grounding issues

i did a little guitar surgery tonight. i'm working on my parts caster. SD Seth Lover (HB) in the neck, SD Quarter Pounder (SC) in the bridge. standard 3 way switch, vol, tone.

both pickups work fine.

there is a very significant hum with the SC. it is dramatically reduced when i touch the control plate. when i touch the bridge or the pickup itself, it INCREASES! never heard of this happening. what's going on?

there is zero hum coming from the HB. :)

thanks!

the wire grounding the bridge from the volume pot was broken. doh!