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neck pup suddenly died but will work if pushed down towards neck


rickc

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Hi folks: I just posted this on the "others" area too; a failed pup is a failed pup but you Les Paul guys may miss my question and may be able to help so here goes:

 

The neck pup on my 88 ES-335 suddenly failed. If I push on the neck side of the pup , rocking it towards the neck, all is OK but as soon as I let go and it levels it goes dead; simply touching the pup cover does nothing. I suspect that a wire connection has failed and the pushing of the cover momentarily reconnects the joint. With the pup out but connected, simple fiddling with the wiring does nothing so it's got to be something to do with a very mild flex of the cover that is either reconnecting or de-grounding something.

 

Before I pull the pup and remove the cover (not sure that this will help much due to potting wax) are there any words of wisdom from the pup experts?

 

This guitar is babied and pristine and was working just fine a few days earlier

 

Rick

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It's tough to trouble shoot the ES335 with most of the wiring being inside the semihollow body.

 

With the neck pup outside the cavity, can you still make the pick work by pressing on the cover? Since you fiddled around the wiring when the pup is outside the guitar body, you might be correct to assume the disconnect is within the pickup. There could be a short to ground or the solder joint between the thin coils and/or the external wiring failed...or the pup coil broke.

 

Do you have the exposed braided wiring or the PVC covered wiring? You might try to split the wire and test the pickup with an OHM meter; and if you find the coil open circuited then...

 

Once you take the cover off the pickup (just use a utility knife to cut the solder), check to see if any exposed wires that could touch the grounded cover on steel frame. You can remove the cloth tape around the coils; carefully separate the two coils and visually check for possible disconnect or short to ground. Using a meter, check both coil for continuity where they join the thin coil wiring and the outside braided wiring.

 

If you have to solder the coil wire...use lowest heat and minimize the touching of the hot soldering iron.

 

If the coil is damaged, you can just reconnect (solder and use heat shrink tubing) the new pup where you previously cut the wiring.

 

good luck!

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