Post MOD Troubleshootin'

[jlokes]

After along slow (take your time) process, I have produced this:



It is a combination of the QTB mod, GNuts Lone Star, and Fender stock wiring w/superswitch:

This is how I wired the pots and star ground:


(tremelo ground is lugged to cavity shield,
shielded output jack cable was not used. (white=tip,black=ring)
large cap. is .33uf 400v,
high pass is added across volume pot)

---

The switch is wired based on this stock fender diagram:



So the final result is I get nothing, nada, zilch...
No sound form any pickup in any position...
Continuity looks good where I can check it....

A) In the Fender Diagram there is a black lead from switch to back of volume pot. Should this go to the Star Ring instead?
B) The big cap took a hit from the iron, if it's toast could that explain the lack of any sound at all?
C) Can I put 9 volt battery across the .333uf 400v cap to test it without hurting it?


Dear god where have I gone wrong!

I guess i am just fishing for ideas on how to start troubleshooting.

thanks,
jlokes

[UnklMickey]

jlokes said:

A) In the Fender Diagram there is a black lead from switch to back of volume pot. Should this go to the Star Ring instead?
B) The big cap took a hit from the iron, if it's toast could that explain the lack of any sound at all?
C) Can I put 9 volt battery across the .333uf 400v cap to test it without hurting it?
...

A - YES

B - NO, even if all the caps were shorted, you wouldn't lose sound unless the volume or tone controls were turned down.

C - NO, it's supposed to be able to withstand 400v DC. if 9v DC hurts it, it was already dead.

[jlokes]

Thanks Unk, you confirm what I expected to be the case.

I replaced the cap anyway, moved the signal ground from pot to star... can't test it until later but still wonder what to check next?

jlokes

[UnklMickey]

jlokes said:

...wonder what to check next?

jlokes

i think it's time for some resistance measurements.

if you don't already have a meter, buy one before going any further. (a continuity tester that uses a bulb or buzzer is not sufficient.)

they are dirt cheap. if you live in the U.S. and are near a Harbor Freight store, $3.
www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90899

a couple of leads with alligator clips will make things a bit easier, but are not absolutely necessary.


Resistance Testing:

set your meter for 200k ohms. (that means, this is the highest value that can be displayed on this setting.)

with the leads not touching anything you will see an 'over-range' indication. when you touch the 2 leads together, you will read Zero.

connect the leads to the connections of the output jack.

it doesn't matter where the tone pots are set.

with the volume at minimum, you should read Zero.

as you turn the volume control up, the reading will increase, until it gets around '8' on the knob. at that point you should read about 125k ohms.

as you continue to increase the volume control, the resistance will decrease until at '10' you read the resistance of the pickups.

this should be about 10k ohms for a HB, about 5k ohms for a SC, about 2.5k ohms for 2 SCs in parallel.

report the results, and we will begin to figure out what is going wrong.

cheers,

unk