Author Topic: Wiring Help, Please! (Read 5933 times)

Searcher · « **on:** June 21, 2006, 07:37:13 PM »

Hey guys, I am about to try to install my Nailbomb/Slowhand/Mother's Milk set into my Ibanez SAS36FM and I'm a bit stuck.

The current bridge humbucker has five wires coming from it, but I don't know which wire is which. The volume pot doubles as a kind of DPDT switch. But what wires would go there from the humbucker? It's the three wires going from the humbucker to the volume pot that have me stumped.

How can I identify the wires myself? I have a multimeter and know how to take readings, but I'm not exactly sure what to look for.

In case it helps, here's a pic:

Thanks in advance for any help! :)

deg0ey · « **Reply #1 on:** June 21, 2006, 08:22:55 PM »

Hmmm, Can you find a wiring diagram for it on the net? What pickup is in it currently - maybe from that we can work out what the wires are supposed to be

EDIT: There's no diagram for it on the Ibanez website - there is one for an SAS32FM, but that's HH not HSS...

hunter · « **Reply #2 on:** June 21, 2006, 08:49:46 PM »

hmm, complicated seems.

Maybe the diagrams here will help?
http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/category/wiringresources.22pickupdiagrams/

HJM · « **Reply #3 on:** June 21, 2006, 08:51:45 PM »

Chances are it's four conductor plus shield. Looks like the pot is the tap switch.

Are the red and black humbucker leads soldered to the same terminal on the switch? If so it'll be the same as BKP green and white.

Blue looks like hot so that's BKP red. And that would mean the white must be BKP black - ground.

The best thing to do is get the meter on the pickup wires. You should get two low readings - this IDs the coils, then join them up in series you get the humbucker. (hence the red and black together)

deg0ey · « **Reply #4 on:** June 21, 2006, 09:02:59 PM »

HJM: That looks like it makes sense - When the Volume put is "up" (looks up in the picture) the red and black are connected together, and when down, the red and white are connected together...That would suggest it's a basic coil split - and that your wiring suggestions are right

Searcher · « **Reply #5 on:** June 21, 2006, 09:10:26 PM »

Thanks for the responses, guys. Yeah, there aren' any wiring diagrams for this year's Ibanez range, which includes my beast with the new "True-Duo Humbucker" and switching system. I'm sick of wiring diagrams for now anyways! I think I blew my cerebral cortex.

Hayden, the Ibanez blue wire does equal the BKP red wire, as far as I know. And the fat black wire you can see on the right of the 5-way is the Ibanez bare wire. It's just soldered to the edge of the 5-way, not onto any of the tabs.

When I check the DC readings, how do I know which way is in phase? I can get the same numerical reading in two different ways, can't I? I know I can with my Nailbomb.

deg0ey · « **Reply #6 on:** June 21, 2006, 09:16:08 PM »

Oooo that in phase thing is a good question...tbh, it's probably easiest just to wire it up and see if it's in phase, and if not then you can just switch the wires over - rather than tryina work out from your multimeter

On another note, what did you pay for that set? It's pretty much what i'm after :P

Searcher · « **Reply #7 on:** June 22, 2006, 06:56:08 AM »

Well, bad news: the pickups don't fit! None of them at all. Not only are the stock single coils a narrow Gibson-spaced design where the pole-pieces are closer together, but the actual pickups won't fit into the holes in the body. I'd have to rerout the pickup cavities to get them to fit. What are the odds?!

Not only that, but now that I've put it all back to how it was originally the guitar sounds bad when the bridge humbucker is split. You can hear every tiny bump on the guitar body and it feeds back like crazy. I've rewired it three times and can't figure out what's wrong.

I'm so fricken sick of things going wrong for me, dammit. :(

HJM · « **Reply #8 on:** June 22, 2006, 07:13:28 AM »

Bad luck.....but your problem sounds like a grounding fault. Check for good connections to the coil tap switch.

As for phase - it would have been trial and error without a colour code chart!

PhilKing · « **Reply #9 on:** June 22, 2006, 12:19:39 PM »

Quote from: Searcher

Well, bad news: the pickups don't fit! None of them at all. Not only are the stock single coils a narrow Gibson-spaced design where the pole-pieces are closer together, but the actual pickups won't fit into the holes in the body. I'd have to rerout the pickup cavities to get them to fit. What are the odds?!

I had to open the single coil cavity a bit in my Ibanez body, but the humbukers fit with no problem. I put the StewMac metal single coil mount on mine (but I was already going to do that). I am also routing it for a Kahler, so making some more changes wasn;t a biggie!

Searcher · « **Reply #10 on:** June 22, 2006, 05:17:37 PM »

Yeah, I thought I had a grounding issue, but I just can't seem to trace it and fix the problem. I'll have to resolder those wires again today. I just ran out of time last night!

Hey Phil, yeah, the bridge humbucker wasn't as much of a problem. It could squeeze into the cavity ok. The mounting ring didn't fit around it, but that's not a major problem. the single coils just wouldn't go into their spaces though. And I'm not really comfortable with routing it, since I've never picked up a router in my life.

Hmm. What to do? What to do? Guess I'm gonna have to sell something!