Pickup Problems

aarontheguy3000 · #1 01-08-2009, 07:04 PM

Let me just start off by saying I'm an idiot. I recently uninstalled some old infinity pickups as well as a crackly volume pot from my RGT42. I bought some new Breed Pickups as well as a new volume pot thinking that it'd be no problem to do myself.

Unfortunately, I'm having a little trouble. For some reason both the bridge and neck pickup sound in all 5 selector settings. I don't know if the ground wires from the pickups have to be in a certain place, or if I rewired something else weird when I put in the new volume pot. Does anyone know what might be wrong here?

Thanks

callen3615 · #2 01-08-2009, 08:06 PM

Its not the ground......

Foulacy · #3 01-08-2009, 10:29 PM

chances are you wired it wrong. if you just matched the colors of the old wires to the new ones, the pickups probably have different hot, series and ground colors.

aarontheguy3000 · #4 01-09-2009, 08:58 PM

Thanks for the help but maybe this is one job I should leave to the experts. Hopefully, I didn't rewire it beyond repair. Maybe they can do some mod work and turn it into a toaster?

LuredMaul · #5 01-09-2009, 09:34 PM

http://www.ibanez.com/support/wiringdiagrams.aspx

aarontheguy3000 · #6 01-17-2009, 09:16 PM

Thanks, I actually brought that diagram to the tech when I gave him the guitar last week. Unfortunately, he's having just as much trouble as I did.

The tech I gave it to works for a very respected music store in my city, so I assume he's good at what he does. It's just he started working on the thing on Monday, and now it's Saturday, and he still hasn't figured it out... He thought he could get it if he replaced the 5-way switch, but still no luck. I need the guitar soon, so I really can't wait much longer. Plus I'm worried this is gonna cost me an arm and a leg.

Anyone ever replace pickups in an RGT42? Should I try to contact Ibanez or maybe Dimarzio for some tech support?

**moebius** · #7 01-17-2009, 09:25 PM

Take it to someone else. Armed with the wiring diagram and the dimarzio instructions for pickups (to get the wire color codes) a decent tech should be able to fix it. Do you have the correct 5-way selector?

LuredMaul · #8 01-17-2009, 09:47 PM

I have done many swaps on RGT42's it looks harder than it is

aarontheguy3000 · #9 01-17-2009, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuredMaul

I have done many swaps on RGT42's it looks harder than it is

Cool man, maybe you could help me out here. I know the Infinity has different colour coding than the Breed. But would the Breed still have the "standard" Dimarzio wiring functions (black and white together, red hot, green and bare ground)? I'm kind of an amateur when dealing with this stuff so cut me some slack. But the red's from the two Breed's would wire to the volume pot, and the greens and bares would go into the 5-way in some order? Any more help would be awesome!

Thanks,
Aaron

callen3615 · #10 01-17-2009, 10:51 PM

That guy doesnt know what he is doing. Take it to another guy, or do what i do. I screw with it until it works. Plug in your guitar and touch the wires against the back of the switch until you figure it out, never failed me.

PS:The hot on dimarzios are the wires you had to bind together.

callen3615 · #11 01-17-2009, 10:54 PM

My rgs have always had the hot from the bridge on the top thingy on the switch. (the one closest to the neck)

aarontheguy3000 · #12 01-18-2009, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

My rgs have always had the hot from the bridge on the top thingy on the switch. (the one closest to the neck)

Awesome, that's what the diagram shows as well. Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

That guy doesnt know what he is doing. Take it to another guy, or do what i do. I screw with it until it works. Plug in your guitar and touch the wires against the back of the switch until you figure it out, never failed me.

PS:The hot on dimarzios are the wires you had to bind together.

The one's I binded together? You mean the black and white wires? I thought those were just supposed to be soldered together and taped off.

Thanks for the responses. Man, I wish that music store was open tomorrow.

aarontheguy3000 · #13 01-18-2009, 04:11 AM

Courtesy of tech@dimarzio(dot)com. Honestly, they responded so fast!!!

"For Infinity and Power Sound 2-conductor Ibanez pickups, the red wire from any DiMarzio humbucker is the same as the white wire from the Ibanez pickup. Our black and white wires together are the same as the Ibanez red wire. Our green and bare wires together are the same as the Ibanez bare (ground) wire, which is usually soldered to the back of the volume control."

Thought I'd post it in case any of you other poor souls ever need it. Thanks again everyone.

LuredMaul · #14 01-18-2009, 04:20 AM

the bridge connects just like any other bridge. red to the power where the old wire was removed green and bare to ground white black together and to the other side of the switch for splitting.
It's the neck position that is different
the black and white are not soldered together on the neck.
the red on the neck is still to the power.
the bare is to ground and green to ground
the white is to the last terminal and the black to the terminal that has the jumper wire.

I'm doing this from memory so I may be wrong on the black and white bridge terminal and the white from the neck terminal they may actually be reverse.

you should be able to tell better once your looking at how it's wired from the factory.....replace one pickup at a time to keep it straight.

aarontheguy3000 · #15 01-18-2009, 05:17 AM

This kind of differs from what Dimarzio wrote, yet I seem to trust yours more. The Infinity has two wires (coincidentally black and white) that are connected in the bridge, but not the neck. And your explanation uses the same wiring with the Dimarzio pickups. Damn, I wish I had my guitar here! Thanks though.