Help a nOOb with multimeters

[ZoSo0789]

Ok, if you possibly read my other thread I posted a day ago or so, you know my problem. I examined all of the solder connections, and they all seem to be fine looking. The grounding solder joint on the output jack doesnt look too snazzy, but it's always worked before and I just dont think thats the problem. When the guitar went out, I was in the middle of playing and it just started crackling and popping everywhere; going in and out of sound output. I noticed my output jack was a little loose from the body and that point (fixed that now), but i just dont think that was the problem. So I'm going to check everything with a multimeter, but I dont knwo what to check where and what sort fo reading I'm supposed to get. I just started messing aorund with it (it's on 20K ohms) and readings and jumping everywhere. Like for instance I just put one end on a ground, and the other on the bridge volume input lug, and it jumped eveyrwhere from 19K to 2K and everywhere in between. Tell me multimeter use fro dummies.

ps. I tried searching, but could find quite what I was looking for.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

for your problem i would just use the continuity setting and check all the grounds, especially the jack. a loose jack means wires can twist

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

and the continuity setting would be??? possibly DC volts?

 

[tone4days]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

no, continuity is dc resistance ...you want it to be zero for a good, closed connection and 'infinite' for an open circuit

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

so just use the ohms setting like I was? if so then why was I getting variable readings everywhere? At one point, I must add, the same places did read 0, but now I can only get 'em to read the jumping variables

 

[uOpt]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

There should be a setting where a loudspeaker beeps when there's "almost no" resistance. That's what you use.

 

[Metalblaze]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

Yeah, search for a symbol, like that

and put the pointer to it. The multimeter should beep everytime it sees a short-circuit.

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

ok, and if it doesnt beep while touching one on the hot and one on the ground of the output jack, that means the output jack is the problem right?

 

[Metalblaze]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

In that case it must not beep. If it does, then the hot and the ground are shorted together and you won't have any output.

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

I'm sorry correction: putting both "pointers" onto a hot spot, it should beep, putting both onto a ground it should beep right?
So if I can find a connection that should beep but doesn't, thats the problem. By the way, I'm using the 200/.))) setting because the one above recommended worked for a second, and then got messed up and now it beeps constantly for some reason. But this setting I'm using now is acting just like the other one used to before it went haywire

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

ok, heres the problem I think:
using the above methods I posted, every hot point "beeped" when connected to another hot point. Same goes for grounds. I tried various "home base" locations, and even went straight through the circuit as the electrical signal goes. Everything checked out fine. THat is, until I plugged in a cable to see if anything different happened. Suddenly (unlike before) the hot point on the output jack will beep if touched to another hot point OR ground point. And vice versa while starting on the output jack's ground point. I even tried using the actual cable jack as my start instead of the output jack, and it yielded the same results

 

[Metalblaze]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

I'm sorry correction: putting both "pointers" onto a hot spot, it should beep, putting both onto a ground it should beep right?
So if I can find a connection that should beep but doesn't, thats the problem.

Yeah that's right.

ok, heres the problem I think:
using the above methods I posted, every hot point "beeped" when connected to another hot point. Same goes for grounds. I tried various "home base" locations, and even went straight through the circuit as the electrical signal goes. Everything checked out fine. THat is, until I plugged in a cable to see if anything different happened. Suddenly (unlike before) the hot point on the output jack will beep if touched to another hot point OR ground point. And vice versa while starting on the output jack's ground point. I even tried using the actual cable jack as my start instead of the output jack, and it yielded the same results

Check another cable first. I had way more problems due to cables rather than guitar wiring before. Many times they wear off and behave like you described, cracks all the time etc. It could have a loose connection inside its jack plug. Just a thought.

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

thats true (about the cable), but my other guitar works with the same setup (as in cable and amp), so I was assuming it wasnt the problem. Then again, never assume about guitar electronics; that seems to be the consensus since I've joined this forum. I'll go try anohter cable

 

[Metalblaze]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

If it's not working with the other cable too, you need to see if the problem appears on all the pickups. If that's so, you need to check the circuit between the switch-pots-jack.

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

If it's not working with the other cable too, you need to see if the problem appears on all the pickups. If that's so, you can check the circuit between the switch-pots-jack.

It doesnt work on any of the pickups, and I already checked everything between the switch, pots, and the jack. It all *appears* (according to the meter) to be fine, until I plug in the cable which then hot and ground respond with both hot and ground everywhere in the circuit

 

[Metalblaze]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

Hmmm, that's weird. Do you have a stereo jack to your guitar? You know like these used for active pickups (3 lugs).

edit: Is it like this

(1 long lug)

or like this?

(2 long lugs)

Edit 2: I need to go for now bro, I'll check back tomorrow.

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

it's just the one lug mono jack. Standard factory Epi stuff

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

good god, now everything beeps whenever ANY two points are touched....... this is retarded!

 

[donahue]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

Dont worry about beeps, you want zeros. Make sure your touching grounds to grounds. It should just measure zero for a good ground connection. Putting one tester on a hot and one on a ground, will give you funny readings. Just make sure you're going ground to ground.

Edit: Since I'm a toneologist now, I can start giving out advice! (joke)

 

[ZoSo0789]

Re: Help a nOOb with multimeters

Oh, yeah the grounds all give 0's. I havent checked the hots yet, but I was just assuming that they're fine as well as it's always sounded fine before. Yet it's kinda hard for me to test this thing because one second something will read and act a certain way, then 10 seconds later it'll do different without em touching anything or changing anything. I dunno, it's screwed up. I'm gonna try a different multimeter ands ee what happens. I still have a hunch that it's that **** output jack somewhere.