Active pickup wiring help

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rlm2112
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Active pickup wiring help

Post by rlm2112 »

I'm at home visiting for a while, and I'm trying to wire up a guitar for my friend. He got a used strat with 3 EMG active single coils. I'm trying to put that loaded pickguard into another strat.

The first time I wired the output jack and tested it, it kept cutting out. I replaced the 2 output wires, and it no longer cuts out. The problem is the output volume is really low. The battery has a lot of life left, and I messed with the connection there, which seems fine. One weird thing about it is the bottom tone knob has to be turned all the way DOWN for any sound to get to the amp. It's acting like a second volume knob basically, but backwards. It has a circuit board with a chip and some electronics on it, which I'm not familiar with.

Does anyone have any experience working with active pickups? I'm stumped right now. I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow.
NJjoanjettfan wrote: Boy am I glad I got my Fender Lead II and Lead III when I did. I've even swapped off the necks to save the originals from wear.
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Joey
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Post by Joey »

I have installed the EMG 81/85 before. Only thing I can offer is the specs - 25K pots, 1.uf cap & a stereo jack (not mono).

Best bet is to review the schematic. Read the manuel. You may have mini pots on that circuit board that need to be adjusted.

Gotsa pixs?
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Post by rlm2112 »

I forgot about this thread, but you did help me fix it. I forgot about the stereo jack having two grounds going to it. The negative wire from the battery had come off, and I thought it just needed the positive wire to work. I connected a new negative wire from the battery to the jack and it worked fine! Thanks man.
NJjoanjettfan wrote: Boy am I glad I got my Fender Lead II and Lead III when I did. I've even swapped off the necks to save the originals from wear.
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Joey
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Post by Joey »

Yeh, the stereo jack is what turns the pickups on/off as you plug into em. I had the same experience with a battery cable breaking on me also.

StewMac sells a battery tester, plug it into your jack and it tells you how many hours you got left on your 9 volt battery. So you don't have to pull apart the guitar to replace a battery when it not needed or god forbid they die while your on stage.
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Fran
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Post by Fran »

I thought stereo jack as soon as i saw the thread. Glad you got it sorted.
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