The Electra Forums

Re-installed my original pups after waxing, and it worked for a moment, but hasn't worked since then. Here's what's going on...

The ground wire (and white wire, they're in the sleeve together) going from the control cavity to the pick guard was tight, nearly not allowing the pick guard to sit in the guitar properly. I put the pick guard in. No signal. I tapped on the top of the rotary switch and it would work for a second and then die, did it again and the same thing, then it lost the signal for good. Which leads me to believe it's that tight wire wire that may have broken inside?

The MPC electronics work fine, just zero signal from the pickups. I checked all solder points on the switch, they look fine. So, any ideas? It's still laying apart on my workbar.

_________________
"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

I can think of two things that could be going on. 1) your five way switch is dirty and not making good contact. That both pickups are giving you this problem makes me tend to think this is what is happening. It is possible that you over heated the switch when you did the removal and replacement work. The other is the pickguard is flexing when you tap it allowing momentary contact.

You can check the pups by using your multi meter to see what resistance your are getting. You don't have to unsolder the pups. Just get on the ground and on a hot lead. The ohms won't be the same but it will diagnose the problem. If you get infinite resistance, you have a bad lead from the pup. If you get no or very low resistance the pup is shorting. If you get a normal range of resistance (close to what you would expect from the pup) then the problem is the switch.

Great advice. If it is the switch, how could I address it?

_________________
"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

Clean it with the Caig Labs Deoxit DN5 cleaner. Shoot the cleaner on the contacts and rotate the switch through all the positions several times. Also, if that does not work, you can gently (I said GENTLY) tension or push the contacts to be a little tighter - usually with a jewelers screw driver. That and cleaning it should get your switch going again.

Truthfully, they almost never go out. Most of the time people replace them because they have already been removed or they don't understand how they are wired so they put something "easy" in there like a 3-way switch. Another problem with those switches is that they need to be tight or they will flex and move (and chew out the underneath of the wood behind the switch as it spins). I have had to glue a small thin foam pad to the underside on a particularly worn piece of wood and re-install the switch. This allows it to "grip" better and won't allow the body to rotate when you are twisting the switch. The tear drop knob is now hard to find in the right size (it is a common knob and used to be widely available).

_________________
Thorny