Wiring! what did i get wrong?

[Bergs2]

OK dont judge me here - I'm something of a novice with the iron.....

Got the attached loaded scratch plate - two of the wires were twined together so i assumed that these were the output jack and the other black wire was the earth to be run to the trem block.

did thus and plugged tit in and got a right cacophony (more so that usual)

So - learned strat guys - which wires should go were? (my 'jack' 'jack' and 'earth' were clearly wrong!)

Any help or pointrers most welcome!

(as an aside - where can i get hold of that copper tin foil to line the PU cavities with?)


Thanks guys

 

[guitarchaeologist]

Not sure what's wrong, but personally, I'd trim all that excess wire, and clean things up so that wires can be easily traced.

Something more like this...

 

[The_Whale]

Do you own a multimeter?

 

[PawFurro]

Ground and hot wires mixed up maybe?

How To Properly Install An Output Jack On Your Guitar - Fralin Pickups

Installing an Output Jack is a simple but important skill to have. Read this article from Fralin Pickups to show you how to do it correctly.

www.fralinpickups.com

 

[GrooVey]

@guitarchaeologist 's pic is informative. All I can offer is the Hot comes off the middle lug of the vol pot. The Ground to the jack comes off the back of the vol pot.

 

[Kestrel]

What a mess, where do you live in the UK, I will put it right for you at no cost, you need help.

 

[Fujigen Gakki]

Strat Wiring Diagram | Seymour Duncan

The world's largest selection of free guitar wiring diagrams. Humbucker, Strat, Tele, Bass and more!

www.seymourduncan.com

 

[charlie chitlin]

Your actual soldering is not terrible, but, as said above, you can trim out a LOT of wire and make things simpler.
Nice macrame, though.
The one above is elegant...just right.

 

[Jeepocaster]

On the input jack, the tip is hot and the sleeve is ground( on the cable)

 

[Bergs2]

Hey guys - thanks for the diagrams & advice.

Can't take credit for the macrame - it came as a loaded scratchplate!

I've rewired the ground out to the volume pot (which is where it come from on my other guitar) - but it still is buzzing like a mofo - particularly on the neck PU.....

put a lil' vid of the issue here:

I'm in South West London - thanks for the offer Kestrel

 

[tubedude]

It looks wired correctly, from what is visible. The soldering is an abortion though. Likely bad contacts to the switch. Make your way to take up Kestrel on his kind offer. I'm sure a new switch or touched up solder joints will sort you out.

 

[AngelLaHash]

i would take Kestrel up on their offer
that is a mess but if it was HAIR i would give you TOP marks as its COPPER WIRE im in tears

 

[Bergs2]

Just again - for clarity - Not my wiring job!!!!

haha!

 

[GrooVey]

Whenever I find myself here, I start over. That’s because I’m not patient enough to track down the poor connections. It may be one connection, it may be a few.

Others here will help you through steps to sort the issues.

 

[Swamp_Thang]

It looks to me like you have the jack and earth wires mixed up.

 

[Bergs2]

I think you were correct Swamp - the earth (as in the one that normally would go the the trem springs/bridge) look like it (on my initial post) was coming off the tone pot - rather than the volume

I switched it around (as in so both blacks come off the volume pot) - but still no joy

(which was done before i shot the video yesterday)

That Seymour Duncan site is super useful. - thanks @Fujigen Gakki -


Any other easy test i could do to fault find?

(before I take @Kestrel up on his generous offer! )

 

[Caffiend]

Don't obsess too much with where your earth comes from. Ideally every earth point is equal although this can get complicated (see 'ground loops' - but not recommended research at this point! It's a rabbit hole). Ideally they would all be connected to one place but that can be impractical in guitar bodies.

I'd be looking at two main things. First, make sure your output and ground to the jack aren't reversed. If you find that touching metal parts or strings causes the feedback to begin building this is almost certainly the problem (note that I've found this effects digital amps much more than valve amps where it's much less noticeable). Swapping the wires at the jack to see is very much the easiest if you aren't sure.

Secondly, overall shielding. The output to the jack is relatively long and benefits from twisting for improving noise rejection. You have a very large copper ground on the back of the plate. If you have a meter, check hold one end in one place and dot the other around the copper at random to check continuity (if done with tape, some copper tapes feature an insulating adhesive which causes problems). Once happy the guard has continuity with itself, check continuity between it and the output jack.

 

[Bergs2]

Thanks for that Caffiend - so the copper backed scratchplate is an earth in itself? though it needed to be connected somewhere else?

Maybe explaing why the guy i bought this off had put a big blob of solder on it (i thought this was just general untidiness)

I think i'll get a multi-meter

 

[GrooVey]

the earth (as in the one that normally would go the the trem springs/bridge) look like it (on my initial post) was coming off the tone pot - rather than the volume

I have connected the trem claw to the tone pot in some cases. For convenience and for functionality. I had one circuit that would just not work properly with all grounds to the vol pot.

Reference the ground wire in Seymour’s diagram. Specifically from tone 2 - to tone 1 - to vol. As long as you trem claw ground gets in there somewhere you should be alright.

 

[John Hurtt]

Not sure what's wrong, but personally, I'd trim all that excess wire, and clean things up so that wires can be easily traced.

Something more like this...
View attachment 635571

Clean is good, but I would use proper Fender style color coding...white for hot and black for grounds to make that even clearer. I would also highly recommend adding a shield or using a foil backed guard as well.