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Author Topic: Grounding  (Read 3159 times)

kellar

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Grounding
« on: February 16, 2008, 03:17:02 PM »
Maybe someone can help me here. I just rewired my Les Paul using the vintage braided wire and I am getting no sound.
When grounding the jack from the toggle switch, I just ground it onto the ground lug on the jack, right? Or do I have to ground it back onto the back of a pot?
Also, when wiring the toggle switch I use the inside bare wire as my hot, right? I am just asking because I remember reading a post where they said that the middle black cloth wire is the hot. That doesn't make any sense, how can cloth be a hot? The outer steel braid I use to ground. I know that.
Just trying to figure out where I have gone wrong. Quite frustrated.
Calibrated IV Mules, Stormy Monday/Riff Raff

hunter

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Re: Grounding
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2008, 03:48:09 PM »
Quote from: kellar
Maybe someone can help me here. I just rewired my Les Paul using the vintage braided wire and I am getting no sound.
When grounding the jack from the toggle switch, I just ground it onto the ground lug on the jack, right? Or do I have to ground it back onto the back of a pot?
Also, when wiring the toggle switch I use the inside bare wire as my hot, right? I am just asking because I remember reading a post where they said that the middle black cloth wire is the hot. That doesn't make any sense, how can cloth be a hot? The outer steel braid I use to ground. I know that.
Just trying to figure out where I have gone wrong. Quite frustrated.


Sounds like you done everything allright, probably somewhere the braided is touching a hot on a poti or so, or there is a problem at the switch. Can you make hires pics of all the wiring and post them, maybe we can spot the issue?
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PhilKing

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Grounding
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2008, 09:36:03 PM »
You need to have a ground connection to the jack.  Usually the pots are grounded to the braid.

When they say cloth wire, it means the wire in the cloth insulation, as opposed to the outer braid.  There are 2 layers of cloth, one black, one white.
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kellar

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Grounding
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2008, 09:59:31 AM »
Well, I will tell you what I did. I can't find my mistake.
I am using the typical vintage silver braided wire.
3 way toggle switch, Les Paul.
One side of the toggle has three lugs and the other has two.
On the 2 lug side, I pinch them together and connect the inner wiring to it, so that the wire is soldered to both lugs.
On the 3 pronged side, I take two braided wires and solder one to each outside lug. I then take a black cloth grounding wire and pull out the inner wire. I solder this bare wire to the center lug.
Then, in order to ground the 3 wires that I have soldered to the toggle switch, I bunch them all together and wrap the soldered wire at the middle prong around all three. I solder this wire around them.
I run the two outer braided wires down to the pots, ground them to the back of the appropriate pot and solder them to the appropriate lug.
The braided wire soldered to the two pronged side of the switch is the hot that goes to the jack. I solder the inner wire to the hot prong on the jack and ground the outer braided shield to the grounding lug on the jack.
That is how I interpret it and it doesn't work. I have tried wiring it llike this a million times but can't get anything. I am obviously missing something. I wired it using the modern style, with a 4 conductor wire and it works fine. I am trying to get my guitar all vintage though like the simplicity of the braided wires.
Can anyone tell me where I am wrong?
Calibrated IV Mules, Stormy Monday/Riff Raff

PhilKing

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Grounding
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2008, 12:59:15 PM »
Is it a switchcraft wafer type switch or a Japanese box type?
So many pickups, so little time

kellar

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Grounding
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2008, 01:02:44 PM »
It's a switchcraft toggle.
Calibrated IV Mules, Stormy Monday/Riff Raff

kellar

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Grounding
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2008, 04:24:40 PM »
Well, rewired it again and I'm still getting nothing. I tried posting a pic but the server wouldn't let me due to size.
Does anyone have a pic they could post of the whole thing, vintage wired with the braided wire?? Toggle switch and jack included.
Calibrated IV Mules, Stormy Monday/Riff Raff