Replaced pickguard on my jazzmaster - now 2 issues

[frank grimez]

I just replaced the pickguard on my MIJ traditional ii jazzmaster and now have 2 issues:

1. When I play on neck pickup, the sound cuts in and out. It was working fine at first, but after about an hour of play, the issue started. Not sure if I messed up a wire or what. I’m not good with soldering, but I do have some deoxit on hand. Should I try using it on the wires, and if so, where exactly should a spray it?

2. I feel like the mint green pickguard is too green.. I purchased from eBay and maybe I should not have gone with the cheapest route. Can someone recommend where to order a quality looking mint green pickguard?



*not sure why I’m unable to upload the image but a picture of the guitar with new pickguard can be found here : https://imgbox.com/gsS1ioZm

[glennhl]

Look for a bad solder joint somewhere in the neck pickup wires. Just lightly tug on the solder joints to make sure they are solid. And for what it's worth, I think that pickguard color is perfect! Beautiful guitar.

[frank grimez]

Appreciate the reply.

Do you think that applying deoxit on the solder joints would help?

[timtam]

No, deoxit is a cleaner/lubricant where two surfaces are in contact/rub on each other (eg switches, pot wipers, connectors), not soldered contacts. If it's a newish guitar, the contact surfaces in pots and switches are unlikely to need it.

It's probably most likely that you have a short between bare wires (eg at terminals) or maybe a short from bare wire to any cavity shielding (if you have that). What soldering (if any) did you do to it recently ? Is the problem in both the rhythm and lead circuits, or just one ?

[frank grimez]

A few months ago, I had the pickups replaced. That’s the only soldering that has been done. The guitar had been working just fine until I switched out the pickguard today. The volume pot was a tight fit thru the guard so I had to finagle it for awhile. I wonder if i messed with the soldering joints inadvertently.

The sound cuts in and out both on the lead circuit when the neck pickup is engaged, and on the rhythm circuit.

[timtam]

If it's the neck pickup only, and in both the lead and rhythm circuits, that basically narrows the problem site to between the neck pickup and the rhythm/lead switch (schematic below). I'd look at whether any bare wire near or at that switch is not clear of/shorting with other adjacent bare wire or a switch terminal (a reason why heatshrink should be more widely used). Loss of sound suggests either a short from pickup hot to ground, or a hot or pickup ground that is barely connected. Given what triggered the problem (pickguard change) I think they're more likely culprits than a faulty pickup or r/l switch.

[Bradley-Jazz]

I agree with all of TimTam’s detailed advice - to add to that…

Are the control cavities shielded (foil or conductive paint)? If the new pickguard is just slightly different in location or shape, part of the circuit (especially the bottom or edges of the rhythm circuit assembly) could now be making contact with the guitar body in the cavity and shorting out. I upgraded my MIJ JM’s wiring with new pots and a new rhythm circuit bracket, and this happened to me.

You might see marks on the shielding where it touches. Try some insulating tape in the cavity at suspect locations and see if it helps. Then you can go with the heat shrink for a proper job if you want.

[frank grimez]

Are the control cavities shielded (foil or conductive paint)? If the new pickguard is just slightly different in location or shape, part of the circuit (especially the bottom or edges of the rhythm circuit assembly) could now be making contact with the guitar body in the cavity and shorting out. I upgraded my MIJ JM’s wiring with new pots and a new rhythm circuit bracket, and this happened to me.

You might see marks on the shielding where it touches. Try some insulating tape in the cavity at suspect locations and see if it helps. Then you can go with the heat shrink for a proper job if you want.

That’s interesting. The cavity of the body is shielded. The old pickguard was shielded too. I did not bother shielding the new pickguard because I now use hum-cancelling pickups.

[andy_tchp]

There is very little space in the cavity around the three-way switch when putting the guard back on.

Very easy for the neck pickup lug/wire to touch cavity shielding creating a short, particularly if the lugs have been 'splayed' outwards to make soldering to them easier.

[frank grimez]

I ended up removing the guard and putting back on the original pickguard. I also applied a bit of deoxit on the back of the volume pot - I read it couldn’t hurt so why not.

Now the neck pickup seems to be working fine. Not sure if it was a caught wire or something to do with the shielding on the original guard, but it sounds good now.

Also, oddly enough, I swear the volume is louder than it was before. Hah, does this make any sense? In any case, I’m glad it’s working as it should.

[mr bungle]

Re: your mint guard. I think yours just needs some fading. Previous post of mine…

I have an AO IBM 2019 that I bought mid last year and I wasn’t a huge fan of the tortoise guard.

Was tossing up either parchment or mint, but I really like this mint look that I found online.



Fender guards were talked of as being the lightest mint shade available, but it still looked too green to me on arrival. Got one for a reasonable price on Reverb.



So 6 hours in the harsh direct sun of South Island New Zealand later (we have high UV levels here due to the hole in the Ozone layer as well as the recent massive Tongan volcanic eruption) and the green was toned down to my taste.



Swapped the guards today and I’m really happy with the result. Not period correct as already mentioned on this thread, but neither is the neck radius amongst other things.

Hard to tell from the pics, but it’s a really close match to the original online sample pic.

[Soniqfreq]

Just wanted to 2nd the comments that it’s likely a rhythm pots or switch lug making contact with the body shielding. I just rewired my MIJ and I was getting no sound from the rhythm circuit. The rhythm cavity is shallower than the others and the mini pot lugs were making contact with the body shield. A strip of electrical tape lined up in the cavity took care of it.

[HNB]

I use shielding paint on most of my builds and that is a blessing and a curse. I have had a tone pot slightly too turned and a lug brushed the shielded edge and was messing up the sound, the toggle neck pickup lug slightly touch the shielded wall and cut out sound, or the rhythm lead section bottom out and kill the sound by the mini pots making contact with the shielded cavity. There isn't a lot of space around these pots, so I have learned to try to get everything as tight and away from any edges or bottoms as possible. The hardest I usually encounter is a traditional strat five way switch solder points hitting bottom in a shielded control cavity. Sometimes I put electrical tape under where it sits to act as a buffer between the switch and the bottom of the cavity.