Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

[AniML]

...and I'm a bit stumped.

It's a Strat pickguard with a Hot rails bridge, and stacks in the mid and neck. All I am trying to do is to take the wired pickguard as it was given to me and wire it into his guitar

The tone pots are both push-pulls, I'd guess for bridge split and phase, or perhaps maybe to switch in the bridge pup with the neck, still trying to trace it.

The main thing that is throwing me off is that vol pot lugs 2 and 3 are soldered together and go to ground. The first lug goes to the switch as you would expect and the switch connects to the tone pots as usual, except each has its own cap going from #3 to ground. I can get a signal, but the volume pot does not adjust, which makes sense with the lugs shorted together. Does having lugs 2+3 shorted give anyone any indication of any particular wiring scheme that I'm not seeing? I am thinking maybe one of the push pulls is being used as a vol/tone bypass?

My friend claims he has used it as is in a guitar it was removed from and that the volume functioned as usual, but there was no hot wire left hanging off of it anywhere to clue me in.

I am trying to take a brute force approach to just connect the hot lead from the jack to each possible connection in the circuit to try and stumble on the solution.

TIA

 

[AniML]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

The #2, #3 volume lugs are shorted to ground...

 

[trevorus]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

those volume lugs should not be connected together. The rightmost one connects to ground, center to output.

 

[AniML]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

those volume lugs should not be connected together. The rightmost one connects to ground, center to output.

I agree with you that's how it's supposed to be. My friend had it in a parts box and I was helping him swap it into his guitar. He is sure it was working as is. I'm just trying to figure out if there is some other way the output may have been connected and have a working vol pot.

The solder bridge between the lugs is definitely intentional, because #3 goes directly to the back of the pot and #2 goes to the split switch conncting to the pickup green (ground)

 

[CTN]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

maybe he accidentally soldered those two lugs together when he was removing it from the guitar?

either way, there's not much of a guessing game here. lug #2 is the hot output, regardless of what your buddy says. it's the only option.

the wire coming from the switch to lug #2 right now is a ground wire. it makes sense if its connected to lug #3 since that's also grounded.

 

[trevorus]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

But that would short all signal to ground, and not work at all. That center lug goes to the output jack.

Also make sure all pots have case grounded as well, so they all work properly.

 

[AniML]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

maybe he accidentally soldered those two lugs together when he was removing it from the guitar?

As usual, #3 is bent into and soldered directly to the pot cover.

It is possible the solder bridge between 2&3 were messy removal, but it doesnt account for the wire from the split switch ground is unmistakenly connected to vol2. I agree it makes no sense.

But that would short all signal to ground, and not work at all. That center lug goes to the output jack.

Also make sure all pots have case grounded as well, so they all work properly.

I agree output normallly goes to #2. I'm just tring to figure if this is some variation where the output goes somewhere else :banghead:. Backs of pots are grounded. Everything looks fine and normal, except for the vol lugs being soldered together

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

the split switch needs a ground connection
that could be what that is for
ignore it and do as trevorus says

 

[AniML]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

Im reaching here, but is there any way the volume could be working as a load and when open allows signal to bleed to ground

 

[big kurka]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

Ok after studying you diagram you drew, the hot lead is the center lug on the vol. pot. clean up the solder. also make sure you have a ground wire going to each pot. The sleeve of the jack goes to the ground on a pot. your push pulls are for series- parallel on the bridge and the other looks like it turn the mid pu on when in the bridge position and the push pull out, unless you drew it wrong and the wire s are coming from the bridge and the neck pu.

 

[AniML]

Re: Trying to help a friend with some odd custom wiring

I replaced the vol pot. It was just a mess. It all works, I just hope it is what he was expecting. 2nd switch is not phase BTW, it is to add in the bridge pup while in any switch position

Thanks all.