Fender Noiseless Tele wiring issues

[mr_goodbomb]

I am replacing the pickups in my Squier VTM. I put a Dimarzio FS-1 in the middle, replacing the Duncan Designed Strat pickup, and a Fender Noiseless Tele in the bridge. Problem is, I couldn't find any info or diagrams, and I think the color charts I've found on Duncan's website are wrong.

I have:

Black, white, red, green, and bare.

They claim:

- Green is hot, goes to the switch
- Black and white go together and are taped off
- Red and bare go to the ground

I tried this and get no sound. Anyone know what's up?

[Deaf Eddie]

There's no industry standard for pickup lead colors - DiMarzio color code is different from Seymour Duncan, which is different from Gibson... etc.

If you aren't following the correct color code for YOUR manufacture, you may get goofy results - or no results at all, as in your case.

The BEST method is to get the correct color code from the pickup's manufacture. If that's not possible...

Can you use a multimeter? Read THIS...

[mr_goodbomb]

I thought someone might know the color code for these pickups. I bought it used, so it didn't come with any color instructions, and apparently the Fender diagrams are pretty useless.

I have a multimeter, but it's hard to test while the pickup is installed, and if I have to completely uninstall, I'll throw the ***** out in a fit of fury.

[mr_goodbomb]

I messaged the seller. Straight-forward, very nice guy, I doubt he'd lie. Here's what he said:

"I pulled it out of a '99 Fender Dlx tele that I was told was stock & the guy had the receipt showing that its factory work even w/ the Bigsby. I also pulled the neck pickup which is a 'black dove' P90 and put antiquity's in, guitar shown below. So, I'm assuming its a fender... and that he never changed it... though there are no markings on it. But, i've also pulled a lot of other american fender pickups & seen no markings.

I tested the pickup & it was good... wanna say the DC reading was 8. something. But after I tested it I clipped & stripped the leads back because there were pretty haggard... I can't recall what was tied together... but I remember writing it down & putting that pinout in the package w/ the pickup. You got that?!? The answer is there!"

The paper he included said "red + white" and "black" were the leads used, which I assume mean red and white are ground, black is hot? The other way around? But that leaves green and bare, and I thought bare was ALWAYS ground, but this would leave it as one of the split/phase coils that gets soldered together with the other leftover and taped off.

He even included a pic of the guitar after the Bigsby was installed. Atleast that's what I assume he meant, was the Bigsby was aftermarket...

[Deaf Eddie]

The paper he included said "red + white" and "black" were the leads used, which I assume mean red and white are ground, black is hot? The other way around? But that leaves green and bare, and I thought bare was ALWAYS ground, but this would leave it as one of the split/phase coils that gets soldered together with the other leftover and taped off.

OK, how I PERSONALLY would have interpreted that would be, red and white are the series pair, soldered together and taped off UNLESS you are doing a coil shunt; Black is hot, green is ground. I ASSSUme this, as he doesn't mention "green" as "being used" - so it may seem to him that the ground lead isn't worth mentioning, because it MUST be used to get both coils to play in a four-conductor pickup.

You SHOULD be able to do the following test without uninstalling the pickup, if all four of its colored leads are in the control cavity.

Try this: twist the red and white together, and put the meter on the green and black leads. If you get something in the 8-10K range, we're cookin'... If the meter with one probe on the black AND/OR green lead and the other on the red and white twisted together reads about half that, I'd be tempted to say that was correct. That IS the Seymour Duncan color code. Black is hot, green is ground (usually), and the red and white are the series pair. The series pair are soldered together and taped off, unless you are doing some coil-shunts or series/parallel switching options. That's waht I get out of his note. However...

If the pup was a DiMarzio, it would be the black and white that were the series pair, twisted together; the red would be hot, the green would be ground. Try the above test, but twist the black and white together, and use the red and green as hot and ground.

If NEITHER of those schemes get the desired and/or expected result, then you'll have to try plan B... and, that's the document I linked to in my previous post.

Once you figure out which two leads are the series pair, which of the other you use for hot and ground would be simply a question of the pickup playing in phase with its mate.

If it's a Seymour Duncan and the black=hot/green=ground sounds out of phase with both pups on, simply swap the hot and ground to green=hot/black=ground. It is VERY COMMON for Seymour Duncan pups to be out of phase with stock Fender pups, and this "adjustment" is required to get the pair to play in phase.

If it's a DiMarzio and the red=hot/green=ground sounds out of phase with both pups on, simply swap the hot and ground to green=hot/red=ground.

NEXT: You are correct, and never let anyone tell you different: the bare wire in just about every four-conductor lead bundle is the "fifth" conductor - the independent ground/shield for the baseplate - and must ALWAYS be connected to ground and NEVER be switched, in ANY scheme.