Pot Problems

[low end fuzz]

so; in searching this problem the concensus seems to be a bad pot; i would assume this aswell; which is why i changed the pot the first time; and by change ;i mean drove 40 min to the closest long n mcquade and bought one

the other story that comes up is checking w/ a meter; i got one at my shop, but i dont know how to use it; no time like the present; but im gonna hafta have it in front of me etc. but what if that checks out? what im expecting is to eithr see a reading of 0 (good) or something else on the meter from the 3rd lug of the volume pot; which would indicate a crap pot (?)

its a 2 vol 1 tone setup all the pots except the p-bass vol pot work fine; the other volumes 3rd lug is grounded the same using a small wire connected to the back of the pot casing; thats the only thing that differs from any drawing ive seen where it looks like the lug is soldered itself to the pot. (i dont see that ever being an issue since the solder looks just fine)

can i check my pot with a meter while its still wired?

thank you

[Ripthorn]

The issue sounds like maybe the pot casing isn't grounded. Take your meter and set it to ohms (resistance) and measure the resistance between a known ground (ring or sleeve of output jack) and the pot casing in question. If the reading is on the order of maybe 100 ohms or less, then it is grounded and the pot itself is suspect. However, more than likely you will see a reading of discontinuity (each meter is a little different as to what symbol they use for no continuity) which means the pot casing needs to be grounded with a jumper wire to a good ground point. Try that first and see what happens.

[low end fuzz]

by jumper wire, do you mean a ground wire soldered to the casing directly to an absolute ground source?

i was moving the lugs around (poking at connections and wiggling wires) and it seems that a little josseling gets them perfect, playing and everything; then i put it down, and when i try later the problem is back;

if im doing this meter thing right the pot is fine btw;

so i'm suspecting something in the soldering but its a piss off, cuz they all look just fine; so im gonna redo the 2 volumes leads; which doesent make any sense but those are the ones that i was moving;

thanks rip

[Woodenspoke]

Well sounds like its not a POT..Here are some general statements that do or dont pertain to your skills but is for everybody soldering their guitars.

I have seen some really poor solder jobs people have done without realizing that soldering takes a bit of practice. in fact they did'nt realize how bad it really was until I cleaned it up. Tell tale signs you need help.. are blobs of dull flat looking solder on your connections 5x's the thickness of the wire. You are reusing stuff you found in a drawer belonging to a previous relative who passed away...your solder is so thick, with a torch you can solder copper pipe in the basement..your solder is from Home Depot...All bad signs

1. Use the proper electrical solder in the proper thickness (see below).

2. have a soldering iron that is hot enough to melt the solder quickly onto the connection. Soldering the back of pots also requires a hot soldering Iron and a single application of solder which includes multiple connections, quick high heat and flux.

3. Solder flows from the tip to the connection, you do not melt the solder between the tip and the connection. So in short solder starts out being melted onto the tip and transfered to the connection

4. use flux on both sides of the connection before you start, even after the next step

5. Tin (add solder) the wire before you make the connection also use flux. The solder shoud just lightly coat the wire strands..Yes only use stranded wire for guitars.

The final result should be a bright shiny silver connection with minimal solder. A dull solder connection means it was too cold and is not a good electrical connection or a strong connection. A $100 soldering station will heat up a soldering iron in 40 seconds to up to 800 degrees and keep the temperature constant while you work. If you plan on doing many guitars its a good tool to invest in. Proper size and type of solder that isn't too old is required.

Kester Solder .032" round and 60/40 mix is a good place to start an interned search. If you like to Google most name brand solders can be found cheaply..There is a range of solder under what I just mentioned. A flux core is suggested even when using a paste flux, in case you need to add more solder to a joint you will not need to add additional flux to the joint.

I acquired my soldering skills over many years as a service technician as well as doing onsite board repairs. I can use junk irons and good irons to make a good connection its all in how you go about it, and if you have a bare minimum of the proper tools and supplies. A good joint take less time and effort.. really...

[low end fuzz]

well it was in fact a grounding issue to the back of the pot; thought it was good cause i checked it with another wire (every pot was checked and nothing changed) to common ground but i didnt have anything grounded to it; it was just sheilded; one way or the other i figured it was my fault, just trying to figure out what;

id say for the most part my soldering is 'up to par' tho my problem solving and understanding of electronics is very lacking; if i dont have a picture its not getting done any time soon;

i did want to ask you Spoke about the flux;

i have some kester flux and i use it basically to clean old crap off my tip; are you saying to apply it to the object i want to solder?

do i rub it on or stick my iron in there or do i just give a dip before each solder?

many thanks

grant

[Paul Marossy]

well it was in fact a grounding issue to the back of the pot;

Interesting. I have one guitar where the volume pot doesn't completely kill the signal. I just noticed this the other day. I need to check the grounding on that...

