Swapped magnet in G&L humbucker, now pickup doesn't work

R

Rshafer

New member
I tried to do a magnet swap in a G&L humbucker. I have swapped a magnet before in another
guitar without issue. Today however, after I did the swap, I plugged it in after and the signal is very low. It's about
a quarter of the neck pickup. Tapping the pole pieces sounds about 1/4 of the level of the neck PU as well.

1. I have checked the wire cavity and all wires to tone, volume are still soldiered fine.
2. I have checked the wires on the PU and they seem fine when comparing them to another pickup with
the tape off of the coils.
3. I've tried changing back to the original magnet, changing the orientation of the magnet just to see, all
to no avail.

I am just not sure what I have done wrong. Any suggestions appreciated.
 
Re: Swapped magnet in G&L humbucker, now pickup doesn't work

How exactly have you checked the wires on the pickup? (Visually or with a DC resistance meter?)

By wires, do you mean the output conductors or the coils?

What sort of output cable do the G&L pickups use? It is possible that you have disturbed or damaged the connection between the metal baseplate and the output cable. The solder joint may be intact but the conductors leading into the solder could be frayed.
 
Re: Swapped magnet in G&L humbucker, now pickup doesn't work

Just visually, I do not have a meter.
I took off all of the tape and Just tried to compare the output conductors with another G&L humbucker.

The first attempt, I just loosened the 4 screws to separate the coils a little to get the magnet out.
Since trying to troubleshoot this, I have lifted each coil all the way off of the base plate. I couldn't see any wire(ground) that attaches to the base plate.
I am going to have to look more that somewhere on the PU, a wire is loose. Your reply suggests that it is indeed probably a disrupted wire on the PU itself.
I know this is tougher since it is not a SD pickup, to know just how these G&L's are wired up.

I was trying to do a mag sap first before, changing to a SD.
 
Re: Swapped magnet in G&L humbucker, now pickup doesn't work

Just checked, I can see the ground is soldiered to the base plate and heads out the out put cable.
Wire to the copper winds seems solid. The wire that connect to the copper winds then connect to
output cable, and those insulated connects seem secure. So, I do not see any obvious disconnections.
I tried to take a close up pic, put I don't think anyone will be able to see it well enough.
 
Re: Swapped magnet in G&L humbucker, now pickup doesn't work

Whatever format output cable G&L uses, the the screening ground should be soldered to the metal baseplate of the humbucker somewhere on the side nearer the bobbins.

For some humbucker output cable formats, the grounding connection for one of the coils may be soldered to the same spot as the screening ground.
 
Re: Swapped magnet in G&L humbucker, now pickup doesn't work

There are no ground wires from the individual coils to the bass plate. Just one single ground wire from the output.
Then just two wires on either side of each coil that heads into the output cable. I can flip each coil all the off of the
bass plate.
 
Re: Swapped magnet in G&L humbucker, now pickup doesn't work

Which G&L guitar model do you have? Is the channel through which the pickup output cables run beneath a plastic scratchplate or through the guitar body to a control cavity on the rear? (​Here, I am trying to visualise ways in which the cables could have be kinked, strained or severed during the magnet swap.)
 
Re: Swapped magnet in G&L humbucker, now pickup doesn't work

if you haven't touched the wires at the switch solderings it might be a short cicuit problem somewhere, maybe pushing the magnet outside. DId you do that with a screwdriver for example?
 
Re: Swapped magnet in G&L humbucker, now pickup doesn't work

It's a G&L tribute invader, solid body. The output wire runs out the cavity and into a separate controls cavity.

I did use an eyeglasses screwdriver to push out the magnet.
 
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