Neck pickup died on LP.. Help!

[Bluesfrets]

Hey guys..

All of a sudden the neck on my LP Standard just stopped working.

The bridge works fine, but when I switch to the neck I get nothing.

I removed covers to see if any cables were fried or diconnected, but everything looks good even behind the 3 way toggle.

Can you please help me troubleshoot this to figure out where is the problem?

I bought a multimeter in order to do this but I have no idea what I am looking for or how to use it. I have some experience soldering pickups but that is all.

Anyone savvy here would like to guide me through? I'd greatly appreciate it!! thanks a lot.

Guitar is a Standard with Coil Tap for both pups.

 

[lespaul01]

sorry to hear that dude. i can't help.. but I'm still sorry. srsly.

 

[Bluesfrets]

sorry to hear that dude. i can't help.. but I'm still sorry. srsly.

thanks bro! never in 15 yrs had a pickup out of the blue just stop working.. it might be a cable.. but what a pain .. I want to sort it out before I go and start replacing things that didn't need replacing..

 

[yawny]

set the multimeter to read resistance (ohms), set it in the 1000's (k) range and put one probe to each lead of the pickup. It should read the resistance of the pickup (ie. 8.5k, 9k, etc). If not, something is internally wrong with the pickup.

If it reads alright, it's probably a wiring issue.

 

[Bluesfrets]

set the multimeter to read resistance (ohms), set it in the 1000's (k) range and put one probe to each lead of the pickup. It should read the resistance of the pickup (ie. 8.5k, 9k, etc). If not, something is internally wrong with the pickup.

If it reads alright, it's probably a wiring issue.

thanks man! do I need to isolate the pickup before reading it? I mean disconnect it from the pot? or Can I just put the prongs on the wires before the solder joint?

 

[yawny]

I don't have a wiring diagram in front of me, but i believe your best bet will be to de-solder one of the leads and then check.

Of course, try it on the solder joints first. I'm assuming the pickups are either 2-wire or braided. Just put one probe to each making sure not to tough the leads with your fingers, as that could throw off your measurement.

 

[Bluesfrets]

I don't have a wiring diagram in front of me, but i believe your best bet will be to de-solder one of the leads and then check.

Of course, try it on the solder joints first. I'm assuming the pickups are either 2-wire or braided. Just put one probe to each making sure not to tough the leads with your fingers, as that could throw off your measurement.

will do.. thanks. I will update as soon as I get a chance to work on it.
peace

 

[ARandall]

Just open up the control cavity and place one of the probes where the inner wire is soldered to and the other where the shield is soldered to. No need to remove anything. You'll need to make sure your multimeter is set to read 20k or more ohms though

 

[deadringer]

I'm sure you thought of this, but double check all the solder joints. Something could have broken loose. You never know. Check the neck volume pot and see if the pickup leads are attached well.

 

[AxeBuilder]

I suspect the switch or a broken solder joint.

 

[bluemoon]

I was thinking switch too.

 

[GrouchyDog]

Same happened to me, it was the switch. I cleaned the contacts up with a little 2000-grit, she's good as new.

 

[MATTM]

I suspect the switch or a broken solder joint.

Agree!

I am 99% sure a pickup didn't suddenly die.

 

[Bluesfrets]

UPDATE:

It was the solder on volume pot that apparently was not making enough contact, but it looked very well attached at a glance. re soldered it and now it is all good!!!

thanks all