wildkat1 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Anybody who has replaced or rewired a 3 way toggle switch on an Epiphone Wildkat...I need some advice...Please???!!! I am trying to rewire my Wildkat and noticed that all 3 hot leads connecting at the switch are also spliced into 1 ground. On a Switchcraft 3 way the ground lug is on the opposite side(as opposed to the stock switch) and using vintage braided wire makes it quite difficult to fit them on the small ground lug. Can I just ground the center lead as done with my Epi LP and ground the others at the potentiometer top?? The Epiphone schematic on line dated May 2001 also shows all 3 leads grounded at the switch. I don't understand why they are grounded at both ends!!?? HELP!! I look forward to any advice...Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 If all of the ground wires are supposed to meet at a common terminal on the switch, then the answer is yes, you can run those grounds to a convenient point (e.g., back of a pot) and a single ground wire from the 3-way switch ground terminal to that common ground point. Another option is to solder about 1/2 inch of braided wire to the ground terminal on the switch and then solder all of the other ground wires to that chunk of wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildkat1 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Yorgle….thanks so much for the input. I did use your 2nd option of soldering 2 outer grounds to the 1 that is soldered to the main ground lug on the switch. I also soldered a ground at the opposite end at the pot top for these 2 wires (the official schematic shows ground at both ends of these wires). I used vintage braided wire and had to replace all three wires due to the original wire being too short to work with. So I replaced them one by one at the exact lug that the original wire was soldered. Result was no sound at all after job completed. Solder joints look good ( nice shine on them and solid hold). It is noted that the original wiring at factory did not correspond with the official Kat series wire diagram!! But it worked fine nonetheless. Not sure where the problem is...any thoughts??? Stay with me on this one..I appreciate it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I'll look at my Gibson LP and my Wildkat over lunch break and compare the switches to be sure, but if my memory is correct, the difference between Switchcraft and Epiphone 3-ways is that on the Switchcraft, the pickup hot leads and ground (ground in the middle) are on one side and the output is by itself on the opposite side. On the Epi switch- the hot leads and output (output in the middle) are all on the same side, and it's the ground, by itself, on the opposite side. You could try swapping the ground and output lugs and see what happens. Perhaps not all Epi switches are the same and yours has these lugs reversed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildkat1 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 I'll look at my Gibson LP and my Wildkat over lunch break and compare the switches to be sure, but if my memory is correct, the difference between Switchcraft and Epiphone 3-ways is that on the Switchcraft, the pickup hot leads and ground (ground in the middle) are on one side and the output is by itself on the opposite side. On the Epi switch- the hot leads and output (output in the middle) are all on the same side, and it's the ground, by itself, on the opposite side. You could try swapping the ground and output lugs and see what happens. Perhaps not all Epi switches are the same and yours has these lugs reversed. You are correct sir.....the switch I removed was Epiphone stock and had the hot leads and output on the same side. The ground lug was on the opposite side. I'm using a Switchcraft in replacing the Epi stock switch and it causes a logistical challenge with the ground lug placed between the pup hot leads. My 1st problem was getting 3 ground wires spliced together and to fit them thru the small ground lug opening. When I did this same job on my Epi LP I only grounded the output at the switch. I grounded the hot leads at the pot tops. On my Wildkat (model yr. 2000) the output lead is grounded at the switch, and the hot goes from the center lug on the switch to a volume pot and then out to the Master volume with ground on both pots. The official Epi diagram is different....hot from switch goes to "tone pot" and then to master vol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 My 2015 Wildkat appears to be wired just like shown on the official Epi diagram- the hot lead from each pickup feeds first into an individual vol pot, then to one of the outside lugs on the side of the Epi 3way. The center (output) lug of the 3way goes to the tone-master vol. pot, etc. If I understand you correctly, you had both hot leads from the pickups going directly to the output lug on the Epi 3way- then to the volume pots? That doesn't seem like it would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildkat1 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 My 2015 Wildkat appears to be wired just like shown on the official Epi diagram- the hot lead from each pickup feeds first into an individual vol pot, then to one of the outside lugs on the side of the Epi 3way. The center (output) lug of the 3way goes to the tone-master vol. pot, etc. If I understand you correctly, you had both hot leads from the pickups going directly to the output lug on the Epi 3way- then to the volume pots? That doesn't seem like it would work. Your close but not quite!! The hot leads from the outside lugs are arranged as such: One goes to a vol pot and one goes to the tone pot. leaving the center lug on the 3 way going to the other vol. pot and on to the master vol. Not like the official scheme. I reviewed photos I took prior to starting this project and sure enough that's the way it was done. I reversed the two that were backwards and now I get sound. Unfortunately there seems to be a short somewhere as it comes and goes from sound to no sound. I also rewired the switch without grounding the 2 hots and there is no resulting effect...so far!! Stay tuned....I do appreciate a 2nd pair of eyes on a different Wildkat!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Your close but not quite!! The hot leads from the outside lugs are arranged as such: One goes to a vol pot and one goes to the tone pot. leaving the center lug on the 3 way going to the other vol. pot and on to the master vol. Not like the official scheme. I reviewed photos I took prior to starting this project and sure enough that's the way it was done. I reversed the two that were backwards and now I get sound. Unfortunately there seems to be a short somewhere as it comes and goes from sound to no sound. I also rewired the switch without grounding the 2 hots and there is no resulting effect...so far!! Stay tuned....I do appreciate a 2nd pair of eyes on a different Wildkat!! That wiring makes no sense to me (especially the switch output going through one volume pot into another), but I'm not much of an expert so maybe someone else will recognize the setup and jump in here. Is there a reason to not follow the Epi schematic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildkat1 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Thanks Yorgle for your help on this one.....it doesn't make much sense to me either. I switched things around to comply with the official Epi Wildkat (Kat Series) diagram and every thing is now working fine. I believe there is a noticeable difference in the sound and it was worth it to add Switchcraft parts (3 way toggle and endpin jack). I also changed the cap to an Orange Drop .022. Can't help wonder if a .047 would have made a difference though!! All said and done ...I'm satisfied with the results and , oh yea, you apparently you don't have to ground all three wires at the switch ground lug!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorgle Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 That is good news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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