how can I tell if my neck pickup is functional? 1960s 365

[Sir Ricardo]

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Hello - - -

My recently purchased mid-60s 365 has no sound coming out of the neck pickup. I don't know if there is a way to see if it is functional, short of unsoldering its leads and checking for resistance. I would prefer not to do that, obviously.

Is there another way to check resistance, or any other method that would tell me if the pickup works?

thanks much -

Richard
p.s. I've plugged into both the input jacks, and have twisted the control knobs every which way....along with the 3-way switch, of course. No sound from the neck pickup.

It could also be a faulty pot / switch / couldn't it? Any thoughts on how to diagnose?

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[jdawe]

Although the tone circuitry is wired in parallel to the pickup, the tone circuitry consists of a capacitor in series with a resistor. Since DC current won't pass through the capacitor, I think if you connect an ohmmeter to the two pickup leads (with the switch in treble position) this should allow you to measure just the resistance just of the pickup.

One way to diagnose whether it is a faulty switch or pot would be to connect a wire directly from the pickup lead to the plug connector, bypassing the switch and the pots, and seeing if you get any sound. Note that on Rick-o-Sound models the mono jack has a built in switch that is supposed to connect the bass pickup to the output lead when you have a plug inserted. The problem may be with this switch -- if so, it can probably be fixed easily by bending the contact plate very slightly.

[Sir Ricardo]

Thanks for the comment / advice.

I've tried to measure the resistance across the neck pickup's leads, and don't get a reading. I get a reading (8.1k ohms) from the bridge pickup, but none from the neck pickup. This is true no matter how I have the 3-way switch positioned - I get 8.1k from the bridge in all 3 positions of the 3-way switch, and no readings from the neck pickup, regardless how the 3-way switch is oriented.

Tomorrow I will unscrew the neck pickup and lift it off the body and see if there is a loose / broken wire there. I would think that if I measured the resistance right at the pickup I would get some reading, wouldn't I, even though it is hooked up to the 3-way switch and capacitor?

thanks much -

Richard

[jdawe]

That sounds very much like a broken wire inside the p/u, although If you were doing your measurement at the far end of the lead-in wires it could be a break in one of these wires.

[sys700]

Check the wire where it meets the pickup.

[Sir Ricardo]

Check the wire where it meets the pickup.

OK, I seem to be confronting my lack of knowledge here.

I've pulled the pickup out of the cavity; here is photo. The question; where, exactly, do I put the leads of my ohmeter in order to test resistance? I've tried touching these wires in several ways, and get nothing. I do have another pickup in my "Ric" drawer, and I just tried testing it as well. I get a reading when touching the ends of its leads, but nothing when I touch the various wires on its underside.

So clearly I don't know where to touch it on the underside, in order to test it.

Can you tell me which wires / areas to touch?

thanks -

Richard

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[jdawe]

I'm hardly an expert, but here's my two cents:
I find it helps to think about the circuit you're examining. The pickup is just a long wire, looped around a gazillion times. One end of the wire is connected to ground: the outer shield of the coaxial wire attached to the pickup is soldered to the case, as is one end of the internal pickup wire. The inner wire of the co-axial lead in is soldered to the other end of the pickup wire.

Since you're trying to figure out if this circuit is broken, a good starting point is to test the lead-in wire. Put one end of your ohmmeter on the end of this wire and the other end at the point where this wire is soldered to the p/u. You should get zero resistance. Then repeat with your ohmmeter at both ends of the outer shielding. If you don't get zero resistance for both, that would suggest that the problem is with the lead-in wire. Then measure between the point where the inner wire is soldered and the case. If you get no reading (infinite resistance), that would suggest that a wire is broken inside the pickup. On the other hand, if you get zero resistance that would indicate that you have a short.

[Sir Ricardo]

I'm hardly an expert, but here's my two cents:
I find it helps to think about the circuit you're examining. The pickup is just a long wire, looped around a gazillion times. One end of the wire is connected to ground: the outer shield of the coaxial wire attached to the pickup is soldered to the case, as is one end of the internal pickup wire. The inner wire of the co-axial lead in is soldered to the other end of the pickup wire.

Since you're trying to figure out if this circuit is broken, a good starting point is to test the lead-in wire. Put one end of your ohmmeter on the end of this wire and the other end at the point where this wire is soldered to the p/u. You should get zero resistance. Then repeat with your ohmmeter at both ends of the outer shielding. If you don't get zero resistance for both, that would suggest that the problem is with the lead-in wire. Then measure between the point where the inner wire is soldered and the case. If you get no reading (infinite resistance), that would suggest that a wire is broken inside the pickup. On the other hand, if you get zero resistance that would indicate that you have a short.

I appreciate the high-level view on this.

Here is my situation now - - I've detached the pickup from its pots, so it is not hooked up to anything.

As you can see in the photo, there appear to be 3 things to touch with the ohmeter.

1) the wire on the left (which is soldered/attached to the case of the pickup)
2) the wire on the right
3) the little soldery thing in the middle

Here are the ohm readings
If I touch 1+2, I get "0"
If I touch 1+3, I get "1"
If I touch 2+3, I get "1"

Aha.....I just did the same thing with another pickup, and if I touch (1 or 2) with 3, I get 7.48k ohms.

So there appears to be something defective with this pickup. I should be getting a reading of about 7-8k ohms when I touch the soldery thing in the middle and simultaneously touch either of the 2 visible wires. But I get a "1" instead, meaning no connectivity.

So I guess this needs to be re-wound?

Is there any other solution?

?

thanks much -

Richard
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[paologregorio]

Dicey proposition. Sometimes it's possible, if the break in the wires is external, but even then what often happens is when a hot soldering iron is applied to the broken external wire, the heat melts the contact to the winding wire inside the pickup, resulting in either no signal or intermittent signal. It's quite frustrating; this happened to one of my "hot" 12K toasters. Sergio rewound the coil for me, and upgraded the contact in doing so, eliminating that problem.

[jdawe]

Yes, I think this identifies the source of the problem as inside the pickup. At this point I think leaving it to the pros is probably the way to go. From everything I've read here, Sergio is the man you need to speak with.