pick-up humming - hums when you touch

[julio]

Need assistence

To add insult to injury ( chrome peeling pups, and invisible side dots ) my jem10th has an annoying hum that is produced when u touch or lean on the humbuckers. The more you press the more it hums. The one thats connected does it btw. duh!

Its not a single coil hum, its a loud , ground sort of hum.
I just got myself a soldering iron, and am ready to tackle if someone holds my hand

Thanks

julio

[RSVampire]

could be wires touchin inside on something...or the wires shortin out on ya.....open her up and check it out...you don't have to do anything we can still help you...but at least open her up and see what's going on inside.....takin a peek before takin the pludge helps me a lot.

[bluenote]

sounds like a grounding problem.....check all the connections

[rickboot]

Maybe it doesn't know the words.


Sounds like a grounding problem. Does this happen with other guitars using the same rig and cable? If so the ground problem is definitely in the Jem 10th. Pop open the control cavity and look for loose wires.

[julio]

Great!
Now I have all the guts out, nobody around

Anyway, this is the score...
there is a white wire that goes from the 5way switch(neck-top) to the volume control and then to the treble.

If I touch this wire with one hand it hums.
If I touch it with one hand and touch the pickguard with the other...it doesnt.

As for the 2 wires that connect to ground, the trem spring one and the one screwed to the body, they seem fine.

Any ideas?

Julio

More info:
If I touch the wire and the trem screws, no hum.
If I touch the pup it hums like mad, no matter where I touch with the other hand

This guitar is starting to get on my nerves.

Anyone want to trade for a chromeboy?:angryfire:

(Edited by julio at 12:55 am on Aug. 26, 2001)

[bluenote]

its deffinately a grounding problem....look first at the wire thats soldered to the trem claw in the back...make sure it has a good conection on either end.....if it does, then go to the input jack and check that ground wire.....one of those 2 wires has a bad connection....just re-solder them nicely and you are done

[SalemB]

Don't forget to check the soldering on the output jack. It is often overlooked and its wires may get shaken loose if the female jack itself is (or has been) a little loose.

[SalemB]

This is a follow up to the IM convesation we had, Julio.

<ramble mode>
The casing of the pickups on a JEM10 is chrome and it is very likely conducting. This is therefore a problem that cannot occur on any other JEM. The chrome foil should either be grounded or not connected to anything at all.

In your case it seems like the pickup casing has somehow come into the signal path. It is normal that you hear the 50Hz humming when you touch the signal wire. This is what you did when you touched the white wire on the volume or tone pot. In this case the humming immediately stopped if you touched ground at the same time. This didn't happen if you touched ground at the same time as you touched the pickup. That's wierd because it means that there isn't a short between the signal path and the pickup casing.

ok, it's wierd but we still need to troubleshoot it if we're to find the reason for the problem.

1. Try to add additional grounding to the volume pot, the tone pot, the switch, the output jack. If one of these tests stops the humming, you know which component (if any) lacks grounding.

2. Try to connect the pickup wire from one of the pickups directly to the output. If it stops humming, the problem is with the switch or the pots.

3. If test 2 stops the humming, bypass the switch by connecting the pup wire directly to the volume pot. You will then know whether the problem is with the switch or the pots.

These tests should give you a clear indication of what component is causing the humming.

</ramble mode>

[julio]

DAMN DAMN DAMN the holy 10th!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 months and 420 Km later I get it back.

UNFIXED!!!!!!
I'm not gonna go into what I think of this so-called "friend" :angryfire:

But I have not yet enjoyed this guitar and am getting fed up....

If I post a pic of the guts would that help?
If I rewire it all again? ( Gee...I do my first pick up change and I think I'm a N.A.S.A engineer!!!)

btw to describe the noise:
Imagine you have your guitar plugged in to the amp. You pull the lead out of the guitar and touch the tip. Thats the noise.

Julio

[Devo]

have you got another jem?

wiring can be confusing if its your first time, so its easiest to copy from another jem than to work from a diagram. Incase you dont have the tenth wiring diagram go here and see if you can make out any major differences. If you can get a picture I could probably help more. dont go un-soldering anything yet. It could just be the case of one messy joint. if you have any questions at all IM me.

Steve