4-way switch problem

dobrodoc · January 26th, 2008, 11:33 PM

OK, I'm trying to put a Fender 4-way switch in a Tele. At the same time, I'm changing the neck pickup to a Strat pickup, so there's no cover to ground, right? I'm gettin a LOT of hum, the bridge pickup doesn't work (it has a metal bottom, BTW), and the neck pickup works sporadically. I'm trying to follow the diagram that Fender included with the switch, but I'm obviously doing something wrong. Can some body PLEASE tell me what, before the rest of my hair falls out???
THANKY!!!

Mark Davis · January 27th, 2008, 01:54 AM

Ira7 · January 27th, 2008, 09:05 AM

Welcome to the party:

It sounds like you're shorting out something when shoving everything back into the control cavity.

When you work the controls when they're NOT installed, out of the cavity, does eveything work? If so, you're definitely shorting. Did you shield? If so, cover the shielding in the control cavity with electrical tape.

Are you running a ground from the control plate to the bridge? I wasn't suppsed to have to because of my shielding, and the fact that the pickguard's underside is covered with foil, completing ground by touching the overlapping shielding on the bridge and control plate cavities.

But something was STILL screwed up, I was getting big time hum, so I DID in fact have to run a short wire from the control plate to the bridge (was able to hide it under the pickguard), and problem solved.

Plus, I'm talking two Bucks, so this thing should be quiet as can be.

pbenn · January 27th, 2008, 09:34 AM

Is it just me, or are Teles with correct 4-way wiring and guitar grounding more sensitive to bad ground in the house A.C.. tending to act like a receptacle tester and yielding millivolts to the strings and bridge?

Or are all Teles this way, or all single-coil bridge-grounded guitars?

January 26th, 2008, 11:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
dobrodoc Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Ware Shoals, S.C. Age: 53 Posts: 340	4-way switch problem OK, I'm trying to put a Fender 4-way switch in a Tele. At the same time, I'm changing the neck pickup to a Strat pickup, so there's no cover to ground, right? I'm gettin a LOT of hum, the bridge pickup doesn't work (it has a metal bottom, BTW), and the neck pickup works sporadically. I'm trying to follow the diagram that Fender included with the switch, but I'm obviously doing something wrong. Can some body PLEASE tell me what, before the rest of my hair falls out??? THANKY!!!

January 27th, 2008, 01:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
Mark Davis Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bakersfield Ca. Age: 57 Posts: 12,241	__________________ I'm so blind my seeing eye dog needs glasses.

January 27th, 2008, 09:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
Ira7 Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Coral Springs, FL Age: 51 Posts: 326	Welcome to the party: It sounds like you're shorting out something when shoving everything back into the control cavity. When you work the controls when they're NOT installed, out of the cavity, does eveything work? If so, you're definitely shorting. Did you shield? If so, cover the shielding in the control cavity with electrical tape. Are you running a ground from the control plate to the bridge? I wasn't suppsed to have to because of my shielding, and the fact that the pickguard's underside is covered with foil, completing ground by touching the overlapping shielding on the bridge and control plate cavities. But something was STILL screwed up, I was getting big time hum, so I DID in fact have to run a short wire from the control plate to the bridge (was able to hide it under the pickguard), and problem solved. Plus, I'm talking two Bucks, so this thing should be quiet as can be.

January 27th, 2008, 09:34 AM	#4 (permalink)
pbenn Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Age: 52 Posts: 546	Is it just me, or are Teles with correct 4-way wiring and guitar grounding more sensitive to bad ground in the house A.C.. tending to act like a receptacle tester and yielding millivolts to the strings and bridge? Or are all Teles this way, or all single-coil bridge-grounded guitars?