Weird switching problem - what do you think?

[dango]

Just picked up a used Brian Moore on ebay - cool guitar with 2 humbuckers and a 5 way switch (I believe it's one of the megaswitches that gives a few extra wiring combos).

I noticed immediately that the 5 way was basically acting as a 3 way - in other words, the first 2 switch positions for the bridge were identical, and the last 2 positions for the neck were identical - no sonic difference at all.
The overall sound was generally more beefy (in a good way) than another Brian Moore that I have. This was not as expected - the wiring is set up for 5 distinct tones.

To wiring looked fine - so to make sure I wasn't crazy, I took a screwdriver and touched the pole screws and lugs on the top of the bridge pickup to verify which coils were switching on and off.

As a result of the screwdriver test, suddenly all 5 positions came back on and now everything works as expected. In addition, the tones are generally a bit more twangy than they before - even the full on humbucker sounds have more twang, and possibly a tad less output. It still sounds good, but the difference is clearly there.

So my question - any idea what wiring/pickup issues created the problem in the first place? Nothing seems lose or out of place to the plain eye. I am at a loss to explain what caused the 5 way to act as a 3 way.

and the second question - I'd love to be able to select the beefier tones I was "accidentally" getting before I touched the pole pieces with the screwdriver... Gotta love those happy accidents that actually result in something useful.

Would love any help you can throw my way.

Thanks,
Dango

 

[Artie]

Re: Weird switching problem - what do you think?

I'm not familiar with BM wiring, but if they use a 5-way on dual humbuckers, a couple of the positions are probably some sort of "split". If you got "more twangy" and "less output", that sounds like what has happened. I'd say, either the "split" function was stuck on or stuck off, and you freed it up.

Although, a couple of your other clues don't quite match that scenario. I'd look for problems in and around the 5-way. Look to see if maybe one of the pups bare ground wires might be touching something it shouldn't when everything is crammed in the cavity.