Author Topic: Pickup wiring on a tele (Read 8660 times)

AdamB · « **on:** November 12, 2007, 05:23:33 PM »

So, my friend messed up his thinline tele when he tried to take out the neck pickup.

He just wants a sole bridge pickup, with just a volume control

So, i'm armed with my soldering iron and solder.

The bridge pickup has 2 black wires and one yellow

The input jack has a thick grey wire soldered to the back of one of the pots with a little white wire going to the middle "hub" of the pot, i'm guessing it's the tone pot.

So, i've got a loose volume pot

i can unsolder everything from the tone pot and start a fresh on this, can someone talk me through what goes where please?

Thanks

Philly Q · « **Reply #1 on:** November 12, 2007, 10:20:42 PM »

Here's a diagram for a single pickup plus volume, with no other controls. It's a humbucker, but a single-coil will be basically the same.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=1hum_1vol

Not 100% sure why the Tele pickup has 3 wires - presumably it has a metal baseplate and one of the wires (black?) is a separate ground wire for the baseplate. So basically you'll solder 2 wires (probably the 2 black ones) to the back of the volume pot, and the other (yellow) to the first tag on the pot.

The wires from the jack will connect to the volume pot as you've already described. That's it.

AdamB · « **Reply #2 on:** November 13, 2007, 09:55:01 AM »

Thanks Phil :D

AdamB · « **Reply #3 on:** November 13, 2007, 11:11:24 AM »

Could one of the black wires be from the bridge as a ground?

Does that go to the jack as a ground or to the back of the pot?

Philly Q · « **Reply #4 on:** November 13, 2007, 12:13:09 PM »

The grey wire you mentioned at the top of the thread should be used as the ground from the pot to the jack.

If one of the 3 pickup wires is connected to the metal baseplate as I guessed, then you can use either of the other 2 wires as ground.

So the wire from the baseplate, plus one other wire, go to the back of the pot. The other wire (the hot wire) goes to the first tag on the vol pot.

Is it a Fender pickup, by the way?

AdamB · « **Reply #5 on:** November 13, 2007, 08:27:09 PM »

Yeah, it's the stock pickup

I'll post a picture tomorrow morning to see if i've done it properly

I'll need to wait til tomorrow to even hear if it's right because it's an effort dragging my cab out and getting my head out of the flightcase

AdamB · « **Reply #6 on:** November 14, 2007, 11:05:29 AM »

Does this look right?

Can't try it til tonight

Philly Q · « **Reply #7 on:** November 14, 2007, 03:02:22 PM »

Is that pot the one furthest away from the switch? If so, it's really the tone control pot, but you can use it as a volume.

I'm guessing the two black wires are coming from the pickup, which looks OK. The yellow wire should be connected to the other tag, the one at the top of the picture.

The tag which the yellow wire is currently connected to should be bent so it's touching the back of the pot, then soldered there (or you could use a little piece of bare wire to connect the tag to the back of the pot).

AdamB · « **Reply #8 on:** November 14, 2007, 07:48:48 PM »

Thanks Phil :D

AdamB · « **Reply #9 on:** November 14, 2007, 09:00:20 PM »

It keeps cutting out then losing volume, then coming back on. Any suggestions?

badgermark · « **Reply #10 on:** November 14, 2007, 09:06:36 PM »

Sounds like a knackered pot. Check all your connections though, no shorting or dry solder joints.

AdamB · « **Reply #11 on:** November 14, 2007, 09:18:07 PM »

Ok that problem's sorted, now it's buzzing like it's not being earthed, but it is....

Philly Q · « **Reply #12 on:** November 14, 2007, 09:27:47 PM »

Does the buzzing stop when you touch the strings or metal parts?

AdamB · « **Reply #13 on:** November 14, 2007, 09:34:33 PM »

No, it's keeps buzzing...

Philly Q · « **Reply #14 on:** November 14, 2007, 09:40:24 PM »

Sounds like there's no connection grounding the bridge/strings. Although the metal baseplate on the pickup should take care of that (it has got a metal baseplate, hasn't it?).

Could you take a pic of the back of the pickup?

Oh, and what happened to the other pot and the switch? Did you take them out, or are they still in there?