Dimarzio picup installation question

[kreider204]

[Edit: "pickup," obviously. I can spell - I just can't type ... ]

Please excuse the total newb questions.

This is from the installation instructions:

"Solder the red wire to the same leg of the volume pot the original pickup was connected to. Solder the green wire to ground, preferably the back of the pot. Solder the white and black wire together. You should then put a piece of tape on this solder connection, to make sure it does not make contact with any other part of the circuit."

Question: What exactly is the function of the black and white wires? And, if they're supposed to be connected to each other, why don't they just come that way, rather than needing to be soldered?

Thanks in advance.

[line6man]

Connecting the black and white wires together wires the two coils in series, as opposed to parallel.

Green is the south coil -, white is the south coil +, black is the north coil - and red is the north coil +. (*-Or- bass and treble side coils, depending on which pickup you have.)

For series wiring, green is the ground, red is the hot, and black and white connect together.

For parallel wiring, green and black are the grounds, and red and white are the hots.

[kreider204]

Gotcha, thanks!