360 Input jack&treble end of switch drops out?

frankabq · Post by **frankabq** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 7:57 pm

My Rick 360's 3 way position switch keeps cutting out when the switch is in the down position on one pickup, the treble. I have several guitars and haven't used this one all that much and have had this one for maybe a year so. Why is it cutting out? I removed the 4 screws holding the jack in place and pulled it out and there is 2 contact progs I bent closer together and that seemed to help but I don't really know what I'm doing. The treble posistion was low in volume and cutting out at first then finally no sound at all until I did this. Was bending the 2 prongs closer together in the input the right thing to do? Has anybody else had this problem/ If so how did you fix it? Help!

adam_swapp · Post by **adam_swapp** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 9:02 pm

Your 360 has two input jacks, correct? If you only have one input jack, one of us is confused. Either you don't have a 360, or I am mistaken in my belief that all 360's have Rick-O-Sound. Make sure that you insert the cord into the "Standard" jack. If you use the "Rick-O-Sound" jack, only one pickup will work. This is the way it's designed.

However, your description makes me suspect either a) a bad volume pot, b) a bad solder joint, c) a bad selector switch, or d) something is grounding out. The fact that it used to (kind of) work would seem to indicate that volume pot is bad or you have a loose wire that was intermittently shorting out until you moved it when you pulled the jack. If you're handy with an ohmmeter and a soldering iron, you should be able to track this down. If you're not comfortable disassembling your electronics, take it to a decent repair shop; it should be an easy fix.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:55 am

I doubt his guitar has any input jacks, but he probably has two output jacks.

A 360, as a stereo guitar, always is working in stereo all the way through to the jack assembly, at least until a plug is inserted.

If the stereo output is used, both sides are connected, tip to one pickup, ring to the other pickup, and sleeve to ground. (Use a non-stereo plug and you short one of the pickups to ground.)

If the mono output is utilized, as the plug enters, the signal contact also pushes a switching contact, mixing the output of both pickups to mono and that mixed signal is presented to the tip, ground to sleeve.

If that switching contact is dirty or bent such that it is only just making contact, the result would be as you describe. It's not uncommon for these to be bent because plugs, especially those made in metric standard countries, tend to vary in size, or they have oddly shaped tips, which can bend the contacts.

Remove the plate as you did, insert one of the cords you normally use and study these contacts, seeing how they make and break. Then clean them and use needle-nose pliers to adjust them so they make solid contact but also break apart when the plug is removed.

Here's a reference to plug terminology.

Here's the schematic diagram to the guitar, showing the output jack connections.

adam_swapp · Post by **adam_swapp** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:50 am

John Hall sez: "I doubt his guitar has any input jacks, but he probably has two output jacks."

Good catch.

I forgot all about those weird-*** jacks.

The contact to which he refers is shown by the arrow in the picture. Clean it with an ignition file, nail file, emory board, etc, and you should be good to go.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:58 am

Adam, there must be some mistake. Your picture shows ignition points for a '63 Riv.

adam_swapp · Post by **adam_swapp** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 9:52 am

You're off by a year.

That's a gen-u-ine 1962 jack. Perhaps it's the liberal use of electrical tape that fooled you into thinking it was one of my automotive repair jobs.

BTW, I yanked the points from my Riv a couple of years ago and installed a Pertronix system. The jury's still out on that one. It runs great - but then, it ran great before.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 10:02 am

My own '65 Riv never had any mechanical problems except storage space for all the gas receipts. Several long trips (2000+ miles) and she just cruised.

I lent it to my then-girlfriend, who ran it out of oil and called me to pick it up. I decided to sell the '65 (not the girlfriend, who was a '57) and it has now received a thorough restoration. Still running the old points though, I hear!

frankabq · Post by **frankabq** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 2:28 pm

Right. OUTPUT jack and yes it has 2 and one's Ric-O-Sound. The standard was the one I was having the problem with. Adam's photo show the 2 prongs I was talking about. The output jacks were in very tight and took some force to put them back in, small holes? I bent the contacts that Adam's photo shows with an arrow and since then it's been working fine. Actually it was the bass end, down position of the switch that was cutting out. I got it confused with my Les Paul treble/down position. The OUTPUT jack on it was next to impossible to plug into because the hole the OUTPUT jack was in was too small for the prog and the cable plug so I had to bend the curled end in a litte more to make room for the plug to fit in it. Seems like they just throw some of these guitars together and possibly with a rubber mallet. Next time the Ric cuts out I'll clean them the way JohnHall says to. Thanks for all the helpful INPUT. Where do you find the Smiley face Icons you have in your messages? Later.