electronics help

[gary0214]

i'm replacing the wiring and pickups in a squier classic vibe jazzmaster. i bought a prewired 920D harness with the rhythm circuit. the diagram is at: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0718/ ... 1677008640

everything _almost_ works, but when the pickup selector is in the middle position, i'm not getting any sound from the neck pickup. the bridge pickup by itself works fine, the neck pickup by itself works fine, the rhythm circuit properly sets the neck pickup on, and the 2 roller potentiometers work for volume and tone on the neck pickup.

any advice on what to try?

[gary0214]

i read some other internet postings where the same issue occurred, and the problem was the switch. i tried rewiring the switch several times with no luck...

...then i gave up on the switch and replaced it with the squier switch. everything is good now. i'm miffed.

[alexpigment]

I can't say what exactly was wrong with the switch, but I can tell you that a lot of Squier guitars have shielding paint in the cavities, and this can be especially problematic for a larger switch. A small little adjustment (or perhaps a toggle to the middle position) can mean that something is touching that shielding paint that shouldn't be. If you didn't do so during your testing, it's always good to do some testing on the pickups polepieces with a screwdriver when the pickguard is not mounted / screwed into the body. If it works there, but not when it's in the guitar, usually you can put some masking tape on a part of the shielding paint where it is likely to touch.

At any rate, the Squier switch is probably serviceable, and unless it doesn't feel sturdy or solid, just keep it the way it is and enjoy the guitar

[gibs]

Those switches need to have the contacts perfectly lined up to where they make/break contact, if those tabs got the slightest bit bent, you could definitely have messed up the middle position where only the bridge pickup is making contact and not the neck when in the middle position.

[B.T.]

I agree with all the above. I’ve had shorting out to ground due to shielding paint involved (didn’t cause a switching issue though) and the three way switch acting up (I think I got some solder somewhere that caused a short I forget).