A multimeter, even one of the inexpensive Harbor Freight ones, would help here. Some coil ohm readings and continuity checks would be informative.
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First Commission Build - Is A Super-Tele A Thing?
- Thread starter TerribleTim68
- Start date
What a dead simple idea. Why didn't I think of that?
So using that method, the neck pup does nothing in any position, but the bridge pup makes beautiful noise in the two positions it should. So clearly I've got a problem somewhere.
I don't own a meter, so I'll need to get one this weekend and see if it tells me anything.
I'm just beyond frustrated because this thing is like maybe 2 hours from getting off my bench and being delivered and I'm just at a dead stop here.
I just finished an update to a buddy’s Squier Tele.
I went with a Freeway 10 way blade 3 pickups “Nashville” Tele.
Here is the pickup selection:
Attachments
I had a failed NIB set of pickups WITH THE SAME ISSUE I returned them. They would “tap test”What a dead simple idea. Why didn't I think of that?
So using that method, the neck pup does nothing in any position, but the bridge pup makes beautiful noise in the two positions it should. So clearly I've got a problem somewhere.
I don't own a meter, so I'll need to get one this weekend and see if it tells me anything.
I'm just beyond frustrated because this thing is like maybe 2 hours from getting off my bench and being delivered and I'm just at a dead stop here.
But, no sensing of strings! It was in my case both the neck and bridge : middle was good?
Drove me crazy! Took it to a friend, he (after the shock wore off from the mods) tested for continuity with a meter and they were dead.
Installed the replacements: and worked out of the gate.
We concluded that there was a short or small break in the coil winding.
I reversed the control plate , and used a fender no load pot on the tone.
That guitar was a wiring adventure with the switch wiring, and cramped space, 3 pickups , routing for the middle pickup and drilling wire channel. Full shield and the relic treatment, stripping and staining the neck with Aqua Fortis, adjustable brass nut, and full fret dress.
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Wiring issues are the worst, if it doesn't work and you've followed the diagram where do you go from there?!
If you don't have a multimeter, just solder (or sodder!) the pickup straight to the jack and see if it works that way.
If you don't have a multimeter, just solder (or sodder!) the pickup straight to the jack and see if it works that way.
So.....
I think i might have wired it backwards.
I started trying to research this last night while I couldn't sleep and I finally ran across a wiring diagram that had wires labeled with colors instead of everything being greyscale. The diagram I found shows the neck pup with a white/yellow/black and the bridge pup with a white/black. obviously the black is ground, even the greyscale diagrams showed that. But this one shows the white wires on both pups as the hot and that yellow wire as an additional ground.
I think where I went wrong was that my set the bridge has a black/yellow wire, not white. So I assumed the two yellow wires were the hots since both pups had matching yellow/black, and then the random white from the neck pup would be the additional ground. I don't think that's the case. I think I ran the neck hot to ground and the cover ground to the switch.
The wife is gonna grab me a multimeter from the big orange store today, so I'll give it a proper check later just to make sure it functions. But yeah, I think I need to swap those two wires.
Unfortunately, I'm off to the race shop to continue working on the niece's hotrod that she completely destroyed last season. We're running out of time before the new season starts and have a lot of work to do. If anyone ever says reclipping everything from the firewall forward is easy, even on a racecar, just slap them in the face.
I'll check back in later gang. Thanks for all the input!
I think i might have wired it backwards.
I started trying to research this last night while I couldn't sleep and I finally ran across a wiring diagram that had wires labeled with colors instead of everything being greyscale. The diagram I found shows the neck pup with a white/yellow/black and the bridge pup with a white/black. obviously the black is ground, even the greyscale diagrams showed that. But this one shows the white wires on both pups as the hot and that yellow wire as an additional ground.
I think where I went wrong was that my set the bridge has a black/yellow wire, not white. So I assumed the two yellow wires were the hots since both pups had matching yellow/black, and then the random white from the neck pup would be the additional ground. I don't think that's the case. I think I ran the neck hot to ground and the cover ground to the switch.
The wife is gonna grab me a multimeter from the big orange store today, so I'll give it a proper check later just to make sure it functions. But yeah, I think I need to swap those two wires.
Unfortunately, I'm off to the race shop to continue working on the niece's hotrod that she completely destroyed last season. We're running out of time before the new season starts and have a lot of work to do. If anyone ever says reclipping everything from the firewall forward is easy, even on a racecar, just slap them in the face.
I'll check back in later gang. Thanks for all the input!
The neck pickup on Teles has the cover going to ground to act as a shield.
For the next time, good to take the pickup out of the box, wire it (test lead style) to a jack and plug into an amp and see if it works as expected; and if not, if it works some other way, or you need to ask for a return (before it sits on your shelf for months...)
But a multimeter (need not be fancy and expensive) is also a handy thing to have and to check with.
But a multimeter (need not be fancy and expensive) is also a handy thing to have and to check with.
I have an output jack with alligator clip leads that I use for testing. If you have a spare jack you could make up one of those. I’d unsolder the pickup and start testing.
So I used the "wire straight to output jack" method to see if it would do anything, and all it does is create an absolute metric ton of hum thru the amp, but no sound at all.
I am going to see about buying a multimeter, but I think I've got an issue here. And of course, I purchased this set roughly 7 months ago now, so we're well past the return date.
I am going to see about buying a multimeter, but I think I've got an issue here. And of course, I purchased this set roughly 7 months ago now, so we're well past the return date.
Picked up a multimeter today. I'll be honest, I've never used one of these, so I'm a bit baffled as to what exactly I'm looking at or trying to see with it.
