Duncan designed pickups

[rickster4003]

Hi - I have a circa 2005 Schecter Exotic with Duncan designed pickups. The preamp is an 18V system. Bought used and worked fine for awhile. Now it is shorting out and losing signal. Wondering if anyone knows what the wires are for. Each pickup is hooked up to a green and black, but there are two other wires a white and red that are not hooked up, does anyone know what the red and white are for? Thanks!

 

[dwizum]

Typically a 4 wire humbucker pickup will have two wires for each coil - a start and a finish for each. The typical default option for most such pickups is to run the two coils in series - to do so, you put the start of one pickup at ground, connect the finish wires of the two pickups (and leave then floating, ie not connected to anything else), and the use the start wire if the second coil as hot.

A S-D pickup has black and white as one coil and red and green as the second coil. So the typical series arrangement is green as ground, red and white connected together, and black as hot. Here's a reference:

Humbucker Wire Color Translation - Guitar Pickups, Bass Pickups, Pedals

If your red and white wires are connected together, and not connected to anything else, it sounds like you have a typical series humbucker arrangement.

 

[rickster4003]

Typically a 4 wire humbucker pickup will have two wires for each coil - a start and a finish for each. The typical default option for most such pickups is to run the two coils in series - to do so, you put the start of one pickup at ground, connect the finish wires of the two pickups (and leave then floating, ie not connected to anything else), and the use the start wire if the second coil as hot.

A S-D pickup has black and white as one coil and red and green as the second coil. So the typical series arrangement is green as ground, red and white connected together, and black as hot. Here's a reference:

Humbucker Wire Color Translation - Guitar Pickups, Bass Pickups, Pedals

If your red and white wires are connected together, and not connected to anything else, it sounds like you have a typical series humbucker arrangement.

Thanks for the info! After searching that is what I am seeing perhaps my problem is the red and white are not connected.

 

[kodiakblair]

After searching that is what I am seeing perhaps my problem is the red and white are not connected.

More likely the jack socket is worn out.

Red and white normally get twisted together then fixed by a little solder. Other methods are twisted then heat shrink or twisted/ wrap of insulating tape. There's not much goes on in the control cavity would cause the wires to spring apart.

 

[rickster4003]

More likely the jack socket is worn out.

Red and white normally get twisted together then fixed by a little solder. Other methods are twisted then heat shrink or twisted/ wrap of insulating tape. There's not much goes on in the control cavity would cause the wires to spring apart.

Thanks for the help. This thing was a rats nest of wires when I got it. A few were barely hanging on to the circuit board. I was getting a signal but it was weak and shorting. I think if I can't get running I am going to get a new preamp - was thinking of a Bartolini one, comes prewired. Also a Darkglass or Aguilar under consideration.