polvo Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 I've just picked up a second hand guitar (Yamaha Pacifica 120SJ) and the bridge pickup works fine but no sound at all out of the neck pickup. Attempts at investigating the problem have so far been limited to just opening the back up and looking at the wiring (all seems to be in place and all the soldering seems solid). What else should I try in order to find out what is causing the problem and how to fix it? Or do I just go ahead and buy a replacement pickup? Bonus question #1 - any advice on how to find out what type of pickup I need to get? Also, the poles on both pickups are a bit rusty. Bonus question #2 - aesthetics aside, is this going to impact on the sound coming through the pickups? Am I better off replacing both pickups? (I'd like to keep costs down, but if replacements will make a big difference then it might be worth it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Perhaps put a multimeter on the pickup leads to make sure it isn’t open circuit? You should be able to read a resistance not dissimilar to the bridge pickup. I’d also resolder all the joints in case there’s a dry joint there. The switch could be faulty too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Is the joint outlined here really connected..? It's not clear from the photo... If it is, un-solder it, and the one at the other end of the swotch, and swap them over. If the neck p/u then works, but not the bridge one, the switch is faulty. If nothing is changed, the p/u is faulty. There's no issue with any discolouring of pole pieces; they'll work just fine. I'd not bother with that for now; get the p/u issue sorted first. Over to you... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polvo Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) (deleted cos I posted twice and can't delete my comment!) Edited January 31, 2023 by polvo Mistake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polvo Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Dad3353 said: Is the joint outlined here really connected..? It's not clear from the photo... If it is, un-solder it, and the one at the other end of the swotch, and swap them over. If the neck p/u then works, but not the bridge one, the switch is faulty. If nothing is changed, the p/u is faulty. There's no issue with any discolouring of pole pieces; they'll work just fine. I'd not bother with that for now; get the p/u issue sorted first. Over to you... Yeah that joint is connected. Good idea to try swapping them round. Hopefully I'll find it's only the switch that's broken To test that i just need to switch the two white wires, right? Everything else stays in place? Edited January 31, 2023 by polvo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 3 minutes ago, polvo said: ...To test that i just need to switch the two white wires, right? Everything else stays in place? Yes, disturb nothing else for this test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polvo Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 3 hours ago, ezbass said: Perhaps put a multimeter on the pickup leads to make sure it isn’t open circuit? You should be able to read a resistance not dissimilar to the bridge pickup. I’d also resolder all the joints in case there’s a dry joint there. The switch could be faulty too. Thanks, I'm gonna test if the problem is the switch, if not then I'll need to get a multimeter I think 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 1 hour ago, polvo said: ... I'll need to get a multimeter I think Always useful, and an inexpensive one (<£20...) is well worth it, for home use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polvo Posted February 1, 2023 Author Share Posted February 1, 2023 21 hours ago, Dad3353 said: Yes, disturb nothing else for this test. Ok, so the problem was the pickup switch after all! Is there anything I need to look out for when buying a new one? Or just any cheap one from ebay that looks the same? E.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174298111017?hash=item2894fa1c29:g:gFcAAOSwEt9ez3yO&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoPhnpAyzfLW2iNeb7AGNRxHBnu7to19TeQ3SWa1EhkiOkHpe94kIPe3ptMMvAQaEGIXuRZUNazMXJAEjHUzAp1rzO19iXdVafcAY6ceFH9ePpr5DOpGidApi7MUywiWXmbCXG7FRuYbsnZvJPUWYxwjj%2Fpz24inJNBGO3F9A3FpiEj3OLOO7ijkoINZBJWDWxFOK4dgKqEWiT%2Fe8biSDB0o%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR6606erBYQ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 13 minutes ago, polvo said: ...just any cheap one from ebay that looks the same... You've answered your own question. Yes, they will be fine. Do the soldering with care and it's all fixed. Well done; report back here when it's over..? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polvo Posted February 1, 2023 Author Share Posted February 1, 2023 Nice one, thanks for your help! 15 minutes ago, Dad3353 said: You've answered your own question. Yes, they will be fine. Do the soldering with care and it's all fixed. Well done; report back here when it's over..? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polvo Posted February 3, 2023 Author Share Posted February 3, 2023 On 01/02/2023 at 20:52, Dad3353 said: You've answered your own question. Yes, they will be fine. Do the soldering with care and it's all fixed. Well done; report back here when it's over..? Success! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted February 3, 2023 Share Posted February 3, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
