Problem with new pup wiring...

[OutsideOctaves]

Ok, I think we (my friend and I) might have screwed up the wiring a bit. (mostly me)

It's a 2 concentric pot setup, with a 3 way switch. I have the Jazz pup in the neck and the 59'/custom hybrid in the bridge.

I can get each single coil in these humbuckers to work individually, but there's an issue or two here.

When I turn every one of em off all the way, to get any 1 of them to "activate" I have to roll all 4 of them (if in center postion), or the other from the pot on just a bit to get any sound at all, then roll it to 100%.

I think it's the fact that I wired it such that the "ground" goes from the bottom pot's ground tab, straight to the top pot's ground tab, then to the base ground. Both pots are like this, except that the ground out from the base of the bridge goes to the base ground of the neck pickup, it then goes to the switch from there (and also connects the shielding tape on that same volume pot (neck). Basically:

Input ground>bridge base>neck base>switch ground.

Is that path good? Should be, I think it's just the two "ground tabs" being connected in series then going to the base ground all with one wire being bad (one wire per concentric pot that is).

The other issue is that I think I just have it wired so each humbucker is actually now just two single coils in series, and doesn't offer the humbucker path?

Basically:

for each 'bucker:
Ground, North Finish, and South Finish are twisted together, tinned, and connected to the base ground.
North start is on one pot's left tab (if looking from the back of the guitar with the tabs at the top going left to right, with right being ground, middle wiper, and left the pickup wire)
South start is on the other pot's "pickup" tab.

I wonder if just taking the south start and south finish out and "swapping" them would allow it to both humbuck if both are turned on, and get single coils if only one or the other is selected?

This is an unconventional wiring, so it's a bit of a headache.

As it is wired right now I can get signal out of all 4, and one at a time, but only if I do that trick of rolling on the others a little bit.

This also has me wondering if I have bad pots? As I can turn them all on all the way in the center position and get no signal, if I back em off a bit, I get full signal... though I dunno, bit confused... I knew this was going to be a doosy when I took this on, but ... wow.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Problem with new pup wiring...

Seems to me like you have a grounding issue on the pots.

It would help to know how the dual concentric pots are intended to function. 2 Vol, 2 Tone or some other format? e.g. M. Vol, M. Tone, coupla Spin-a-Splits.

As ever, photographs of your guitar's wiring would help.

 

[OutsideOctaves]

Re: Problem with new pup wiring...

Here's a Picture from just before the pickup wiring was done. Red tips mean Hot lead.



Notice here the single ground wire going from bottom pot to top pot to base on both concentric pots.
Sorry if it's a bit fuzzy, not THE best web cam in the world.


To each Wiper/Middle-lug I have attached the hot leads from the switch. Two leads come off of positions 1 and 3 of the 3 way toggle, each. Each Single hot lead is what I have mentioned previously to go to the wipers.

The North Start goes to the left lug of the pot nearest the base, the bottom pot if you will.

The South Start goes to the left lug of the pot nearest the "knobs", thus the "top pot" if you will.

North and South finish for each pickup (separately) are wired together along with the pickup's ground.


As far as grounds go:

I have the copper shielding taped cavities all linked to each other and soldered to the base of the neck's concentric pot.

the ground wire for each pickup is wired together with the North/South finish. Each pickup done the same.


This has yielded the 4 single-coils I wanted, but no humbucker when both north and south are activated at the same time. Is there a way to wire this that will, one: fix the grounding issue, and two give me the option of the humbucker that they were made to be?

More pictures will come when I open this back up to put in the new cts pots I ordered... I'm beginning to think these no-name pots might be complete bunk. As they turn off at 100%.... might that be because the metal shaft (the turning part of it) goes all the way through to the bottom and might be making contact with the base somehow? Or is this an effect of the wiring and bad grounding?)

Here's a pic showing how ridiculously small an area you have for base soldering:



BTW, the pictures above^ are old, I've moved the ground on the right off the switch and onto the right pot's base. Not that it improved things as far as the noise goes.

The dark solder is just bad lighting... not a bad joint. It shines . Just don't want anyone thinking "WELL there's your problem"...

Also, when I touch any of the grounded pots, switch, or bridge,(from the top "visible" parts of the components on the "front" of the guitar) I don't get a lessening of the noise. So I think at least that part of the grounding is done proper... I think.

Ok, Say I have the neck or bridge selected, If I roll on both north and south to 100% I think they are going out of phase, in that they drop bass and some mids and become "quacky", and via a conference with said friend he sas yep... out of phase... so just a tick or so down from 100% on either north or south and the bass and mids "punch" back in, so to speak. This also happens with both neck and bridge all at 100%, but roll a bit of say, south, out of each one and you get the full tone suddenly punching back in like I hit some "bass/mid" pad button so to speak.... lol. What the fudge? o.0