Wiring experts, please help me wire a 5 way switch!

[MartinBarre]

I've got my new pickups installed on the scratchplate, and the new pots are in, but I have no real idea how to wire up this switch. Wiring diagrams show three connectors on the front of a standard switch, and three on the back, which is very simple.
This switch is however a bit more complex!
This was originally used in an HSS set up, with a coil split switch. Now it's just to be used for a standard SSS setup. When I removed the old pickups I snipped the wires, so the wires that were there originally are still connected to the switch as you can see in the photo (sorry, I know it's very blurred).

I can see 7 connections (circled), which is fine, but there's ALSO a wire connected to the top of the switch, and two wires connected to the bottom right of the switch. To add to my confusion, not all of the 7 connections have been used, obviously being replaced by the top left and bottom right "connections"!
Someone PLEASE help me out here. It can't be THAT hard can it?!
I know I could buy a standard switch, but this was meant to be a cheap, fun project and I've already spent too much on it so would like to just re-use this part and save £10.
Thanks guys.

BTW This is from (and going back into) an old Marlin sidewinder.

[RobRR]

Wow Ive never seen a switch like that before, and Ive wired ALOT of guitars.

I would say that the lower right and top left are your grounds, and the center would be your output. begins that its not a true 5 way, you probably only need to use one side of terminals.

[thetroy]

Do you have a multimeter? That's the best way to figure those damn things out.

[MartinBarre]

Do you have a multimeter? That's the best way to figure those damn things out.

I do. But I'd have to figure out the multimeter first! :ROTF:

[MartinBarre]

Wow Ive never seen a switch like that before, and Ive wired ALOT of guitars.

I would say that the lower right and top left are your grounds, and the center would be your output. begins that its not a true 5 way, you probably only need to use one side of terminals.

So, do I just wire the pickup wires to the corresponding connector on the switch; then, wire the tone/volume controls to the OPPOSITE corresponding connector on the switch; and then, send one ground to the top of the pots...
then what? Where does the centre, what you call, "output", where would that go? The volume pot? The jack?
Why are there TWO grounds? Isn't there normally just one? Or even none?

[Newc]

Is that a blade or a rotary knob?

Either way, you should be able to see where contact is made by looking at the moving contact plate attached to the switch itself. It should have a rounded piece that touches contact points on the brown part (the wafer) as the switch is moved.

Whichever points that have wires attached that the ball touches are the pickup points, and whatever it doesn't touch that has a wire on it will be either ground or output, which will go to the volume pot.

If there is a wire that goes from one set of terminals on the switch to the other set of terminals on the switch, then it's probably 2-sided, which means each side has its own ground.

[Newc]

As well, if it's a 5-way switch, you might have wires that connect to two terminals at once, which would be bridges between two positions.

Standard Fender-style 5-way switches are merely 3-way switches with bridges for 1+2 and 2+3. The Jackson Special 5-way Switch was set up so that each position (1-5) was a totally separate connection. If you've got bridged connections on this switch, then you should be able to set it up for 5 completely independant selections.

And of course, the most obvious point: if it came from an H-S-S with an external splitter, and all the original wires are still on it, wire the S-S-S to wherever the original pickups were, because nothing has changed except the external switch.

[MartinBarre]

HA HA HA HA!!!!! It fuggin' WORKED!

I decided just to look at it as simply as I could, so wired one half of the connectors to the pups, the other half to the tone pots, with the centre wire to the volume pot and that top wire as a ground. Did away with the two at bottom right altogether.
And it WORKED!! PERFECTLY!

I'm really pleased, as I was certain this could never work. And it did!
Weird thing is, once I started trying to figure it out, and got the soldering iron going, it all seemed to make sense in terms of what I should put where...

[satyr]

..Hope you don't mind if I sit this one out.......

[MartinBarre]

..Hope you don't mind if I sit this one out.......

Your words are but a whisper...

[Rsmacker]

.....Or a whimper!

[MartinBarre]

.....Or a whimper!

Your deafness a shout!

[satyr]

Cheers Martin...and checkmate.