Using the "continuity" test it shows "open circuit" no matter what I do, on both pickups.
But I know the bridge pickup works, because I made sound out of it.
Using the "resistance" test it shows the bridge pickup with something like 9.6. But no matter what leads I use on the neck pickup it shows open circuit. So if I'm understanding this correctly, I've got a dead neck pickup here. I just don't understand why it won't read continuity on either pickup.
Using the "continuity" test it shows "open circuit" no matter what I do, on both pickups.
But I know the bridge pickup works, because I made sound out of it.
Using the "resistance" test it shows the bridge pickup with something like 9.6. But no matter what leads I use on the neck pickup it shows open circuit. So if I'm understanding this correctly, I've got a dead neck pickup here. I just don't understand why it won't read continuity on either pickup.
Because continuity is intended to check things with low resistance (wires) and the resistance of a great deal of fine wire is more than it considers connected.
Personally, I don't use or want "continuity" because I want to know the resistance anyway.
Also the tiny text (if autoranging) or dial setting that tells you 9.6 Ω or 9.6 kΩ or 9.6MΩ (just kidding, most little meters stop at 2MΩ) does matter.
kΩ is most likely for a working pickup.
Personally, I don't use or want "continuity" because I want to know the resistance anyway.
Also the tiny text (if autoranging) or dial setting that tells you 9.6 Ω or 9.6 kΩ or 9.6MΩ (just kidding, most little meters stop at 2MΩ) does matter.
kΩ is most likely for a working pickup.
One of the wires on the neck pickup should show maybe 10ohms or less, not K or M ohm, between the end you hooked to the switch and the metal cover. The other two wires I’d expect to be similar to what you said for the bridge pickup, 9.6Kohm I think? Again, the letter after the number is important. If it reads 0 or a very low resistance the pickup is shorted and OL, it can be different on some meters, means the windings are broken internally somewhere. Either means a repair, rewind or a new pickup.
Yes, continuity is looking for a very low resistance, the ground wire to pickup cover for example or the metal bridge to a ground point. The resistance through the pickup is too high for the meter to think the circuit is complete.
Yes, continuity is looking for a very low resistance, the ground wire to pickup cover for example or the metal bridge to a ground point. The resistance through the pickup is too high for the meter to think the circuit is complete.
Matt's done the Dr. McCoy "It's dead Tim" diagnosis for you - sounds like a broken coil wire. Depending on pickup construction that is either toast, or worth checking right where the wires join the leads inside, as that's a common failure point that can be resoldered if the pickup isn't epoxy-potted. If the wire broke internal to the pickup coil, it's toast in any case.
Under "getting to know your particular meter" whatever it shows when set on resistance and the leads not connected to anything is its version of completely open circuit, and when you hold the leads together that should be 0.0 Ω or awfully close (perhaps a few mΩ which is milli, not Mega - depends on the meter, but mΩ is typically about as low as a stock multimeter goes, if it even goes below just 0.1Ω.) Some can be zeroed, some you just accept that the lowest it will read is 0.1Ω or whatever it shows with the leads touching each other. In guitar work you expect an Ohm or 3 for your shielding checks, generally less than an Ohm for any given wire, 5-12 kilo-Ohms for a passive pickup coil, and pots are usually 250 kilo-Ohms to 1 Mega-Ohm, with the resistance from the outer two contacts fixed and the resistance from the center contact to either end varying.
Under "getting to know your particular meter" whatever it shows when set on resistance and the leads not connected to anything is its version of completely open circuit, and when you hold the leads together that should be 0.0 Ω or awfully close (perhaps a few mΩ which is milli, not Mega - depends on the meter, but mΩ is typically about as low as a stock multimeter goes, if it even goes below just 0.1Ω.) Some can be zeroed, some you just accept that the lowest it will read is 0.1Ω or whatever it shows with the leads touching each other. In guitar work you expect an Ohm or 3 for your shielding checks, generally less than an Ohm for any given wire, 5-12 kilo-Ohms for a passive pickup coil, and pots are usually 250 kilo-Ohms to 1 Mega-Ohm, with the resistance from the outer two contacts fixed and the resistance from the center contact to either end varying.
Yeah, like @T_Bone_TL said, where the coil connects to the leads coming off the pickup is a fail point and can be repaired if you can access it and see the disconnected coil wire. Worth a look.
Yep, I wasn’t sure if Tim’s “open” on the meter meant 0ohm or OL so just trying to explain both. Also, if or when you get a new pickup check the wires if there’s 3. Like I said above, one should have only a few ohms resistance to the metal cover, that one goes to ground. The other two should show 8-12Kohm across them. If there’s only 2 wires, one will show minimal resistance to the metal cover and you’ll need to separate that from the cover and run a separate ground wire if you want to run series. PM if you have specific questions.
Thanks gang. Yeah the open actually reads OL on the display for this meter. The somewhat lackluster instructions indicated that means open circuit.
Yessir, that’s correct. The next step would be to rewind that pickup or get another. Actually, as mentioned above, check the leads from the solder lugs going into the coil. If one of those is broken it’s potentially fixable relatively easily.
Okay, new pickup set arrived today. Immediately put the multimeter to it and the bridge pickup reads 9.96Ω, neck pickup reads 9.53Ω.
So it looks like I've got a working set now. So long as I don't somehow damage them.
The wife is returning the other set under this order, since that order was past the return date.
This is why I married her.
So it looks like I've got a working set now. So long as I don't somehow damage them.
The wife is returning the other set under this order, since that order was past the return date.
This is why I married her.
