Wiring problem

[rspst14]

Hey guys, I finally got around to putting new pickups in my Wolfgang, but I think I have a grounding problem somewhere. I rewired the whole guitar, and the volume is pretty weak. If I touch the metal on the pickup switch or bridge, it goes back to normal. There's also a slight buzz when plugged into the amp. Both pickups work, but I have the same problem with weak volume unless I'm touching something metal on the guitar. I'm really surprised that I'm having problems, all those ghetto solder jobs I did when I was first learning to solder and install pickups worked perfectly fine on the first try. Now that I cleanly rewire the guitar, I'm having problems. I resoldered some of the grounds and made sure that the bridge was grounded properly, but it's still not right. I double checked the wiring of the pots and jack, and they are wired correctly. All my solder joints look nice and shiny, any idea what the problem might be? Any way I can use my multimeter to diagnose this? Thanks.

Ryan

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Wiring problem

Hey guys, I finally got around to putting new pickups in my Wolfgang, but I think I have a grounding problem somewhere. I rewired the whole guitar, and the volume is pretty weak. If I touch the metal on the pickup switch or bridge, it goes back to normal. There's also a slight buzz when plugged into the amp. Both pickups work, but I have the same problem with weak volume unless I'm touching something metal on the guitar. I'm really surprised that I'm having problems, all those ghetto solder jobs I did when I was first learning to solder and install pickups worked perfectly fine on the first try. Now that I cleanly rewire the guitar, I'm having problems. I resoldered some of the grounds and made sure that the bridge was grounded properly, but it's still not right. I double checked the wiring of the pots and jack, and they are wired correctly. All my solder joints look nice and shiny, any idea what the problem might be? Any way I can use my multimeter to diagnose this? Thanks.

Ryan

Hello Ryan and sorry to hear about having problems...Can you tell us what pickups you have in your axe? Any switching changes etc..Changes to your original guitar's circuit? It does sound like a wiring problem or bad ground but it'd be better to give myself or others more info on how you wired your pickups..Maybe we can get you there? :wink:

John

 

[rspst14]

Re: Wiring problem

Thanks John...no wiring tricks with this guitar, just a standard 2 humbucker, 1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way switch layout. Both pickups are 4 conductor Duncans. When it didn't work the first time, I redid all the switch connections and resoldered the bridge ground. I'm still having the same problem, I only get partial volume unless I'm touching something metal when I pluck the string. I wired it up according to this diagram: http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/WDUHH3T1101

Ryan

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Wiring problem

Thanks John...no wiring tricks with this guitar, just a standard 2 humbucker, 1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way switch layout. Both pickups are 4 conductor Duncans. When it didn't work the first time, I redid all the switch connections and resoldered the bridge ground. I'm still having the same problem, I only get partial volume unless I'm touching something metal when I pluck the string. I wired it up according to this diagram: http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/WDUHH3T1101

Ryan

Ok so you have on each pickup...Red and white together....Black is your hot and green and bare wires to ground right?

John

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Wiring problem

Ok so you have on each pickup...Red and white together....Black is your hot and green and bare wires to ground right?

John

Also...Do you have eack black wire of your Duncans going to each side of your 3 way switch like the diagram and all your wiring is correct right? Hopefully we're talking Duncans or I'm screwed! :smack:

John

 

[rspst14]

Re: Wiring problem

Yeah, it's a '59/Jazz set. Everything is correct with the pickup wires themselves, at least as far as I can tell. Like I said, I completely desoldered everything and redid it, and I still had the same problem. I looked over the wiring of the pots and the jack, and I can't find anything wrong. All of my solder joints are nice and shiny, everything seems to be grounded properly. I notice the diagram on the Duncan site ( http://www.seymourduncan.com/website/support/schematics/2hb_1vol_1tone_3way.html ) is a little different from the one on the Guitar Electronics site, but I assume it's just two different ways of wiring that work the same.

Ryan

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Wiring problem

Yeah, it's a '59/Jazz set. Everything is correct with the pickup wires themselves, at least as far as I can tell. Like I said, I completely desoldered everything and redid it, and I still had the same problem. I looked over the wiring of the pots and the jack, and I can't find anything wrong. All of my solder joints are nice and shiny, everything seems to be grounded properly. I notice the diagram on the Duncan site ( http://www.seymourduncan.com/website/support/schematics/2hb_1vol_1tone_3way.html ) is a little different from the one on the Guitar Electronics site, but I assume it's just two different ways of wiring that work the same.

Ryan

If you were to hook up your ohmeter via a jack or cable plugged into your guitar and measured your pickup readings in all positions,would they reflect the correct dc resistance readings?

Like 8k in the bridge alone
Over 7K for the Jazz Neck
And around 3.5 to 4k for the middle position...

After that it has to be either a grounding issue or you're wired wrong to your switch?

John

 

[rspst14]

Re: Wiring problem

Yep, the measurements check out okay. I decided to start the wiring over from scratch, hopefully it was just something simple that I missed.

Ryan