Humbucker damage!?

[slo]

Hi,
I have a huge problem. I'm having a Dimarzio Humbucker in the bridge position (I don't know which, actualy the guys from Dimarzio don't even know what kind it is because it has no serial number- they say it is probably the Super Distortion)
The problem is - since a couple of days it sounds crapy, I mean it sounds like giving a half from the output it usualy does. Does anyone have an idea what this might be. Is it damaged or ...?

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

slo said:

Does anyone have an idea what this might be. Is it damaged or ...?

Not necessarily. Always look for (and hope for) the cheap and easy fix first, like maybe just a loose/disconnected wire or something.
Have you "peeked under the hood" yet?

And hey, if it doesn't have the "blade" pole pieces, you know it's not an X2N®. That's one model down, only a coupla hundred more (just kidding) that it might be.
Been here www.dimarzio.com yet, to compare it to photos of different models?

[UnklMickey]

JohnH had a problem with a HB that showed up after years of use:

guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wiring&thread=1134247486&page=1


there are lots of possibilities, such as something shorting out half the HB, a dirty switch, open coil, etc.

give us some more details on the other pickups in the guitar, switching, etc.

did you try the "lifting a screwdriver off the pole-pieces" test?




unk

[slo]

Actualy, I have changed my 5-way selector, both pots and my input jack - and nothing changed. My guitar has a S-S-H combination of pickups and all the other positions work well except the first (only the humbucker is selected in this position).

I've sent pics to Dimarzio to determine the model name, but they said that they can not surely tell wich one it is. They think it might be the SuperDistortion or DoubleWhammy or somthing what they have discontinued to produce. It looks like and sounds like the descriptions for Super Distortion.

I hope this is more informative. I hope it is not damaged.

[johan]

If one of the coils is damaged, it will be a problem to fix if your not up to rewinding, but it probably is something with the wiring.

Either way, you should take the pickup out and to 1) inspect the wiring of the pickup 2) to check the coils resistance with the multimeter.


Johan

[slo]

Ok, i put it out and mesured a infinite resistance on the green and red wires, the black and white wires are conocted together. I think an infinite resistance is not good.

[wolf]

slo
If the Black and White wires are connected properly, then one of the coils may be damaged.
If you can, split the black and white wires and then measure the resistance across the Red and Black Wires. (It should roughly be about 8k ohms).
Test the resistance across the White and Green wires. Again, it should roughly be about 8k ohms.
If either of those tests fail, then one of the coils in the humbucker has a broken connection.
Are you sure it is a DiMarzio pickup?
Now that it is out of the guitar, read the back of the pickup.
If it is another manufacturer, then the wire color codes would be different and the problem would be just wiring it properly.

[slo]

Both tests failed (infinite resistence)

It is an Dimarzio (On the back stands Dimarzio Pickups made in USA) but the problem was the model because it has no serial number.

I think it's broken. Thaks guys and sorry about my bad english.

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

slo said:

Both tests failed (infinite resistence)
I think it's broken.

Dang. Well, you wanted to try a new one anyway, right?
Then again, maybe it can be salvaged.

Thaks guys and sorry about my bad english.

Your command of the language is pretty good, actually. (Some days, probably better than mine. ;D )
And before I forget (again), to GN2.
Check in again if you need some help with repairing or replacing that pickup.

--
Doug C.

[slo]

Sure, this is a great forum the first place I've found a answer. The guys from Dimarzio were not helpful to me.

Again thaks a lot

[wolf]

slo
Don't give up just yet.
What kind of a meter are you using? If you are using an analog meter (the kind that has a moving pointer), then it could be the battery is dead and so everything will show up with infinite resistance. OR
If you are using a continuity tester, I believe those are good for measuring conductance up to maybe 100 ohms? A pickup has a resistance in the thousands of ohms. If you are just using a continuity tester it would be worth your while to get a genuine ohm meter.
Go on, give that pickup another try. The reason I don't want to give up on this is that it is highly unusual that both coils would be destroyed.
Who knows, maybe both coils are okay.

[slo]

I'm using an digital multimeter and I tried all ranges from 200 to 20M ohm and nothing happend . I have a average knowlage about electronics and physics and I agree that is more possible that one coil is damaged (these two are separate circuits aren't they?) than both but I don't know what can I more do?

[wolf]

slo
Since you previously didn't mention that you were using a digital meter, I thought that might have a small chance of being the problem.

Well, I guess I have run out of ideas myself.

One very small chance is that for some reason, someone may have put another cable on the pickup and did NOT follow the Dimarzio color code. OR DiMarzio made a pickup that didn't follow their usual color code (also highly unlikely). Anyway try checking for conductance across any 2 leads. Red and Black, Red and Green, etc. (Heck it's only 6 possibilities to try).
If that totally fails, there is even a smaller possibility that the cable is severely damaged and is not conducting OR the leads are broken at the pickup connection itself. If that is the case you may want to attempt to measure resistance on the actual pickup itself. DON'T unwind any wire. Just try to connect the 2 ohmmeter leads to those "lumps" of solder you'll see on the pickup plate.

Heck, I don't like to give up on problems very easily.

[slo]

Ok, I mesured finaly the wires comming directly out the coils and tried all combinations and again nothing.

wolf thank you, but I think now I have to buy me a new pickup. I've heard about rewireing of pickups but I have no one in my area who is doing this so it is much cheaper for me to buy a new one. The only thing is the great sound, and I don't know what kind of humbucker I have. So guys thank you for helping me out.