[John Abbett]

If you have a pot that doesn't completely kill the sound, but quiets it almost to nothing that means that the connecting trace is a little long. If you open the pot up, and scrape off some of the trace where the the pointer is at 0, it will of course be completely quiet. Of course taking apart a POT and putting it together is not for everyone. I've done it a couple of times, not too difficult.

-John

[Paul Marossy]

If you have a pot that doesn't completely kill the sound, but quiets it almost to nothing that means that the connecting trace is a little long. If you open the pot up, and scrape off some of the trace where the the pointer is at 0, it will of course be completely quiet. Of course taking apart a POT and putting it together is not for everyone. I've done it a couple of times, not too difficult.

-John

Ah, I hadn't thought of that. That could be what's happening with the pot that I have.

[Woodenspoke]

Flux is used to remove oxides from the soldered joint which allows the solder to flow. It is not for cleaning iron tips. You can use a damp sponge or a bronze scrub pad also sold for cleaning excess solder from the tip. A tip cleaner comes in a small tin about the size of a quarter and should be used sparingly. The sponge and bronze pad should be used constantly to remove excess solder and to keep the tip from darkening..

Its almost impossible to get wires attached to the back of a pot without flux. Soldering is trial and error and my techniques for guitar wiring certainly do not follow basic soldering guides but it works for me..

[low end fuzz]

Flux is used to remove oxides from the soldered joint which allows the solder to flow. It is not for cleaning iron tips. You can use a damp sponge or a bronze scrub pad also sold for cleaning excess solder from the tip. A tip cleaner comes in a small tin about the size of a quarter and should be used sparingly. The sponge and bronze pad should be used constantly to remove excess solder and to keep the tip from darkening..

Its almost impossible to get wires attached to the back of a pot without flux. Soldering is trial and error and my techniques for guitar wiring certainly do not follow basic soldering guides but it works for me..

gotcha; thanks

but how are you applyig the flux?

as soon as the iron touches it, it goes in a puff; is there still enough on the tip to apply to the pot?

much appreciated, im only building off how i was originally taught

[Woodenspoke]

Flux is used to remove oxides from the soldered joint which allows the solder to flow. It is not for cleaning iron tips. You can use a damp sponge or a bronze scrub pad also sold for cleaning excess solder from the tip. A tip cleaner comes in a small tin about the size of a quarter and should be used sparingly. The sponge and bronze pad should be used constantly to remove excess solder and to keep the tip from darkening..

Its almost impossible to get wires attached to the back of a pot without flux. Soldering is trial and error and my techniques for guitar wiring certainly do not follow basic soldering guides but it works for me..

gotcha; thanks

but how are you applyig the flux?

as soon as the iron touches it, it goes in a puff; is there still enough on the tip to apply to the pot?

much appreciated, im only building off how i was originally taught

For the wire end I just dip the ends in the flux and hope I dont get a big blob. If i get a blob I wipe it off on the side of the flux jar. You can buy liquid flux as well but I find for guitar work a paste is just as good. For larger items I usually use a toothpick and use a small or large blob. Yes the flux shoud bubble and smoke off as all it does it clean the surface of the connection. Flux comes in several types but they alll work. Its the beauty of soldering.

Find some old parts and practice

[Our Souls inc.]

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(vcsnew45...urce=GoogleBase

^^ thats rosin core 40/60 electrical solder. Makes all that dipping and dabbing pointless.

[borge]

If you have a pot that doesn't completely kill the sound, but quiets it almost to nothing that means that the connecting trace is a little long. If you open the pot up, and scrape off some of the trace where the the pointer is at 0, it will of course be completely quiet. Of course taking apart a POT and putting it together is not for everyone. I've done it a couple of times, not too difficult.

-John

as in scraping a sliver from the track to alter the taper and overall resistance (higher ie from 250k to 1M) or cutting the trace so wiper to earth lug is open circuit?

either is a bad idea, the first would screw the taper, why not get a higher value pot in the first place? the second would turn your pot into a variable resistor-not good!

[Paul Marossy]

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(vcsnew45...urce=GoogleBase

^^ thats rosin core 40/60 electrical solder. Makes all that dipping and dabbing pointless.

Yeah, true. I have found that you just need a powerful enough soldering iron so you don't have to heat it for two minutes to get it hot enough for the solder to flow.