HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

[T.M.A.]

OK, So it's pretty simple:

-I've got a humbucker that typically reads about 7. I swapped out humbuckers and let it sit around for a few months. When I put it back in today, it sounded all jangly like a single coil. I measured it on my meter and sure enough it was reading about 3.5

WUH???

Did I somehow fry half of the bucker? What gives?? Anyone have experience with this??

-I should add that I am going straight to the jack -NO vol or tone knob. The pickup is just a red wire, a white wire and a ground. I took a screwdriver and tapped on both sides of the bucker when plugged in. One side is definitely much louder when tapping on it than the other...

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

CRAP... I think I figured out what happened.

I had this pickup sitting in a cardboard box with a bunch of other pickups. They were all sticking together like one big magnetic cluster. All the pickups were varrying strengths. Some were fairly high...I think I may have demagnetized it?

 

[AlexR]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Demagnetising does not cause the K rating (or more accurately wire length) to reduce.

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Hmm... So any idea what is wrong with it then? It seems to me that if the magnet became weaker, then that would account for the drop in output, but i guess then the whole pickup would sound weaker and not just one coil. It definitely sounds like a single coil, and one side is definitely much less quiet when I tap on it...

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Demagnetising does not cause the K rating (or more accurately wire length) to reduce.

There's nothing wrong with the wire length either. Not sure what you are referring to there. Are you talking about the windings around the bobbin??

 

[AlexR]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

The K reading is more a measure of how much wire there is in the coil/pickup. You pickup now reads half what you say it used to.......demagnetisation won't cause that, but an internal short or a wire break can. If its been in a drawer for a while, a physical knock could be culprit.

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Ooooo... Nice. Ok. So how do I proceed? Take it to a tech? Send it in somewhere?? I could take it apart myself, but I may do more harm than good. I solder my own stuff and swap magnets and such, but I'm not too experienced with the insides of a pickup...

 

[AlexR]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Well, there are several things you can do. If the cover is on, use your high powered iron and solder sucker to remove the cover blobs and you can prise it off.
In the humbucker itself there will be the start and end wires soldered to the pickup lead. You can make sure these wires are making good connections.
Also tucked away (probably between the bobbins) is the series connection. This could be where the issue lies. If its touching the base/cover somehow 1 coil is shorting, and if the connection is broken then only 1 coil will be producing sound even if the other is still intact.

If all connections are ok and have electrical connectivity then something in the winding is broken. This is where only the brave venture, as you have to take a chance that the end wire of one coil is broken somewhere. If the start wire of a coil is broken not even an expert can do anything but replace it.

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

OK. So something is going on that I don't wuite understand:

When I wire a pickup straight to the jack, I solder the RED wire and the WHITE wire together and then stick them on the HOT "prong" of the jack. Then, I of course solder the GROUND to the Ground part of the jack...

I just separated the red and white wires. When I measure the WHITE wire against the ground, the pickup reads 7, which is correct. When I measure the red wire against the ground, the pickup reads 3.5. When I stick both wires together and connect them with the ground and measure them, the reading is still 3.5... Baffled :/

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

It's as if one side of the pickup is cancelling out the other, or something...? I took the pickup apart and all the connections look sound...

 

[Aceman]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Replace and move on

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

F**K. That pickup had an awesome sound... I'm truly wondering what the heck happened to it...???

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Replace and move on

and some pups cant easily be replaced.. if he really likes it and doesnt mind spending the money..get SD or some other shop to rewind/repair

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

and some pups cant easily be replaced.. if he really likes it and doesnt mind spending the money..get SD or some other shop to rewind/repair

Right on Brandenburg. Thanks for the encouragement. i think that's the route I'm gonna have to take. No one in my town will know what to do with a pickup. Gonna have to send it in somewhere. Any suggestions other than SD? Not that I have any aversion to using SD. I'm just thinking it might take a while if I go through them...

 

[IndySG]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

F**K. That pickup had an awesome sound... I'm truly wondering what the heck happened to it...???

Contact firebirdguy72, he winds pickups and can also rewind one coil if its dead... check out the problem with him, he would be the best person to help you!

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Contact firebirdguy72, he winds pickups and can also rewind one coil if its dead... check out the problem with him, he would be the best person to help you!

AWESOME!! how do i find him? I'm having some trouble searching him on the forum...

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Contact firebirdguy72, he winds pickups and can also rewind one coil if its dead... check out the problem with him, he would be the best person to help you!

Just pm'd. Thanks man...

 

[Matt_Herman]

HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

It sounds like the three wires are:
1) ground/start of first coil
2) junction of both coils for the purpose of splitting (red)
3) hot/finish (white)

Sorry if you already stated this, but did you try running the white as the hot?

 

[T.M.A.]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

It sounds like the three wires are:
1) ground/start of first coil
2) junction of both coils for the purpose of splitting (red)
3) hot/finish (white)

Sorry if you already stated this, but did you try running the white as the hot?

AAAAANNND that's why this is the best forum on the internet... I did just this and we are back to normal. Connected only the white and the ground to the jack and taped off the red. It was just a simple wiring problem!! Geez... This rocks guys. A big thanks to all who pitched in with their thoughts... PEACE>

 

[Matt_Herman]

Re: HUMBUCKER STUCK IN SINGLE COIL???

Glad it's working again!