I'm new here at MIMF. I need some expert advice on the pot wiring for my Warmoth. A while back my guitar wasn't sending a signal out to the jack. I knew that it was a problem with one of the pots because it would cut in and out when I turned the volume pot. I took the plate off to take a look and I noticed there was a broken solder joint on the back of volume pot where 3 wires joined. I tried re soldering them but I couldn't fix it because of the massive buildup of solder on the joint. Instead I cut the wires and soldered two on the right side (pic) and one on the left side of the pot.
Now the guitar has a signal out but the pot is apparently bypassed. The pot seemingly has no effect on the signal now. Can someone please explain to me what I did wrong and how I can fix it?
Thank you very much ahead of time! I can fix a lot of things but guitar electronics confuse me.
Welcome to the MIMForum, Kelly.
Well, the solder joints don't look too good. It looks like your iron won't get things hot enough and you are ending up with "cold" solder joints on the back of that pot. Also, you don't need that short piece of red wire on the back of the pot. If the pot no longer does anything, it is because there is a connection between the two lugs with wires attached- not the one that is soldered to the back of the pot, but the other two.
Soldering to the backs of the pots is redundant and it requires a big soldering iron (75-100W) to do it effectively. The pot cases are already grounded via the control plate.
If you're soldering to the back of a pot, it's best to clean/polish a spot on the edge where the back bends around to the side and solder there. It heats up a little faster and there's less chance of damaging the pot.
A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon
If I didn't want to replace any parts (being cheap) I might disconnect everything and start from scratch, but I have decent soldering skills and tools. You should try to get rid of all those cold joints, using a solder sucker (once again good tools) and start somewhat clean. I would go to Seymour Duncan's site and download a diagram that matches what you've got as reference.
Does the volume control not work at all or does it not shut the sound off? That third lug on the volume pot doesn't look well soldered to the back off the pot and that will keep the volume from going completely off.
But the wiring there is not particularly well done. You might want to start from scratch with new parts and use this as a learning experience. New pots, a switch and a new cap won't be too much cash outlay.
