dimarzio PAF - need help wiring it

[RG7GUY]

Hey everybody. I got a PAF off ebay and I don't know how to wire it with my bridge pickup. I have a 3-way switch with a carvin M22SD in my guitar. I read in the installation instructions on dimarzio.com that the black and white wires should be twisted together and covered with tape, so I did that. Then I twisted the green wire with the bare wire and soldered it to the volume pot with the black and bare wires from the carvin( that's how the guy at carvin told me to do it and it works). Then I soldered the red wire to the 3-way. Dimarzio says to wire the red wire to the "hot unit" of my guitar, but I don't know what that is. So I took a guess. I must have guessed wrong because when I switch to the PAF the volume drops pretty low and it sounds like a single coil. It also sounds like there's a short in it because it makes alot of noise. What am I doing wrong? Help!

[Mr Orange]

Probably hot & ground wires should be vice versa?

[rickboot]

It does sound like B, W, G and bare wires are are correctly wired for a Dimarzio. It is really a Dimarzio right?

The red wire placement is probably the problem, but considering how the PAF is wired I don't see how it could be split into single coil mode or cause any hum in this configuration (B and W tied together and insulated only allows dual coil humbucking mode).

The red wire should be wired to the switch. The question is which position on the switch. It should be and end position on the opposite side of where the Carvin pickup is connected. This position would likely not have other wires connected to it.

Here is the unsophisticated way of finding the right connector. Unsolder the red wire and touch it to all of the switch connectors while you have a string ringing out. Make sure you have the switch in the PAF position. This sounds crude but it may help.

Of course there may be something wrong with the other wires. Check the wiring again. Make sure B and W are tied together and are truly insulated. Check the ground connection. If you have a multimeter you should make sure that the volume pot case is tied to the outer ring of the guitars output jack. Find out

There is a chance that you may actually be causing the Carvin pickup to generate noise or weak output in conjunction with the PAF. To find out if the Carvin pickup is active when you switch to the PAF, try checking which coils are active on both pickups. You can do this by plugging in and tapping on the each of the coils polepieces with a steel screwdriver. If the coil is active the tap will sound bright and loud. If it is off you may still here something, but it will be softer dull thud.

Let me know what happens.

Rick

[rickboot]

This discussion should really be moved to the tech section. I don't have superpowers so we'll have to wait for the powers that be to move it.

[RG7GUY]

Well it works now. I checked the wiring and found that the black and white was loose, so I twisted them together again and now it works. But now I have another problem: it's too dark! It sounds just like the carvin. Good for rythem, no good for lead stuff. So should I just solder the white wire to the red to split the coils?

[Vaibanez]

Quote: from RG7GUY on 8:44 am on Aug. 17, 2001
Well it works now. I checked the wiring and found that the black and white was loose, so I twisted them together again and now it works. But now I have another problem: it's too dark! It sounds just like the carvin. Good for rythem, no good for lead stuff. So should I just solder the white wire to the red to split the coils?

No.
That won't split the coils.

Check your email...I may be able to help.

J>

[rickboot]

Actually soldering the white or black to the red would put both leads of one coil to the same potential on the hot side. This would effectively split the coils but that isn't how you should do it. You should take either the black or white lead to ground with the green wire. Black will disable one coil and white the other.

Of course you should probably implement this with a push-pull pot so you can get both single coil and humbucking sounds regardless in all switch positions.

As far as the dark sounds goes, I don't know if this is because this is the normal sound of your guitar and rig or because the wiring is hosed. Hopefully Jimm can help you out.

Rick

[RG7GUY]

I know, I should get a push/pull pot as a tone and volume for each pickup but I hate the idea of paying almost 20 dollars for two. I'll see if I can find one cheaper somewhere. *