will get back to you shortly

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

The wiring diagram I recently posted with the PRS wiring color code, i would only trust for the wiring color codes. But not trust for how it shows connections btw the wires being made. For example, it has a goofball error on how the bridge pickup is connected. It has the North Finish (black) and south start (red) wires being joined together. That would only make sense if South Finish (green) was being used as the Hot wire for the pup (this is an alternate connection method that I have not explained yet), but its being used as the ground. So the bridge pickup is wired so that the South coil is out of phase with the North coil. Yuck. And it has the Neck pickup wired out of phase as the default. That's weird. Usually you wire a pup to be In Phase by default, and flip it out of phase with a switch. Here, you need to use the switch just to get it from out of phase to in-phase.

Anyways, if we can at least trust the wiring color code in this diagram (fingers crossed), we are being told that for PRS 85/15S pickups, when compared to how a duncan humbucker is normally wired in series, White wire is the Hot wire (North Start), black & green are joined together for the series link pair (the 2 finish wires) and Red (south start) is the cold/ground wire.

On that basis, to get Both Outer Coils for splitcoil mode on your tonepot push-pull, you would route both Bridge and Neck pups' black/green wire pairs to ground, and for Both Inner Coils, route Bridge black/green wire pair to where Bridge hot wire connects to the 3 way blade switch, and Neck black/green wire pair to where Neck hot wire attaches to the 3 way blade switch.

 

[sparkplug]

The wiring diagram I recently posted with the PRS wiring color code, i would only trust for the wiring color codes. But not trust for how it shows connections btw the wires being made. For example, it has a goofball error on how the bridge pickup is connected. It has the North Finish (black) and south start (red) wires being joined together. That would only make sense if South Finish (green) was being used as the Hot wire for the pup (this is an alternate connection method that I have not explained yet), ...

This is how my pups are wired up off the assembly line:

I just popped open my wiring compartment to check out how it's wired now that I have a little more context. It's a bit tricky to make out from this pic, but the heavy black wire with the red shrink wrap tip is the neck cable, and the one with the green shrink wrap is the bridge cable. the neck cable is sending red+black to split, green to ground, and white to the blade. the bridge cable is sending green+white to split, red to ground, and black to blade.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

After further looking, even the Neck pickup is wired all messed up in that diagram. It has the same issue like the Bridge pickup, where one coil (North) is wired out of phase with the lead coil (south).

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

This is how my pups are wired up off the assembly line:

Ahh, i forgot that you had an earlier post that identified some wiring code logic for the prs 85/15s.

Let me refrsh myself on that. Based on what your earlier observation, i am thinking the diagram i found is errant in how it labels which wire is "North start" or "south start" etc.

Will get back to you shortly.

 

[sparkplug]

Ahh, i forgot that you had an earlier post that identified some wiring code logic for the prs 85/15s.

Let me refrsh myself on that. Based on what your earlier observation, i am thinking the diagram i found is errant in how it labels which wire is "North start" or "south start" etc.

Will get back to you shortly.

I'm thinking that it is not errant... In my current circuit, with coils split and the blade in the middle positon, the 2 inside coils (both slugs) are active, and hum cancelling.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

I'm thinking that it is not errant... In my current circuit, with coils split and the blade in the middle positon, the 2 inside coils (both slugs) are active, and hum cancelling.

Since you made some wiring changes in the last day or so, i'm not not even sure how you have jt wired at the moment.

Also, are your pickups configured so that the screw coils are the Outer coils? Edit: nevermind, i see you said inner coils are slugs in your prior post.

 

[sparkplug]

Since you made some wiring changes in the last day or so, i'm not not even sure how you have jt wired at the moment.

Also, are your pickups configured so that the screw coils are the Outer coils?

I have not made any wiring changes at all. The only mod I have ever done to wiring is I replaced the treble bleed circuit. The factory wiring for the coil split that is in there right now is very traditional in every way except for which pickup wires are going well. I'm not at all surprised at the thought of PRS doing something unconventional with the electronics... if they can improve a product without increasing cost they tend to do so regardless of whether it's the status quo.

Yes, screws are on the outside and slugs on the inside. the coil split sends the screw coils to ground it seems.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

I'm thinking that it is not errant... In my current circuit, with coils split and the blade in the middle positon, the 2 inside coils (both slugs) are active, and hum cancelling.

Well, we have discovered something new about your 85/15S pickups, at least I have For 2 of the same coil type to be hum-canceling (2 slugs or 2 screws), either one of the pups is Reverse Wind/Reverse Polarity (RWRP), or prior owner of the pups flipped the magnet in ine of the pups (and wired it in reverse). Since you said the wiring looked untouched, i think its more likely that one of the pups is RWRP.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Ok. We have enough info now. You say that the current coilsplit switch sends the wire pairs to ground, and that gives you inner coils.

So, you will move those wire pairs to the on-on switch like in my earliest diagram. Then send two other wires from the on-on to the tonepot push-pull, like in my earliesy diagram. Then to have Both Inner Coils active, you have the push-pull send each wire pair to ground. For Both Outer Coils, you will send each wire pair to where its respective pup's hot wire attaches to the blade. Because one of your 85/15S pups is RWRP, each of those coilsplit modes will be hum-canceling.

 

[sparkplug]

Awesome stuff. I think we're on the same page now. Thank you so much for helping me decipher this. I definitely have enough info to do the re-wiring and I'll post an update when I do. Hopefully I can create a diagram too to share for future googlers.