Coil Split..help! Options

[Becca]

I have here a cheap Flying V type guitar. Belongs to a friend of mine who is trying to split the bridge bucker using a push pull volume pot. The switch is the double pole/throw type bought from Axetec specifically to do this. The problem we have is the Pickup she bought from EBay (possibly from an old Ibanez) has the four wires coming from it to allow coil split. We have no idea which of these wires are Hot etc. Everything we looked at on the web is for specific pups or assumes we know which wire does what! We don't. The wires are wrapped in a metal shielding which I assume needs to be grounded?
We have tried the trial and error approach and got some tone but no obvious split. It was very very buzzy.
The electrics on this all fit on the scratchplate so its easy to work on, even the jack socket is on the scratchplate. Any suggestions gratefully received. It's driving us nuts!!!
Is there a way to find which wire is which using a Multimeter? That would be a start. Thanks peeps.

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[PosterBoy]

Each coil should have a separate resistance, so if you choose 2 wires and it comes up with an open circuit then they aren't part of the same coil. I would imagine you are looking for a resistance reading around 6-9 ohms for each of the coils.

As for the polarity of the coils that's another problem

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

This is the moment when I visit my girlfriend father who is an electricity engineer and asks him for help.

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[Becca]

Each coil should have a separate resistance, so if you choose 2 wires and it comes up with an open circuit then they aren't part of the same coil. I would imagine you are looking for a resistance reading around 6-9 ohms for each of the coils.

As for the polarity of the coils that's another problem

Thank you PB that is a great help. At least we know where to begin now.

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[jstcrsn]

Each coil should have a separate resistance, so if you choose 2 wires and it comes up with an open circuit then they aren't part of the same coil. I would imagine you are looking for a resistance reading around 6-9 ohms for each of the coils.

As for the polarity of the coils that's another problem

start from here, then you will have to wire the 2 coils in series and play,(not knowing the wiring, trial and error is the only way) ,if it is tinty , thin and weak , The coils are out of phase with each other.By this point you should be able find how to wire for the coil tap.unfortunately,If you can't understand thru this description , you might be better off taking it to a pro

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This post has been edited by jstcrsn: Jun 4 2014, 07:53 PM

[Becca]

start from here, then you will have to wire the 2 coils in series and play,(not knowing the wiring, trial and error is the only way) ,if it is tinty , thin and weak , The coils are out of phase with each other.By this point you should be able find how to wire for the coil tap.unfortunately,If you can't understand thru this description , you might be better off taking it to a pro

Thank you. My friend and her fella brought it here soldered up but ,as you say tinty, thin and weak. Also a tremendous buzzing as a bonus.
We are going to disconnect it tonight and find the HOT wires, then its the trial and error approach, but at least we will have a starting point. Thanks again for the good advice.

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[jstcrsn]

Thank you. My friend and her fella brought it here soldered up but ,as you say tinty, thin and weak. Also a tremendous buzzing as a bonus.
We are going to disconnect it tonight and find the HOT wires, then its the trial and error approach, but at least we will have a starting point. Thanks again for the good advice.

opps forgot,once you have it in phase with it self , you might need to make sure it is in phase with other pick-ups, if there are others

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This post has been edited by jstcrsn: Jun 5 2014, 11:51 PM

[Becca]

opps forgot,once you have it in phase with it self , you might need to make sure it is in phase with other pick-ups, if there are others

Thanks again. Yeah its got a neck and bridge arrangement of pups. We didn't get a chance to work on it last night but definitely do it over the weekend. I suspect it may be home made. If it is then its a neat job. There are no manufacturers marks on it as far as I can see. Looks like a letraset transfer on the headstock that says Gibson but it aint! Fingers crossed we can get it working well.

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