quick 3rd wire (cover) question

i'm moving my 4-way back to 3-way.
i can't call Lindy Fralin back now as its too late in the day.

see, i thought i was sure that before i installed the 4-way switch--it was 3-way--that the cover ground was loose/not wired in at all, just taped there in the pocket. i called Lindy and told him i was going back to 3-way and asked that that cover ground could be taped off. he said no, and told several ways to ground it.

maybe he and i were on the different pages or i explained myself wrong. anyway: can the wire be taped off of does it have to be grounded (such as to the bottom of a pot)?

thanks
(hoping to do get this done tonight)

you absolutely WANT the cover grounded in every situation. Why would you want to leave it disconnected? It's the shield for the pickup, and it's worthless unless it is grounded.

you could run a seperate ground soldered to the cover, or just try and re-solder the old one.

tele-phone- the cover wire must be disconnected in order to switch the leads for the four way

you could run a seperate ground soldered to the cover, or just try and re-solder the old one.

tele-phone- the cover wire must be disconnected in order to switch the leads for the four way
ok, so it must always be grounded.
but i see where guys want to make their 3way 4way and they have to add a cover wire... was the cover grounded then?

my neck pup came with 3 wires, Nd when i had the 4 way installed i would have sworn that that EXTRA wire was not connected...just there...ready to go (4way).

i'll ground it to a pot like the others.

hmmm.

p.s. i have no idea what reference the quoted material has. but as along i do what i want right...i see no real need to know, right?

You don't have to change anything on your neck pickup. Just solder the 3rd lead to the back of a pot, and the other two as per your wiring diagram.

excerpted: ... Just solder the 3rd lead to the back of a pot, and the other two as per your wiring diagram.
well, ok i would like to understand that, i.e., 1 lead of each pup, 1 ground each...two pups = 4 wires.
if you want a 4 way you need a 3rd wire off the neck cover...i thought that was another ground not another lead? ...i guess it has to be a "lead" in order to switch to series (series, right?).

so i understand/know how to do now what i need to do. having now confirmed what Lindy said, that i heard him right. :-)

p.s. my neck pup has 1 white and 2 black (extra black off cover). (again, i'm going from 4 way to 3 way.)

so...You don't have to change anything on your neck.
i had it 3 way before with same pups and i thought for sure that extra black was neverh connected. could that have been true?

i had it 3 way before with same pups and i thought for sure that extra black was neverh connected. could that have been true?


Sure, grounded or not the pickup would still work.

Sure, grounded or not the pickup would still work.
the same as if it were (grounded)?

the same as if it were (grounded)?

It would be slightly noisier because to cover wouldn't be shielding the pickup from interference.
There are two ways to ground the cover:
1) separate wire connecting cover to ground. Works for 3-way, 4-way, and allows you to instal a phase reversal switch.
2) small jumper wire from the cover's central tab to the negative eyelet on the pickup. Only works for 3-way.

It would be slightly noisier because to cover wouldn't be shielding the pickup from interference.
There are two ways to ground the cover:
1) separate wire connecting cover to ground. Works for 3-way, 4-way, and allows you to instal a phase reversal switch.
2) small jumper wire from the cover's central tab to the negative eyelet on the pickup. Only works for 3-way.
so, my orginal pups with 2 wires each...that cover was grounded? 'cause when i wax potted it i just pried up the metal tabs and "pried" it back on.
?

thanks

so, my orginal pups with 2 wires each...that cover was grounded? 'cause when i wax potted it i just pried up the metal tabs and "pried" it back on.
?

thanks

I'd there was no 1/4" piece of solid wire holding it, then yeah it would seem it wasn't grounded. You can always check with a multimeter, you should have continuity from the cover to the bridge. Another way to check, plug it in and turn up the volume. Touch the bridge or control plate and you should hear the buzz get quieter. Now touch the cover and see if it also gets quieter.

I'd there was no 1/4" piece of solid wire holding it, then yeah it would seem it wasn't grounded. You can always check with a multimeter, you should have continuity from the cover to the bridge. Another way to check, plug it in and turn up the volume. Touch the bridge or control plate and you should hear the buzz get quieter. Now touch the cover and see if it also gets quieter.
thanks, i'll check old pup for signs of such...mb a tab was folded onto the contact or something. never had a problem....
thanks a bunch, AJ!

It would be slightly noisier because to cover wouldn't be shielding the pickup from interference.
There are two ways to ground the cover:
1) separate wire connecting cover to ground. Works for 3-way, 4-way, and allows you to instal a phase reversal switch.
2) small jumper wire from the cover's central tab to the negative eyelet on the pickup. Only works for 3-way.


+1

I had a Texas Special neck pup with 3 wires that I used with a 3 way switch on my partscaster.
Someone told me the extra wire was for a four way switch and didn't need grounding if used with a 3 way switch.
It worked and sounded good, but if I touched my metal slide to it there was popping
noise. I grounded the extra wire.

I've since gone ahead and put in a 4 way switch.

Someone told me the extra wire was for a four way switch and didn't need grounding if used with a 3 way switch.


Dead wrong

I've since gone ahead and put in a 4 way switch.

Dead on RIGHT !!

you could run a seperate ground soldered to the cover, or just try and re-solder the old one.

tele-phone- the cover wire must be disconnected in order to switch the leads for the four way

The cover wire must be disconnected from the coil negative lead when using the four way wiring, but that is only so the coil negative can be disconnected from ground for the series wiring position. In all cases, if you have a separate wire for the cover, it should be grounded so that it still acts as a shield. All cases. If your cover has no separate lead, then and only then must it be lifted from ground when using a 4-way switch.