Need some wiring help??

[DalyTek]

I just got a used BC Rich Warlock, and the controls and wiring have me all confused. There are (3) pots [1 volume, 2 tone I think] and (3) 2-position mini toggle switches.

I drew up a diagram of how it is wired (minus all the obvious grounds, they are there.) Things don't seem right in there. Can anyone decode this and tell me if it is wired up right, what are all these controls set up for? If it's not wired up right, what do I need to fix? Thanks for any help!

[Spivonious]

Very strange. I've never seen a 3-wire pickup before. Usually they're 2 or 5. So I have no clue on the cut red wire from the EMG.

pot 1: volume for neck..the output for this really should be going directly to pot 3, not the output of pot 2.
pot 2: volume for bridge
pot 3: tone for guitar

Mini switch 1: turns on/off neck pickup
Mini switch 2: needs to be on for switch 3 to work, otherwise doesn't seem to do anything
Mini switch 3: turns on/off bridge pickup

edit: lookup up the EMG wiring. Red is a single coil output. It should be taped off for humbucker usage.

[DalyTek]

Very strange. I've never seen a 3-wire pickup before. Usually they're 2 or 5. So I have no clue on the cut red wire from the EMG.

pot 1: volume for neck..the output for this really should be going directly to pot 3, not the output of pot 2.
pot 2: volume for bridge
pot 3: tone for guitar

Mini switch 1: turns on/off neck pickup
Mini switch 2: needs to be on for switch 3 to work, otherwise doesn't seem to do anything
Mini switch 3: turns on/off bridge pickup

edit: lookup up the EMG wiring. Red is a single coil output. It should be taped off for humbucker usage.

Thanks for the input. It looked to me from studying my diagram that switch 1 was an on/off for the neck pickup, and both switches 2 and 3 turned off the bridge pickup, but that just seemed stupid. I think maybe there should be an on/off for each pickup and then what should the third be?

The gray wires in my diagram are the bare shield wires for the pickups, if that helps to clarify at all.

So this actually set up for 2 volume knobs and 1 tone then? Does having the output from volume 1 go to the output of volume 2 have any effect? Should I leave it or re-solder it to the tone pot?

All 3 of the pots seem to be in horrible shape, crackling, not doing what they are supposed to do, etc. So I am planning on replacing the pots and rewiring correctly, just wanted to figure out the best wiring for this guitar.

[Tricky]

I would think switch 1 is for neck pup, switch 2 for bridge pup, & switch 3 for split or phase.
You can tell pot 3 is tone because of the cap on it.

Check this link for split or phase switching.

http://www.1728.com/guitar.htm

[DalyTek]

I would think switch 1 is for neck pup, switch 2 for bridge pup, & switch 3 for split or phase.
You can tell pot 3 is tone because of the cap on it.

Check this link for split or phase switching.
http://www.1728.com/guitar.htm

I did think of that also, but I believe that it would need to be a 3-position switch for that. All of these switches are 2 positions.

I was thinking i could just do a master kill switch if i can't find something better to do with the third switch.

[Spivonious]

Yeah you could do a master kill switch, or a switch to turn the tone knob on and off. You could also take the coil tap wire from one of the pickups and make it into a coil tap switch. You'd essentially be combining two 2-position switches into one 3-position (center off) switch then.

It's not hurting anything having the bridge wired like that; it just adds to the confusion.

[DalyTek]

Yeah you could do a master kill switch, or a switch to turn the tone knob on and off. You could also take the coil tap wire from one of the pickups and make it into a coil tap switch. You'd essentially be combining two 2-position switches into one 3-position (center off) switch then.

It's not hurting anything having the bridge wired like that; it just adds to the confusion.

How would I do that? I think coil tapping the bridge pickup might be nice, but not real sure how to do it.

I read that I could use the 3rd switch to coil tap the SD by attaching the red & white wires together to the witch to ground them when the switch is "on."
This is simple enough, but can I also do the same with the EMG Select? Would grounding the red wire have the same effect?

[Spivonious]

How would I do that? I think coil tapping the bridge pickup might be nice, but not real sure how to do it.

I read that I could use the 3rd switch to coil tap the SD by attaching the red & white wires together to the witch to ground them when the switch is "on."
This is simple enough, but can I also do the same with the EMG Select? Would grounding the red wire have the same effect?

Yes.

[DalyTek]

OK, I did a little rewiring.
I now have switch 1 and volume 1 controlling the neck pickup.
I have switch 2 and volume 2 controlling the bridge pickup.
I have switch 3 wired up to the red/white from the bridge pickup to ground when on.
I have both volume outputs going to the tone pot.

Everything works. But there's something still weird.
On/off and volume both work for their independent pickups.
The tone works fine.
The coil tap works fine of the bridge pickup.
The weird thing is when both pickups are on together, the output drops noticeably.
Also, when both are selected, the volume knob for the bridge pickup seems to work in reverse???

Any ideas?

Here's how it's wired up now:

[Spivonious]

Can you do another drawing? It sounds like something is backwards.

[DalyTek]

Can you do another drawing? It sounds like something is backwards.

added one right before you asked for it

[Tricky]

Pups could be out of phase with each other. if so, you can rewire the Duncan with the red to switch 2, white/shield to ground, & green/black to switch 3.

[Tricky]

You can also try wiring like this, but with your switches.

http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/WD2HH3T21_00/Guitar_Wiring_Diagam_2_Humbuckers3Way_Toggle_Switch2_Volumes1_Tone.html

Pup, V pot, switch, T pot, jack. For each pup. If all works good, then wire the splitter switch.
If you have a drop in volume when both pups are on, then most likely, the pups are out of phase with each other.

[DalyTek]

I believe it had something to do with that weird EMG Select pickup. I pulled it out and put in a 2-wire lace pickup and everything seems to be fine with the same wiring set up. Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this. That was the weirdest wiring I have come across. I just wish I knew which Duncan pickup this was. While I had it open I checked the back of it and all it said was Seymour Duncan made in the USA and had a little sticker with a B on it. Oh well, at least it sounds good.

[Spivonious]

Ah, I didn't think about the phase. That was probably it.