'66 Mustang pickup problem

[cwilliamrose]

I noticed today that the neck pup has a wire from the coil that is apparently broken -- it's unwrapping a bit which is what caught my eye. The weird thing is it still works. How can it work with a broken wire?

It's not very strong but neither is the bridge pup. What's going on here?......Bill

[phantomman]

That the sumbitch is still workin' at all means you were born under a lucky star, Bill.

If'n it were me, I'd git hold of a GOOD pickup rebuilder (Curt Novak an' Lindy Fralin spring to mind) an' have both pickups re-wound to factory specs.

Best of luck an' HTH

[Offshore Angler]

Could be that it's a humbucker and only one coil is working.(?) But AFAIK about Mustangs which is admittedly very little, they are single coils. If it's just a loop of wire with no end its probably just a coil that slipped off the bobbin but is unbroken.

[Kap'n]

It's possible for the coil to be broken and still work weakly.

You can track down somebody to peel the pickup slightly to the break, and reattach. Some winders will do this.

[cwilliamrose]

Could be that it's a humbucker and only one coil is working.(?) But AFAIK about Mustangs which is admittedly very little, they are single coils. If it's just a loop of wire with no end its probably just a coil that slipped off the bobbin but is unbroken.

It's a SC pup and I can see the end of the wire. It kinda' looks "tapered" like it was stretched or worn........Bill

[cwilliamrose]

It's possible for the coil to be broken and still work weakly.

Other than a high resistance connection due to compromised coating, how would this happen?

You can track down somebody to peel the pickup slightly to the break, and reattach. Some winders will do this.

Since it's likely to be from the last wraps this might just work! I do wonder how far from the end the break is and if it's the only one. I'm at a loss to understand how this happened. Thanks for the suggestion......Bill

[cwilliamrose]

That the sumbitch is still workin' at all means you were born under a lucky star, Bill.

If'n it were me, I'd git hold of a GOOD pickup rebuilder (Curt Novak an' Lindy Fralin spring to mind) an' have both pickups re-wound to factory specs.

Best of luck an' HTH

Man, I hate to rewind the pups but it's better than replacing them unless I could find orginals in good condition.

If my lucky star was that good, the wire wouldn't be broken!

I'll look into the rewind as well as the repair Kap'n suggested. Thanks.....Bill

[Kap'n]

Other than a high resistance connection due to compromised coating, how would this happen?

I'm not exactly sure, but it's been known to happen. Inductance?

[phantomman]

Bill, have you measured these pickups with a DVM? I'm curious as to if'n they's any resistance difference between the "good" pickup an' the one that is seemingly comin' un-wound.

Let us know, hokay?

[old blue]

I used to have an old mustang "back in the day" . My recollection is that each pickup has 3 wires. Each pickup has a 3 way switch. 2 outputs from each coil so you can throw the 3 way switch to change phase. I'll bet 1 of the phase wires is broken, and you're not getting any output in 2 of 3 positions on the switch.

The slide switches were always a problem with these as well.

[cwilliamrose]

I didn't remember three wires from when I replaced the switches a few years back. Here's what's there;



I will get the DVM on those pups soon......Bill

[Gris]

It is no big deal to unwind a few turns from a single coil pickup to lower the output, but... it is a BIG hairy deal to try and get to where a break is. Best leave that job for a pro. I'd recommend Mr. J.M. Rolph. Best in the business and damn inexpensive too. Quirky, but heck of a nice guy. Fixed an original wide range humbucker for me a couple of years ago and charged me $15!

[cwilliamrose]

Thanks for the reference Gris, I'll contact him.

phantomman: The broken wire pup measures 217.7K, the bridge measures 5.83K.

...................Bill

[phantomman]

Thanks for the reference Gris, I'll contact him.

phantomman: The broken wire pup measures 217.7K, the bridge measures 5.83K.

...................Bill

In guitar terms, I'd say 217.7kΩ effectively renders that pickup

Repair might be possible (Gris mentioned an excellent pickup guy) an' I'd certainly consider that option first. Failing that though, a re-wind is clearly in order.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[pseudocat]

Thanks for the reference Gris, I'll contact him.

phantomman: The broken wire pup measures 217.7K, the bridge measures 5.83K.

...................Bill

217.7K? That's waaaay off. 5.83K sounds about right. You're getting a bunch of extra resistance in that broken pickup.

[Gris]

I'd put the 5.83 in the neck and tell JM to rewind the bridge to 6.4 or thereabouts...

[phantomman]

I'd put the 5.83 in the neck and tell JM to rewind the bridge to 6.4 or thereabouts...