Pot or wiring?

EagleMoon · #1 11-12-2008, 07:59 PM

I just got a 1990 Peavey Foundation that has a bit of an odd problem. It has two volumes and a tone knob. When I have both pickups on full and I turn the front pickup down a hair, it cuts in and out as I turn it. It doesn't do it at all if I turn the bridge pickup off, only when both pickups are on. Would this be likely to be the pot going bad or the wiring?

EagleMoon · #2 11-13-2008, 11:20 AM

No ideas?

After playing it a bit more, I've noticed that both pickups seem to be cutting back if the volume knobs are turned up or down when they're both on. I'd just like to know if this is more likely to be the wiring or the pots.

Fajah · #3 11-13-2008, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EagleMoon

I just got a 1990 Peavey Foundation that has a bit of an odd problem. It has two volumes and a tone knob. When I have both pickups on full and I turn the front pickup down a hair, it cuts in and out as I turn it. It doesn't do it at all if I turn the bridge pickup off, only when both pickups are on. Would this be likely to be the pot going bad or the wiring?

Sounds to me like one of the pickups has the connection reversed.

kyral210 · #4 11-15-2008, 04:22 PM

Hmmm, rewire it CORRECTLY and then see what happens

kyral210 · #5 11-15-2008, 04:24 PM

This is how your bass should be wired:

EagleMoon · #6 11-15-2008, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyral210

This is how your bass should be wired:

Even if it's a Foundation with Super Ferrites rather than a Jazz bass?

EagleMoon · #7 11-15-2008, 05:22 PM

Here are a couple of pictures of the wiring... can anyone tell what's wrong with it?

randbguy · #8 11-15-2008, 06:34 PM

The wiring looks ok to me. The bare wire should go to the same jack terminal, (sleeve) as the black. It must be or it wouldn't be working at all, ha ha. I think it must be a problem with your pots. If you have a tester, you can clip one probe to the centre of each pot (one at a time) and the high side (where the white wire is soldered) and see if there are big drops in resistance, rather than a smooth transition as you turn the pot from one stop to the other. For the tone pot use the centre and terminal the capacitor is soldered to. Then you will know for sure. I'm not very experienced at this and I my not have the terminology right, but think I have the right idea here. I wonder, what is the purpose the small capacitor between the two terminals on the volume pots?

EagleMoon · #9 11-15-2008, 06:37 PM

I don't know. I need to learn more about wiring. I have no idea what's going on. I think I'm just going to order some new pots and put them in and see if it makes any difference.

Stempelloos · #10 11-16-2008, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EagleMoon

Here are a couple of pictures of the wiring... can anyone tell what's wrong with it?

The diagram above your pictures shows no condensator on the middle
(volume) pot. My Jazz bass hasn't got one there. Sometimes condensators are placed between the volume, tonepot and switch
(to add some reverb/depth). But I've never seen one on a volumepot
of a Jazz bass. Fenders mostly have one condensator on a single tonepot.
So you could try to connect your volumepot without condensator, the way it's shown in the diagram, before putting new pots in.

Craig_S · #11 11-16-2008, 08:11 AM

Condensator?

slyjoe · #12 11-16-2008, 10:13 AM

I think he means condenser.

From Wiki: Capacitors are occasionally referred to as condensers. This term is considered archaic in English, but most other languages use a cognate of condenser to refer to a capacitor.

Stempelloos · #13 11-17-2008, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig_S

Condensator?

Right, if you can read microfarads (μF or MFD), nanofarads (nF) or picofarads on the "transistor", it's a capacitator.
The ones that have 0.2k 0.047k or 0.(0)33k as value are soldered on the tonepot and create the character of your tone in combination with the pot.
The farad ones are used to add depth and dynamic response. Those
are soldered between a switch and the volume+tonepot+capacitator.

There are sites that can explain this in more detail without the use of
archaic terminology.

EagleMoon · #14 11-21-2008, 07:13 PM

UPDATE:

Finally got my new pots in the mail from Stew Mac. Replaced them last night and what a difference! Other than the tone pot cutting out all volume when it's turned all the way down

it sounds much better. I did take off the capacitor that was on the second volume pot like Stempelloos suggested. It seems to be fine without it.