johnsilver Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Anyone know why I would still get some volume through an amp with the volume pot on my guitar turned all the way down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Perhaps the pot track or wiper is dirty, causing resistance between the signal and earth. Turn the volume pot all the way down and check the resistance between earth and the centre tag on your pot. I bet it's not zero.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted December 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Prostheta, thanks. I'll check that when I get back in a couple of days. I'm about to take a short pre-Christmas trip. I suspected the pots. They are new, as in never been installed before, but I've had them for about 18 months. I probably should have checked them with the multimeter and cleaned them if necessary before installing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 It sounds like you have it wired as a variable resistor as opposed to a volume pot. Do you have one leg of the pot going to ground? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted December 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Paul, I did have one leg of the pot wired to ground (grounded to the back of the pot - ultimately grounded to the tailpiece stud). I'm assuming my ground to the stud is effective. How do I test that? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 (edited) Continuity testing is your best friend here :-D Test between jack earth and the pot leg or casing, and also at points like your tailpiece stud etc. Edited December 21, 2006 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted December 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 I finally got to play around a bit. I tested continuity - from the tailpiece stud to the pot, pot to pot, jack ground to pot, volume pot ground, etc. I found no problems. I've also double checked the wiring vs the Seymour Duncan diagram. Didn't see any discrepancies. I checked the solder joints and didn't see any obvious dry joints. I tested the pots with my multimeter and got acceptable values for total resistance. I also checked the center lug to an outside lug to check for zero value. Funny thing, my simple digital multimeter read zero. My autoranging multimeter didn't read zero - read a small value but not zero. I cleaned the pots with contact cleaner and tried everything again. No difference. I think I'll change the pots out and see if that helps. I tested some other pots I bought at the same time as those installed and got some funny readings on some of them. Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 At least you're developing your practical fault-finding skills :-D I hope you get a positive "oh-it-was-that" answer than plain replacing top to bottom. We need satisfaction dude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted December 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 At least you're developing your practical fault-finding skills :-D I hope you get a positive "oh-it-was-that" answer than plain replacing top to bottom. We need satisfaction dude! +1 on the fault finding skills. And a serious reminder to self to test components prior to installing. And at least I now have some desoldering braid - works a treat. And a new multimeter that has a continuity tester. Not sure how satisfying you will find this, but after I replaced the volume pot, all is well. I find that very satisfying. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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