Multimeter questions

DGNR8 · Post by **DGNR8** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 2:56 am

I couldn't get a reading on a 70s Gibson tarback HB using the 200k setting, so I switched it up to 2M and get a reading of 1.56. All my other pickups read in the 200k setting, I think. What does this mean? I guess I could plug it in and see what it does. Does that make it weak or strong, or is it just a misread?

I am also trying to read an old Harmony bowtie and not getting any movement on the dial. The other one reads 7 or so. The pickup is riveted shut so I can't get to the guts. I have read that so long as it doesn't say 0.00 there may still be juice. Any tricks to this shit?

mike fried · Post by **mike fried** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 3:58 am

Assuming the meter is working (it would seem so from your other readings), a super-high or no reading indicates the pickups have open windings or at least the connections from the coil wire to the bobbins are bad. Rewinding them is probably the only fix. A reading of zero would indicate a dead short, which would be the opposite problem, but with the same solution (rewinding).

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:45 am

with mine, whenever it was starting to act strange, i just connected the tips, zero'd out, and then tried the reading again.
as far as the bowtie pup is concerned..... im not really sure, my best guess would be that the windings are a bit on the corroded side and it may not be a constant flow, or rather not good enough to produce a solid reading