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Hi all. Well my first Pit Bull build and it's not good. It was playing ok and neck pick-up dropped out. Pulled everything out and checked the wiring. Put it all back together still the same problem then the bridge pick-up dropped out, and it's definately getting power because it's buzzing pretty bad, and it is wired properly. Plugged my old Freedom in and it's as quiet as a mouse and works. I'm suspecting the the 3 way switch, anyone out there had the same problem or have any ideas? Cheers
Can we see some pics of the wiring?
Its important to understand the principles of how the system works to trouble shoot it. In this case the pickups generate the electrical signal. Everything downstream of them is organising the currents flow to earth. So if you have buzz, that's something. I suspect there is an earth astray somewhere. Even a small bit of wire fuzz can short the circuit.
As sonic says. I had one stray wire filament earthing when it shouldn't in my LP build and it totally killed the neck pickup. A multimeter to look for rouge earths would by my first port of call.
Wow totally killed the pick-up........don't tell me Ive killed both pick-ups? Like will I have to replace them?Quote:
Originally Posted by Rossc0
I wouldn't be surprised if it was an earthing issue.
Not killed killed. Fine once I tracked it down.
ok cool thanks.....oh well pull it all out again lol
First thing to do is to confirm that there are no breaks of the coil windings inside the pickup itself, this can be done by using a multimeter to read the DC resistance of the pickup, if you get a reading of OL on the highest resistance range of your multimeter then that indicates that the coil-windings have gone open-circuit, also check your earth connections as well, it could also be a dirty contact in the pickup selector switch, in that case do a continuity test with your multimeter, hope that helps.
As others have said, no, its all cool. If you fix the earthing issue it'll be fine. Follow the Docs advice if you have a multimeter (if you don't then you can get them for around $15 for basic one) that will confirm that the pickups are ok.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozo
Also, I managed to fry at least one of my pots in my first build with the soldering iron. I was working through a whole bunch of different configurations and pushed it a bit too far with the heat. So if everything else checks out some new pots might be in order. They are around $3-$5 ea for basic ones so its not a huge drama if you do mess it up.
The electric gremlins always have a party once you first put it together.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozo
Don't worry there's enough of us to help. When you pull it out, take a phot of the wiring loom before you put it back in, so you can post if there's any issues.
If theres any fault in the electrics there are enough of us in Qld with PBG spare parts you can have.
The 3-way switch is certainly a good suspect, worth getting some switch cleaner and squirting it in there to see if helps. But without using a multimeter to check continuity, you'll never know for sure as the cleaner may make no difference.
Ozo - worth a photo of the wiring - some of the eagle eyed characters on the forum have picked issues from the photos. Often a small issue with the wiring (often grounding) can have bizarre impacts on the sound.
It's an ES style, Brendan, so not easy to photo without taking it all out of the body. But that's probably worth doing as getting the wiring harness into the body can cause a lot of wiring problems and broken wires.
If there's a Jaycar Electronics shop near where you live, next chance you get pop in and buy yourself a can of this stuff, it's a specially formulated electronic cleaning-solvent, I use it all the time on pots and switches, does a pretty good job:
Attachment 24194
Here's an example of a cheap digital multimeter that you can buy from Jaycar Electronics, catalogue number is QM 1517:
Attachment 24195
It features a continuity test function that produces a beeping sound if there's continuity, pretty useful to have.
On my pb bass there are 2 sets of vol and tone controls. There is an issue with the wiring schedule in so much as if you set either vol control to 0 it earths the o/p for both pups. Alternatively you may suffer an intermittent problem like I had- found the issue eventually, hadn’t soldered the output pole of the 3 way switch do-oh
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