Pickup not working

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Author Message Fingersmcoy Username: Fingersmcoy Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 5:35 pm:    I have a pair of humbucker pickups.When i switch to rhythm mode thers is no output, and there is a slight hum?I changed the toggle switch made no difference, hum still there and and no output.Please help Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 6:23 pm:    First some important questions: 1 - You have a pair of humbuckers in what guitar? 2 - Did you measure the resistance of the pickups with all pots open (on 10) and through a good cable? (the resistance of a good cable is close to 0 Ohm tip to tip and shaft to shaft, and the resistance between the shaft and tip of each jack should be endless, if not you have a short circuit in the cable). 3 - I need you to measure the resistance through the shaft of the jack through the guitar and back through the tip of the jack. Here we go: 3a) Put your meter on 20 kOhm I - What do you measure in the bridge position? II - What do you measure in the neck position? III - What do you measure in the middle position? 3b) Now put your meter on 2000 kOhm I - What do you measure in the bridge position? II - What do you measure in the neck position? III - What do you measure in the middle position? Ginger Fingersmcoy Username: Fingersmcoy Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 6:45 pm:    Just to let you know a little more info. The pickups work in the Lead position and the center position (on toggle switch)just ryth.position is not working.Thanks for all that info.ill print it out and keep it for future ref. Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 8:37 pm:    No, you THINK that both pickups are working in the middle position! Now, plug it in, put you selector switch in the middle position and touch pole pieces of the rythm pickup with the tip of a screwdriver. Then touch the pole pieces of the lead pickup. What difference do you hear? If you hear nothing through your speaker when you tap the rythm pickup, there is NO induction current through that coil at the moment. This could mean that there's a broken wire... - if you're lucky TO that coil, - if you're not so lucky IN that coil. (Then it needs rewiring ($50.-) or replacement (if you buy Mighty Might from $29.50 or so, if you buy Gibson about $150.-) Ginger Fingersmcoy Username: Fingersmcoy Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 9:29 pm:    I think your exactly right its a bad coil in the pickup.Thanks you save me a lot of B.S.Maybe ill make a donation to the site.How do you make a donation?do they take PayPal? Lespaul Username: Lespaul Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 - 9:53 pm:    Hi Fingersmcoy, If you do want to donate, go to the homepage. You'll find a link there to make a donation. Paypal will work. Paul Dave_g Username: Dave_g Registered: 01-2002 Posted on Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 8:59 am:    Fingers...before you go ahead and trash a perfectly good pickup, its more likely that the switch has a problem.... The switch is a mechanical part and it is common that the contact point inside the switch is not making contact when in the rhythm position. Mechanical parts breakdown-pickups do not develop "bad coils" on their own (it usually takes some sort of trama or a "Luthier" tinkering with a pickup that breaks a wire and causes a "bad coil". You should test the pup with an ohm meter before u panic. The switch can be replaced expensively with one of those over priced "NOS" parts or jsut buy a switch from ALLPARTS for $4. These switches can be repaired rather easily.. Just gently pull back the tabs (there are 4 of them) that hold the back of the switch to te housing. Carefully lift off the back , opening it like a book-carefull not to break any of the harness solder points. Inside the switch is a pair of brass or copper "fins" that fit on either side of the business end of the toggle. These contact points have to be clean and have a good contact surface or the switch will not work. SOmetimes they get bent (thru metal fatigue)so that in one of the positions the "fins" do not contact correctly. I use a 1500 sandpaper to remove any corrosion and then carefully bend the fins so that adequate contact is achieved. Once this is done, carefully reassemble the switch and all should work correctly. I have done this repair countless times with great success. Fingersmcoy Username: Fingersmcoy Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 10:12 am:    Ok dave thanks for reply! Ive check out the old switch that was my first guess.It looked ok.but to be on the safe side i ordered a new toggle switch and its doing the same thing. Im not 100% sure but i dont think its the switch.All i get in the rhythm position is a hum and at one point a got amplification but it was extreamly low.What would be a normal ohm rating for an the avg.humbucker be-so i can have some idea what would be a bad pickup? Dave_g Username: Dave_g Registered: 01-2002 Posted on Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 10:23 am:    Humbucker in the range of 7.5 OHM to 8.0 OHM is normal for a 'bucker, the high gain ones in the 13.0 + range... Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 3:42 pm:    That's KOhms! So 7,500-8,000 Ohm! Small detail, big difference! You wrote: "I changed the toggle switch made no difference" I assume that your new switch is free of oxidation, and that you FOLLOWED INSTRUCTIONS you can find anywhere on the web! Until now I didn't read ONE MEASUREMENT or even what type of guitar it is. What I do is giving you a programmed instruction (that's a type of instruction you use in education when you don't want to keep holding the student's hand, but let him acquire skill, so that he can perform independently in the future), but you don't follow the steps. The idea was to let you measure through the jack first and THEN, depending on the measurement results, do some measurements through the harness leads inside the guitar. You must learn to take ONE step at the time. Perhaps I should have said: "STEP 1 = buy a multimeter." It doesn't have to be an expensive one. The modern digital ones from Top Craft are often in supermarkets of German origin like Aldi/Lidl for €2.99 or something (even the battery is included). http://www.aldi.nl/OFFER_NL/OFFER_05/OFF17.HTM It is easier to take a second or third step, if the answer to my simple and direct questions are formulated as: I MEASURED ... instead of I THINK ... The first thing I thought when your first answer came, was: Oh God, he doesn't have a meter! So, I let you tap your pickups with iron while the selector switch was in the middle position, because in that position the bridge pickup will still work. But it was not what I first had in mind. In Holland we say: "Meten is weten!" (To measure is to know). So, back to STEP 1: Buy a meter! Ginger Fingersmcoy Username: Fingersmcoy Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 6:23 pm:    Yes ginger i kind of figured that you were more or less pointing me in the right direction. and yes a i have a multi meter.Im not ignoring your direction ginger just tring to gather as much info. as i can before i tackle the job. But you were first and me wuv you wong time !hahah thanks again ALL!!!! Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 6:23 am:    Allright STEP 1 accomplished. Back to step 2: The best info is in your guitar. MEASURE! And write everything you measure down on paper. Because once you have started loosening connections, your results will be gone. Report your results, and we can look what will be the third step. Ginger Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 05-2006 Posted on Saturday, November 18, 2006 - 6:14 am:    Fingers, I found your message. You move too fast! If you swap before you measure, you don't know whether the swap was necessary or not. If you swap more than 1 part at the time, you don't know what which new part caused the new measurement results. What were your results on step 2? Ginger

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