Checking continuity in a pick-up

[Slim]

I have what may be a damaged pick-up; there's a scratch on the coils but I don't know if the insulation is off the wire where the scratch is. I have a "volt-o-meter" but I don't know if it's picking up unbroken continuity or if the uninsulated wires are touching. Is there a way to find out?

[Deaf Eddie]

Set your mulitmeter to read resistance, and put it in the 20k range
(typical pups will read in the 5k to 15k range).

Touch one probe to the ground lead, and the other to the hot lead (makes no difference which is which for this test).

No reading (open) = busted coil. Somewhere in there, the teeny-tiny wire has done broke. Pup no workie.

ZERO or very little resistance means you have a near dead short - the current can bypass all the winds of that teeny-tiny wire, and just jump from the hot to the ground. Pup no workie.

Anything MUCH less than 5K (unless you KNOW it's a low-Z pup) probably means you have a short across at least some of the coil winding - the pup MAY still work, but won't sound as loud or full.

[0le FUZZY]

...I haff used a megger inna dark but that mite be a liddo much fer yew.



...Watt Deaf Eddy said will werk fer the most part.



0le FUZZY

[Slim]

Thanks, guys. I'm going to try that out.

Fuzzy - that device is scaring me.