T40 Wiring Question

[knigel]

I will soon be putting an old T40 pickup into a project I am working on. There will be a P pickup, and the T40 with be at the bridge. It will be a VVT configuration.

I think this is a 4 wire set up--which is the hot, and which is the ground? Which to go together (like a DiMarzio)?

I looked at wiring diagrams, but the all have the funk switch included. While I can solder okay, wiring diagrams are a little over my head.

Thanks!

[mech]

Silver wire (shield) goes to ground
Black or green = ground
Red = center tap
White = hot

You can use black/green and red for one coil or red and white for the other coil.

mech

[knigel]

Thanks for the info!

Hmmm...So you can't wire it using both coils? Or you can, but you need a switch of some sort? I'd like it to be a humbucker, but always humbucking. I don't need a tap on it. How can I use the whole shebang?

HOWEVER, this is a monster bass, so adding something and drilling holes is no biggie. So if a tap is what I need, so be it.

I'm used to Green is ground, red is hot, black and white together (I think--like DiMarzios).

[mech]

Originally Posted by knigel

I'm used to Green is ground, red is hot, black and white together (I think--like DiMarzios).

Nope...For humbucking...Green (or black) = ground, Red is not used, White = hot. To have a single coil use a switch to ground the Red wire (center tap).

mech

[knigel]

Seems to easy--the other wires just hang around doing nothing? Green/black to ground, white to lead, the others dangle?

That's it? Sah weet!

[mech]

Originally Posted by knigel

...the other wires just hang around doing nothing?....

Put some tape or other insulating material on the end of the unused red wire so it doesn't short to something else and cause a problem.

mech

[knigel]

Here's a question maybe you can answer--

I changed the pickguard on my highway one P bass. After playing (quietly through an Acoustic guitar amp), I thought "boy, I thought this was a loud amp (gain was all the way up, master 1/2 up)" so I plugged in my tele--it blew the door off my closet.

I thought it was the pickup, so I dropped in a DiMarzio I had--volume was weird, still quiet, and the tone didn't work at all. Resoldered all my connections, still didn't work. Realized that the only thing that was different was the pickguard--changed it to the original white one--BAM blew the other closet door off.

Why does the pickguard have anything to do with the output of the bass? both are shielded, but one is shielded past the pick ups, and the new one is shielded just around the controls.

[mech]

Sounds like the shielding is shorting to one of the connections of the PU or a wire was pinched and shorted to the shield (which is ground). Got a pic?

[knigel]

I'll see what I can do. I put the old one back on and it sounds fine. Probably won't troubleshoot anything until after my gig tomorrow.