2 wire hum to 4 wire

[cr_XD]

i recently got a guitar of a friend for free, all the electronics were rusty and one switch was broken and the volume didn't work, so i decided to change them completely.

i unsoldered and one i got the pickups separated from the rest i couldn't help opening the humbucker.

after taking away a lot of wax i ended up with two single coils, joined at the bottom by a magnet and two wires coming up of both, a red one and a white one if there is some kind of standard.

what caught my atention is that the four wires were managed two make just two, so i though of turning the 2 wire hum to a 4 just by changing the cable.

can i do it safely?, i mean, i was thinking of single coil splitting, it won't give any problem will it?.

another thing is how can i figure out wich is south or north in a coil?

thank you!

[Jehle]

Yes, this can be done. I changed my 2-wire PU into a 4-wire. Just the same way you found out too. I tore it apart and noticed that I just needed more wires.

To replace it, you'll have to remove the 2-wire cord and separate the spliced wire in the PU.

Use a 4-wire cable with shielding to replace it with. Just use a color code the makes sense for the moment and figure out the polarity later. Solder the shield to the base plate. Maybe use Red and Green for one coil, and Black and White for the other coil.

Figuring out the polarity:

1) Use a volt meter and clip on to the red and green wires.

2) Tap the magnets with a metal screw driver and watch the needle move on the voltmeter. If the needle moves in the positive direction, you are in phase. (If it moves in the negative direction, reverse the wires.) Write down which wire is ground and which wire is hot. Even write down which coil that is.

3) Repeat for the Black and White wires.

From that you should be able to connect the pickup as usual.

[krazyderek]

yup, he's right