Weird Pickup Issue

C

Cap217

Active member
Gibson Les Paul Custom from the late 90s. Stock pickups. The neck pickup didnt have any sound. So I took an ohm meter and I was getting readings from 0 to 15. So I took it out and tested it and I would get the 7.5k reading mostly but then it would either jump or go down. I realized that if I messed with the braided wire at the solder point where it connects to the pickup that was the issue.

So what can be happening here? Ive never messed with a pickup in that area. If I move it around, it jumps. So I assume its either a bad solder connection or the lead wire inside is crimped or messed up. How can I fix this?
 
Kinda hard to tell given I can't see it. If your using probes instead of alligator clips the values will jump around. I'd bet you just had a bad soldier joint or possibly a bad pot. Double check your pot ground and pickup ground as sometimes pots have residual oil on them (sand down the pot case or clean it thoroughly before soldering). It would also be worth it to check your pot before you reconnect everything.
 
Chubbs said:
Kinda hard to tell given I can't see it. If your using probes instead of alligator clips the values will jump around. I'd bet you just had a bad soldier joint or possibly a bad pot. Double check your pot ground and pickup ground as sometimes pots have residual oil on them (sand down the pot case or clean it thoroughly before soldering). It would also be worth it to check your pot before you reconnect everything.
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Pickup is out of the guitar now so it’s not the pot. I am using clips.

What is at the pickup solder joint? I’ve never messed with a pickup there to know what could be the issue.
 
Seems like you need to open the pickup up and replace the braided wire. Not that difficult, but will take some skill.
 
psychodave said:
Seems like you need to open the pickup up and replace the braided wire. Not that difficult, but will take some skill.
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When you say replace the wire are you saying its messed up inside? I would have to solder the end of the coil of the wind to the wire and the ground or braided part to the back plate?
 
Cap217 said:
When you say replace the wire are you saying its messed up inside? I would have to solder the end of the coil of the wind to the wire and the ground or braided part to the back plate?
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Yeah, peel back the tape and replace the braided wire. You might have to lift one coil to get the wire out.
 
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