Help with wiring?

[MattB]

I have a 1980 4003 that has been rewired oddly - not to my liking and certainly not Ric standard. In comparing it to Joey's diagram for that model/era there is, well, no comparison. I'm not sure what they did or why, but as it doesn't look like I'll be able to get a prewired replacement harness at this time, I have started redoing it myself using the diagram, which is outstanding BTW.

Pots and toggle switch appear original, stereo jacks are more recent, cheaper components not wired for Ric-o-Sound. I don't think the .047 caps are original and the .0047 is missing. I can't be sure whether the volume/tone pots are in their original positions and I don't know how to tell them apart. Despite the excess solder, it looks like two are marked 31056-R13779 and two are marked 3279-R13779 (black). Do these numbers differentiate them?

Thanks,
Matt B.

[cassius987]

Examining my wiring once, I believe RIC uses a standard stereo jack but a non-standard mono jack so there's that to consider. The non-standard mono has an extra prong or two that allow it to short the stereo when plugged. This may be an important thing to consider in trying to redo the stock harness.

[rickenbrother]

Matt, do you have a picture of the wiring as is?
Joshua makes a good point. If some of the parts such as the jacks are not original, you should replace them with new parts such as the ROS double jack output assembly

I know RIC does have them in stock right now, but they are closed for summer vacation until July 13 anyway.
Maybe some dealers such as Pick Of The Ricks has them in stock.

[ram]

Give this a shot:

http://the-music-connection.com/ricpart.htm#electronics

I've had good luck with them in the past....

[ken_j]

If I recall right the mono jack is a Switchcraft # 13.

[MattB]

Thanks to those who replied for your suggestions. I was able to order new stereo jacks, toggle switch and caps from Mike at the Music Connection. Here is the wiring "as received." I'll post a followup once I have it cleaned up and rewired with the replacement parts.


Thanks,
Matt

[jdogric12]

The "79"'s in your pot codes probably point to 1979, which makes sense for an '80 instrument. The yellow cap thingys look correct. My '79 has those, and they say "Taiwan" or something on 'em, and I was told they're original. I hope this helps.

[johnallg]

Except the caps are in strange places, as are the cables from the pickups. Can't see the wiring good enough to figure out just what the switch is doing, but it is wired weird for sure.

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19507.pdf

[MattB]

Jdog that does help - I wasn't sure if these caps are original. They do say Taiwan.

John, "weird" is the word - caps go between pots rather than from tone pots to switch. Only one solder joint has enough patina that it "might" be original. Honestly, the bass sounds awesome and the neck is perfect for me. I hope that sound isn't lost in the pursuit of something more standard. The best (worst?) part is the brass rifle bullet soldered on the switch in place of the black plastic cap. Precious.

[jps]

Except the caps are in strange places, as are the cables from the pickups. Can't see the wiring good enough to figure out just what the switch is doing, but it is wired weird for sure.

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19507.pdf

It looks like the neck pickup is wired to the bass tone control and the bridge pickup is wired to the bass volume control.

[MattB]

Yes, both bass controls functioned as volume pots and both treble controls affected tone - one for each PU. The knobs had been switched around but the pots are in their correct positions under the guard. You could roll off one of the "volume" pots a bit and get less of one or the other PU, but there was no way to isolate just the neck PU. Maddening...