Pickup Rewinding Question...

[groovemonkey73]

Hey folk,

I have successfully managed to rewind 3 of my dead pickups so far, using a little jig that I knocked up and my cordless drill. Works a treat, now I've got my technique of guiding and unwinding with my other hand.

However of the three I've done, none of them are showing any resistance on my meter at all, which is odd. (I think).

I've re-wound from a complete dead pickup to an empty pickup with good posts, so I didnt need to count the revolutions. I've only tied the wire onto the post from the coil winding start, and then at the end when I was done, I haven't soldered the posts yet. - Does this make a difference?

If not, is someone able to explain why, when I know I've got a complete re-wound pickup with it tied on each post, why I'm not getting any reading on my meter? - I mean none, not even a little bit. Help!! 

[Jenzz]

Hi .-)

You MUST solder the wire to the posts. The wire has a thin laquer coat (otherwise, the coil will be a complete 'short-circuit'), which you have to melt / tin before soldering.

Jenzz

[groovemonkey73]

Ah, excellent, thank you!

I had been reading articles/watching videos about the subject and was coming to the conclusion it could be because of the lacquer coating.

I was curious to see if the re-winding had worked before soldering the posts, so I was being a little impatient!

So, if solder the coil wire to the posts, I should then see resistance?

[Jenzz]

Hi .-)

Yes, you should see roundabout 170 - 180 ohms...

Jenzz

[groovemonkey73]

Super stuff, thanks so much! 

[pnoboy]

... just a comment before soldering.  Most magnet wire nowadays has heat-strippable insulation.  It is not lacquer, but that is not important.  It takes a bit of heat to get the insulation off, and given the low melting point of the plastic Fender used for their bobbins, you should unwind the wire from the posts so that it's just hanging in the air.  Heat strip it with your soldering iron, and then, once stripped and tinned, put it back on the posts and as quickly and efficiently as possible, solder it on.  If you have no experience with soldering or dealing with heat strippable magnet wire, practice on a separate piece of wire lest you destroy one of your bobbins.

It's also possible you did not buy heat-strippable wire, in which case, you must unwind the wire from the posts, and then remove the insulation by carefully scraping it off with an Xacto blade or abrade it off with very fine sandpaper.  Once you do that, tin the ends of the wire, and then put it around the post and then solder it.

Good luck!

[groovemonkey73]

Thanks for your kind words of advice pnoboy, I do really appreciate that. I've had lots of experience with soldering before, although I could still be better if I had less of a shaky hand.

I've already seen how quick you need to be given the plastic on the bobbins, so I will practice on some completely dead pickups first.

The wire I'm using is pickup wire (I'm re-winding from dead pickups where there is corrosion on the posts, or the coil winding start was broken), onto an empty pickup with better or no corrosion on the posts, so then I know it will have a good connection, and also I don't then need to count the revolutions as I'm re-winding!

[spradders]

Hi - slightly off topic, but I don't plan to rewind my duff pickups (approx 5 of them), so what should I do with them? Happy to give them to someone. South UK.

[groovemonkey73]

Hi Spradders,

Im in Norwich UK - I can rewind them for you if you want? If you have already bought replacements and still don't want them, I'd quite like the spare ones.

[spradders]

Cheers - I've sent you a message.

[groovemonkey73]

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