DiMarzio wiring help.

mrfunnyman

mrfunnyman

New member
Can anyone help me out please? Had somebody give me a set of used cream DiMarzio humbuckers for free. Their are no sku's on the pups so I can't identify them, the base plate is stamped "DiMarzio Pickups Made in the USA, the other issue is the wiring.

- Red shows hot
- White & Black are showing ground
- Green & Bare do not read anything

The bridge pickup reads 6.45K and the neck pickup reads 4.04K
 
Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

How is black and white showing ground? Are they connected to ground? Are you taking about while wired in the guitar? How are you measuring ground? That doesn’t make sense.

They should be connected together and taped off.

You resistance readings are of one of the two coils



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Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

No, white and black are not connected to either of the grounds. White and black are soldered together, green and bare are soldered together, and red is separate. When I check the output on a multimeter using red as hot and green and bare as ground, I don't get a reading on the output. When I use red as hot and white and black as ground, I get an output.
 
Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

mrfunnyman said:
When I check the output on a multimeter using red as hot and green and bare as ground, I don't get a reading on the output. When I use red as hot and white and black as ground, I get an output.
Click to expand...

You have a dead coil. Black and red is one coil, and white and green is the other.

It could be where the 4-conductor cable attaches to the coils.


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Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

No, you don't necessarily have a bad coil. And in fact that is highly unlikely.

Let's start at the most simple first:

It could be as simple as a cold solder between the black and white wires. Do you get a reading between green and white (which is connected to the black) wires?

First I would separate the black and white wires and get a reading of each individual coil with all wires disconnected (test green to white, and red to black). If you do get readings then you're ok. If you don't, let us know...there is something else we can check at that point if necessary. Even at that point it doesn't mean you have a bad coil, so keep your hopes up.
 
Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

Thanks GuitarDoc

I separated the wires on one of the pickups and ran through your test. When I test Green and White, I get a steady 4.02K output reading.
When I test Red and Black, I get a steady 4.05K output reading.

What is the next step I should take?
 
Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

GuitarDoc said:
No, you don't necessarily have a bad coil. And in fact that is highly unlikely.

Let's start at the most simple first:

It could be as simple as a cold solder between the black and white wires. Do you get a reading between green and white (which is connected to the black) wires?

First I would separate the black and white wires and get a reading of each individual coil with all wires disconnected (test green to white, and red to black). If you do get readings then you're ok. If you don't, let us know...there is something else we can check at that point if necessary. Even at that point it doesn't mean you have a bad coil, so keep your hopes up.
Click to expand...

That’s a bad coil, and I said it could be where it connects to the 4-conductor wiring. I know this because I’m a pickup maker.

He’s not getting a reading from that coil. The circuit is open.


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Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

DavidRavenMoon said:
That’s a bad coil, and I said it could be where it connects to the 4-conductor wiring. I know this because I’m a pickup maker.

He’s not getting a reading from that coil. The circuit is open.


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Click to expand...

Wow, you're a pickup maker and don't know how to test a humbuckers coils and jump to conclusions before even testing it?

No, he just replied after following my directions...both coils of his pup are fine.
 
Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

mrfunnyman said:
Thanks GuitarDoc

I separated the wires on one of the pickups and ran through your test. When I test Green and White, I get a steady 4.02K output reading.
When I test Red and Black, I get a steady 4.05K output reading.

What is the next step I should take?
Click to expand...

Your pup is fine (at least that one that you tested). Just to make sure, test the other one the same way. Then go ahead and wire it into your guitar and see how you like it.

I'm not familiar with which pup it is but it is in the range of a PAF type.
 
Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

GuitarDoc said:
Your pup is fine (at least that one that you tested). Just to make sure, test the other one the same way. Then go ahead and wire it into your guitar and see how you like it.

I'm not familiar with which pup it is but it is in the range of a PAF type.
Click to expand...
If you don't mind me asking how should I wire it up?
The schematic on the DiMarzio website says, red is hot, green & bare are ground, and white & black needs to be wired together to keep the pickup in phase. However, when I test the pickup on a multimeter with red as hot, and green & bare as ground, I don't get an output reading. When I use red as hot, and white and black as ground, with the green & bare wire not connected, I get an output reading. This is where I'm confused. It's the same for both pickups
 
Re: DiMarzio wiring help.

Yes, red is hot, green and bare go to ground, black and white are soldered together and taped off (nothing to do with phase, it's to put the coils of the pup in SERIES). Check your black and white connection making sure you have a good solder joint and that they are taped off to prevent them from touching anything else. You already tested each coil and they were fine, so if you aren't getting a reading between the red and the green wires you solder joints are bad.

What kind of a set up are you going to have? How many vol pots, how many tone pots, what type of switch?

If you will have master vol and tone:
https://docs.google.com/gview?embed...om/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2H_3G_1V_1T.pdf

If you will have separate vol and tone for each pup:
https://docs.google.com/gview?embed...om/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2H_3G_2V_2T.pdf

If you plan on having any other configuration let me know and I'll help you out.
 
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