Quote Originally Posted by BoMo View Post
Thanks for the tip McCreed, there is copper shielding in the cavity & the pots are pretty tight in there so a good chance something is shorting. I'll check it out.
If the cavity is tight and enlarging it is not an option, you can wrap a bit of insulating tape around the pot body so it doesn't touch the sides of the cavity. It's not my favourite option as the adhesive on electrical tape always seems to fail eventually and the tape falls off.

Another thing to look for is that the pots don't turn when you tighten up the nut.
If the pot shifts inside the cavity, it can cause a solder lug to make contact with the shielding also creating a short. A set up like you have (pots through pickguard) it's best to tighten the pot nuts securely before fitting the guard into place. You can physically hold the pot in position with one hand whilst tightening the nut with the other so you know which direction the lugs are facing.