Wiring question

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secondhand
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Wiring question

Post by secondhand » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:19 pm

Does it make a difference if the bare wire from a splitable humbucker is soldered to the volume or the tone pot?
I am trying to trouble shoot low output from the bridge and the bare wire is soldered to tone and not to volume pot. That is the only variation from the wiring diagram I have.
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HNB
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Re: Wiring question

Post by HNB » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:25 pm

As long as the tone pot is grounded it shouldn't matter.
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timtam
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Re: Wiring question

Post by timtam » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:39 pm

The only issue with grounding is whether the point to which you are running the pickup ground wire (assuming you have the correct wire) is actually grounded. The simplest way to tell that is with a multimeter - there should be zero ohms between the pot back in question and the ground tab (and rim) of the output jack. If you don't have a multimeter, the connection to the output jack should at least be visible. Either by direct wire connection of the pot back to the output jack or other grounded point, or by other means ... on the metal plate of a jag, grounding of pot bodies can be provided merely by the fact they they are connected to the same metal plate as the (grounded) output jack rim; on other guitars, there may be pickguard foil under both the output jack and the pots, that performs the same grounding function.

As long as they are both grounded, there is no difference between volume or tone pot back as a grounding point. That's why grounding location in wiring diagrams often varies.

Whether or not grounding has anything to do with your pickup issue is another matter. ;) Make sure you have the wire colours right for the brand of splittable HB you are using, so you can reconcile those with your wiring diagram (which may or may not use the same colours).
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