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Hello, a few years ago I put some Dimarzios (luiquifire and dreamcatchers) in my MIM San Dimas. Recently the out put dropped by 90%. I had a tech look at it and whatever he did worked for about 2 weeks, then the output quit again. I checked all the connections, and there aren't any obvious breaks. Could it be that the pot or the selector have gone bad? Thanks for any advice!
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What type of selector switch? LP style toggle or Strat style blade?
LP style toggles can have the contacts oxidize when exposed to air. I always leave my switches in the middle position so that air can't get to the contacts. Usually only one pickups or the other has issues with a toggle, rarely both. -
Try spritzing the pots and switch with DeoxIT D5 electronics contact cleaner. Recently the pots on my Soloist started acting erratically (partial and full volume drops, crackling sound, rough taper) so using DeoxIT D5 helped clean the pots.
Product website: https://caig.com/product/deoxit-d5s-6-lmh/
How to use it:
Last edited by Number Of The Priest; 02-25-2024, 04:00 PM.Comment
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deoxit D5 is safe to use on potentiometers and does clean them, but IMO I don't really like to use it on guitar pots since it can affect the "feel" of the pot by thinning out the damping grease inside them. if I can't get a scratchy pot fixed by manual methods, I usually recommend replacing. but it's also okay to try the D5 to test if the pot is at fault, and if it fixes it, then go ahead and replace the pot. I should also say that it's important to keep the control cavity free of debris (wood shavings, dust, etc.) before installing/re-installing electronics in order to keep the pots and switches clean.
but IMO a dirty or malfunctioning pot would be obvious, as you'd immediately be able to tell something was wrong when turning the pot. if it sounds 90% quieter than it should regardless of the pot setting, that doesn't sound like a bad or dirty pot. it could be the switch or the jack, both of which are easily remedied with D5. since it sounds like the sound loss is present regardless of the switch setting, the jack sounds more likely, but I guess it could be the switch. it could also be a bad solder joint somewhere, or a break somewhere internally in the pickups (also this seems unlikely too, since it sounds like it's affecting both pickups).
one thing you can try is to take the cavity cover off and plug the guitar into your amp with the knobs turned all the way up. then just start touching and wiggling stuff inside the control cavity. wires, knobs, jack, pots, switch etc., at the same time as plucking or strumming the strings. the goal is to see if by wiggling stuff you can get the full output to momentarily "jump" out. keep the amp volume low so that jumps/crackles/etc. don't damage your speakers.
to apply D5 to the jack, simply spray a few pulls directly into the jack barrel. wipe any excess off of the outside of the jack and body. let it sit for a few minutes. then take your guitar cable and insert it and remove it from the jack like 10 times or more. spray a few more pulls into the jack and repeat once. let everything dry for like 5 minutes then try it out.Last edited by metalhobo; 02-25-2024, 05:33 PM.Comment
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Thanks for the responses! It's a LP style switch. I'll check everything again, but I kind of did what's been suggested. I took out the jack and took of the back cover with an instrument cable plugged in. It was running into my computer so I could see levels; they were just drastically low. With another guitar they were clipping. Could a voltmeter tell me anything? All the solder joints *look* correct.Comment
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Like I said, toggle switches are notorious for getting dirty. Clean the contacts and keep the switch in the middle position when not playing it so that they can't oxidize again.Originally posted by Atomicfear View PostComment
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Thanks- I'd never heard that about keeping the selector switch in the center position.Originally posted by DonP View PostComment
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