Pickup Selector Switch Problems

[Tommy]

I have three Rics and two of them have problems with the pickup selector switch. That means 66% of the Rics I own have switch problems. Take it a step further: If I owned 100 Rics, 66 of them would have switch problems! The problems are:

1. the switch doesn't "grab" the pickup it is supposed to be switched on to. Have to toggle a number of times before it grabs the pickup.
2. switch is scratchy and noisy and intermittently cuts out, no sound from pickup

Now one Ric is thirty years old. A switch acting sketchy in a 32 year old guitar, that's understandable. But my 330 is only a few years old and the switch gives me trouble.

Questions:
1. two out of my three Rics have switch problems. Is it that common to Rics?
2. Is contact cleaner or pinching the tines the solution? Or is replace these switches the best answer?

Here are my three beauties. But, sadly, two of them are plagued with a faulty switch. Should I junk them, sell them, or get me some contact cleaner?

[jps]

I have three Rics and two of them have problems with the pickup selector switch. That means 66% of the Rics I own have switch problems. Take it a step further: If I owned 100 Rics, 66 of them would have switch problems! The problems are:

1. the switch doesn't "grab" the pickup it is supposed to be switched on to. Have to toggle a number of times before it grabs the pickup.
2. switch is scratchy and noisy and intermittently cuts out, no sound from pickup

Now one Ric is thirty years old. A switch acting sketchy in a 32 year old guitar, that's understandable. But my 330 is only a few years old and the switch gives me trouble.

Questions:
1. two out of my three Rics have switch problems. Is it that common to Rics?
2. Is contact cleaner or pinching the tines the solution? Or is replace these switches the best answer?

Here are my three beauties. But, sadly, two of them are plagued with a faulty switch. Should I junk them, sell them, or get me some contact cleaner?

Yes, you should junk them; here is the shipping address for the recommended junk shop.

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Failing that, have you removed the pickguards and inspected the switches, yet? The tangs that hold the bat in place sometimes gets bent a bit out of shape, something that is easily corrected with long-nose pliers and a little fiddling. As to the scratchiness, it might be as simple as the switch not holding the bat in place or maybe the contacts have a bit of oxidation on them. When/if I need to deal with that I use a small piece of emory cloth to gently rub the contacts to clean them up. Others will provide other means of taking care of this, shortly, perhaps.

[lumgimfong]

If you know how to solder I recommend replacing them with a Switchcraft model, either L or straight, whichever your guitars take, if the above mentioned tips don't work. It is easy!

[fiveightandten]

The switch contact pads must be clean and free from corrosion. And if the little switch contact arms get bent at all, it won't work properly. There's a fine balance.

You can get some fine sand paper (2000 grit) and just run it back and forth a few times between each contact pad. Flip it around to get the other side. Be very careful not to pry the contact arms apart while doing this, or you can accidentially bend them and they won't make proper contact. Of course, if you can see that this condition is present, you can gently bend them to ensure solid contact.

The other problem these switches sometimes develop is that they don't like to hold in the bridge or neck position and flip back to the middle spontaneously. You can also solve this with some fine sand paper. Run it across the edge of the black plastic switch bat base to roughen it up very slightly. Don't go too hard or it will hang up on the metal and not like to return to the middle easily. Just a few light swipes with the sand paper will do it.

My Gibson SG (same style switch) had both of these problems and a little 2000 grit sandpaper solved it about 15 years ago. No issues since.

[Tommy]

Problems, problems, problems. Nothing but problems.

I decided not to do the major surgery on the guitar, and simply used an eye dropper with some electronic switch/contact cleaner. A few drops onto the switch, flipped the switch back and forth a few times, and it worked its way down to the contact points. Got rid of the scratchiness in both my Rics that had the issue.

But another problem arose. Next day go to play my 330 and the switch would not budge! It's like the contact cleaner turned to cement. Damn, this time I had to do the major surgery and open up my Ric. What I found was at the bottom tip of the toggle switch there is some sort of rubber nipple that pushes the arms of the switch so they meet their contact points. Well, the contact cleaner must have eroded, softened that rubber tip because it was darn near glued to one of the arms. Would not budge. Frozen. Glued. I did separate it and threw some WD40 lubricant on that tip. Seems to be working fine now. Hopefully, it won't freeze up again.

[GavRL]

Only play on the bridge. Problem solved. The neck pickups are not terribly pleasant, so it’s fine

[Tommy]

Only play on the bridge. Problem solved. The neck pickups are not terribly pleasant, so it’s fine

I actually thought of that. Just leave it. But it was stuck in the neck position. I didn't spend two grand for jangle just to get mush.