Wiring help...sorry in advance!

[snipesace]

k, I am pretty useless when it comes to wiring, so here is what I have.  I have got a coldsweat and a nailbomb, both 4 conducter, in a gibson lp. Now, I am not doing any coil tapping, or anything, and I noticed that the person who wired the pickups in has the black soldered to the pot and the red soldered to the lug of the pot. the green and white are tapped off in the way that they come from tim. and the bare wires werent connected to anything.  I was experiencing some extra feedback, hum and other such white noise and figured that it was because the bare wire (which should be grounded) wasnt. I soldered it to the pot in the same way that the black wires are and to my surprise...even MORE feedback sensitive.  Some help please?

I should also point out that the hum is worse in the nailbomb, and that it stops when I touch the pickup itself...I can feel it vibrating untill I apply a bit of pressure then it stops vibrating and squealing.

[Twinfan]

The green/white should be soldered together, insulated and kept nowhere near anything else!  If you're getting an earth buzz, something might be loose somewhere or not grounded properly.  I'd check everything that's connected to earth to make sure it really is.  The jack socket is worth checking as they can be prone to rattling loose...

[Philly Q]

Can't give you a specific answer I'm afraid, but a couple of thoughts:

Are the pickups covered?  The bare wire in the pickup cable grounds the pickup baseplate and the metal parts in contact with it (the polepieces and cover, if there is one).  So you were right to connect the bare wires to ground.  If touching the Nailbomb still affects the hum, I think that means the pickup's metal parts may still not be grounded.

Does touching the strings or metal hardware (other than the pickups) affect the hum?  I'm wondering if the tech has disconnected the bare wire which should ground the bridge (or tailpiece) to the back of a pot.

Other than that, I can't suggest anything other than checking all the soldering - there may be a "dry joint" somewhere.

Sorry if that doesn't help!  :?

Phil