Tele switch wiring question

jc93230 · February 6th, 2008, 04:07 AM

Hello all,

New to the board and Tele's
Just got a MIM Tele as a project guitar, and have a quick question on the switch wirng.

Why does the stock switch have the long loops of wire when going to adjacent terminals? I am going to put a 4 way in, and was wondering if there is a downside to just barewire jumpers at the locations where adjacent terminals are connected? It would seem that there is no attempts to shield the terminals at all, so I do not see what a 1/4 of wire would do.

Any thoughts

Deaf Eddie · February 6th, 2008, 12:18 PM

You can use uninsulated jumpers across adjacent lugs.

cacibi · February 6th, 2008, 12:21 PM

I think the long loops are honestly just for ease of assembly at the factory. Somebody probably brought in an efficiency engineer at one point and decided that the cost of the extra wire was worth the reduced assembly time gained by virtue of it being easier to grab and manipulate.

There shouldn't be a problem with bare wire jumpers. I have had problems in the past where - in a crowded, shielded control cavity - something would contact the shielding and ground out.

Forum member Terry Downs has a great soldering video in which he shows his method for tele switch wiring - which I won't get into out of consideration for Terry's business and sales; but it's a really elegant solution to using jumpers or long loops of wire.

Moggl · February 6th, 2008, 02:37 PM

Another way to avoid shorts is to run a piece of shrinking tube over the bare wires.

February 6th, 2008, 04:07 AM	#1 (permalink)
jc93230 TDPRI Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: California Age: 43 Posts: 12	Tele switch wiring question Hello all, New to the board and Tele's Just got a MIM Tele as a project guitar, and have a quick question on the switch wirng. Why does the stock switch have the long loops of wire when going to adjacent terminals? I am going to put a 4 way in, and was wondering if there is a downside to just barewire jumpers at the locations where adjacent terminals are connected? It would seem that there is no attempts to shield the terminals at all, so I do not see what a 1/4 of wire would do. Any thoughts

February 6th, 2008, 12:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
Deaf Eddie Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sunny San Diego, CA Posts: 1,248 14 Photos	YES... You can use uninsulated jumpers across adjacent lugs. __________________ YMMV - I been wrong before...

February 6th, 2008, 12:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
cacibi Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,740	I think the long loops are honestly just for ease of assembly at the factory. Somebody probably brought in an efficiency engineer at one point and decided that the cost of the extra wire was worth the reduced assembly time gained by virtue of it being easier to grab and manipulate. There shouldn't be a problem with bare wire jumpers. I have had problems in the past where - in a crowded, shielded control cavity - something would contact the shielding and ground out. Forum member Terry Downs has a great soldering video in which he shows his method for tele switch wiring - which I won't get into out of consideration for Terry's business and sales; but it's a really elegant solution to using jumpers or long loops of wire. __________________ www.krisgeren.com

February 6th, 2008, 02:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
Moggl Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Nürnberg, Germany Age: 42 Posts: 126	Another way to avoid shorts is to run a piece of shrinking tube over the bare wires.