Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So I have this 2005 4003 Mapleglo, NO vintage tone capacitor., very well looked after. which I only take to selected gigs. I have it set uo so that the bridge pickup is slightly hotter than the neck pickup.

The other day I took her to a rehearsealand the bridge pickup was way weaker than the neck pickup, it was really weak. At first I thought it was a problem with the connector (I was using the mono output). so when I hot home I check it with a stereo cable splitter to send the output to different amplifiers. No matter the combination, the bridge pickup was very very weak. Pickup selector workde fine both in stero and mono

Next thing I use a multimeter to check the impedance from the stereo cable.
Neck pickup volume maxed: 8.5 KOhm, correct
Neck pickup volume 0: 210 KOhm, withing tolerance for a 250KOhm pot
Bridge pickup volume Maxed: around 190 KOhm...strange
Bridge pickup volume 0: over 800 KOhm.......really strange


Next a disassemble the pickguard and check the connectios, again the bridge pickup impedance is over 800K, I unsolder the pickup and check the impedance of the unsoldered pickup: again over 800K. I know it should be around 11K.

Any hint about what the problem might be and a possible solution (apart from the obvious buying a new pickup and changing it)?

no bear or other fluid has beed dropped on the pickup, the bass has not taken any blow, and it worked perfectly until it didn't

Sounds to me like you have an open in the pickup. I know, if it's truly open, then it should read infinity, but stranger things have happened.

I had an open coil on the bridge pickup on my 4004Cii. I didn't think that could be it, because the pickup still had some output, but that was it. Capacitance between the windings, I guess.

I think your only options are replacing the pickup or getting it rewound.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm also a little puzzled as to why it still reads 800k and not infinity and has some output if the coil is open

I was fearing that the only solution would be replacing it, in fact I already replaced the pickup with one of those retrovibes and I'm really pleasantly surprised with its sound (ric parts are expensive here and really dificult to find, besides, for the bidge pickup you have to get the whole mounting)

That all sounds very odd, and replacement would be the easiest option.
You might be able to find someone to rewind or repair the original?

Also pretty sure it's only 2 bolts holding the mounting bracket on the pickup, you can use the old pickup mounting bracket.

Good luck,
Dirk

antonio wrote: ↑Thu May 04, 2023 5:00 am Thanks for the reply.

I'm also a little puzzled as to why it still reads 800k and not infinity and has some output if the coil is open

I was fearing that the only solution would be replacing it, in fact I already replaced the pickup with one of those retrovibes and I'm really pleasantly surprised with its sound (ric parts are expensive here and really dificult to find, besides, for the bidge pickup you have to get the whole mounting)

Where is here?

Isaac wrote: ↑Thu May 04, 2023 12:52 pm

antonio wrote: ↑Thu May 04, 2023 5:00 am .......
........besides, for the bidge pickup you have to get the whole mounting)

Where is here?

Small town North West Spain.

RICs are hard to come by locally in Spain, specially in small towns. Of course you can get them in thomann or other big web shops in Germany, but you won't find parts there.

Rosseti in the uk used to be a good site for parts, but since the brexit is not so good: taxes and customs make it more expensive and much more slower

If you are having pickup issues, perhaps Sérgio Silva can help you with that. His is (last I know of) in Lisbon, Portugal.

Here is his section on the RRF:

viewforum.php?f=33

Sérgio's info:

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=571

antonio wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 4:59 amSmall town North West Spain.

RICs are hard to come by locally in Spain, specially in small towns. Of course you can get them in thomann or other big web shops in Germany, but you won't find parts there.

Rosseti in the uk used to be a good site for parts, but since the brexit is not so good: taxes and customs make it more expensive and much more slower

I've never been to Spain. I've read that the weather in Galicia is a lot like the weather in Oregon, where I live.

Good luck with your pickup problem.

Isaac wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 10:49 am
I've never been to Spain. I've read that the weather in Galicia is a lot like the weather in Oregon, where I live.

Good luck with your pickup problem.

It's curious that you've heard about Galicia!!!

I do not know about the weather in Oregon, but in Galicia is mostly rainy and in the town I live in, very windy as well (we usually say it's the only place where the rain goes upwards). So now you know whether it is a lot like Oregon's or not

antonio wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 6:32 am

Isaac wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 10:49 am
I've never been to Spain. I've read that the weather in Galicia is a lot like the weather in Oregon, where I live.

Good luck with your pickup problem.

It's curious that you've heard about Galicia!!!

I do not know about the weather in Oregon, but in Galicia is mostly rainy and in the town I live in, very windy as well (we usually say it's the only place where the rain goes upwards). So now you know whether it is a lot like Oregon's or not

Sounds like the weather on the coast. The coast gets 178cm of rain a year. Where I live, 108cm. The coast gets more wind, too. But we can't Keep Oregon Green and you can't have España Verde without a little rain, can we?