Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

[ElUnoAstuto]

Alright, well, originally I wanted to rewire my 99 Jackson Performer(HSH, four conductor pups) for split coils. Wired the pups back in stock, just to play for a while, and now there's a god awful buz, and when I touch the screws that mount the pup to the plastic ring, it's unbearable! So I bypassed the tone/volume circuit, tinned and taped off the two extra leads, and just wired the black lead to the jack's hot and the green lead and bridge ground to the jack's ground. When I touch the strings it gets quieter, so I know the bridge is properly grounded, but when I touch those screws!:smack: It has to be the pickups, right? I can't figure it out for the life of me. :yell:

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

Alright, well, originally I wanted to rewire my 99 Jackson Performer(HSH, four conductor pups) for split coils. Wired the pups back in stock, just to play for a while, and now there's a god awful buz, and when I touch the screws that mount the pup to the plastic ring, it's unbearable!
So I bypassed the tone/volume circuit, tinned and taped off the two extra leads, and just wired the black lead to the jack's hot and the green lead and bridge ground to the jack's ground. When I touch the strings it gets quieter, so I know the bridge is properly grounded, but when I touch those screws!:smack: It has to be the pickups, right? I can't figure it out for the life of me. :yell:

Sounds like you wired the baseplate as hot....in other words the pickups are wired in teh wrong way around.... another explanation there can´t be for the height adjusting screws causing hum when touched.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

If you have a bare ground wire coming from either pickup you probably attached it to hot instead of to ground. Often there will be four colored wires and a bare ground wire for the cable of the pickup. Lew

 

[octavedoctor]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

I concur with my learned friends...

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

Me too.

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

The pups only have four wires, a big insulated black wire I assume to be the "main lead", a little red wire, a little green wire, and another little black wire, which I assume to be the "white" wire for Jackson. I tinned/taped off the little black and red, grounded the green and put the big black one to the hot side of the jack. So I should guess and check taping off the remaining 3 wires? Like ground the black and tape off red and green instead?

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

another explanation there can´t be for the height adjusting screws causing hum when touched.

Mayhaps it's just me, but I don't follow? I get the part about the baseplate as hot, but are you saying that's the only explanation for the height adjusting screws making it louder? Thanks Zerberus.:bowdown:

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

Anybody?

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

Make sure your ground wire from bridge goes to the negative side.....

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

Make sure your ground wire from bridge goes to the negative side.....

Negative side of the jack? I have the green wire from the pup and the ground wire from the bridge on the ground of the jack, and the black/red taped off, with the big insulated black lead to the hot terminal of the jack.

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

Hey Zerberus, is it my understanding that with Jackson pups the green wire is actually the hot and the black is the ground? If that's correct, then should I ground the insulated black wire and tape off the little black and red, and then use the green as the output? It's a 99 PS4 performer, so I wanna' say it's Korean?

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

Negative side of the jack? I have the green wire from the pup and the ground wire from the bridge on the ground of the jack, and the black/red taped off, with the big insulated black lead to the hot terminal of the jack.

Yep, sounds right to me.....thats if it is a SD pickup:smokin:

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

I think I solved it. I searched the forums, and Zerberus posted that most Jackson pups have the green wire as hot, so I switched the green and black wires, green to hot, black to ground. I plugged it in, touch the strings, quiet. Touch the screws, quiet. Plays good, sounds good. Went ahead and wired up the switch and everything, and I'll plug in in the morning and see if I was right. : )

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

i also have to say.... i've never had a pickup thats 100% hum free.


Has anyone?....:smack:

 

[octavedoctor]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

i also have to say.... i've never had a pickup thats 100% hum free.


Has anyone?....:smack:

no that's virtually impossible; whack the gain up high enough and anything will hum, the best you can hope flor is to minimise it to a useful level.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Isolating hum, "broken" pup?

Hey Zerberus, is it my understanding that with Jackson pups the green wire is actually the hot and the black is the ground?

This applies to Jackson USA pickups made between 1986 and 1990, but I do not know if it applies to the imports... I´d assume not, but if it worked anyway: great