Duncan Wiring Confusion

[Stratz]

Is this a mis-print or am I missing something?

From Seymour himself on SD FAQ page. question # 63

Adjustable Coil South Black White
Non-Adjustable Coil (stud) North Green Red

Unless I'm missing something it doesn't match this SD diagram.

[big_teee]

What you said is not correct.
#63 is probably a typo.
the diagram is correct.
it matches this diagram.
You feed the black, ground the green and bare and tie the white and red together.
Wiring Diagram
T

[Stratz]

Hi Terry, It's not what I said, its what Seymour said.

Adjustable Coil South Black White
Non-Adjustable Coil (stud) North Green Red

Now unless I'm missing something that doesn't match the diagram I posted in my first post.

Rob.

What you said is not correct.
#63 is probably a typo.
the diagram is correct.
it matches this diagram.
You feed the black, ground the green and bare and tie the white and red together.
Wiring Diagram
T

[big_teee]

Hi Terry, It's not what I said, its what Seymour said.


Now unless I'm missing something that doesn't match the diagram I posted in my first post.

Rob.

Sorry, seymour note is a typo.
Your diagram and the diagram I posted of a Les Paul matches the Duncan pickups.
I have used it many times.
Trust the diagrams on the wiring site.
T

[Stratz]

Whew!, I just started using SD's wiring code for a local builder at his request (I've always used my own color code for 4 conductor) and I happened to come across Seymour's quote and I started to freak out....
Ugg.... Thanks T!

Rob.

Sorry, seymour note is a typo.
T

[David Schwab]

The chart is right. I have one hanging on my wall.

I wish everyone would just use the same color codes. I use DiMarzio's, because they did it first, and it makes sense... green is ground, and red it hot. Exactly what you would think.

[RedHouse]

...and it makes sense... green is ground, and red it hot. Exactly what you would think...

Well not me, and not to start a spat or anything but I would think White or Black should be hot myself.

Gibson and Fender used Black and White for hot, as well as Rickenbacker, and other stuff like the (USA) mains are Black=hot (White=Neutral Green=GND).

It is interesting that 9V battery leads, automotive system/battery cables, as well as meter leads (VOM/DMM) use Red for hot, and also interesting (to me) is how some pickup makers from the vintage era used White leads for the Start, and Black leads for the Finish

[big_teee]

Well not me, and not to start a spat or anything but I would think White or Black should be hot myself.

Gibson and Fender used Black and White for hot, as well as Rickenbacker, and other stuff like the (USA) mains are Black=hot (White=Neutral Green=GND).

It is interesting that 9V battery leads, automotive system/battery cables, as well as meter leads (VOM/DMM) use Red for hot, and also interesting (to me) is how some pickup makers from the vintage era used White leads for the Start, and Black leads for the Finish

If you go back in US time, With DC, usually Red was Hot, and black was ground.
AC black was hot, and white was neutral. There was no green ground.
All US AC receptacles were 2 wire.
Because of electrical shock the 3rd wire ground came to be.
It was usually just a Bare lead. then they started making the safety isolated ground Green.
I figure because no one wanted to dupe someone else, is why there is so many color codes.
In my area the SD Color Code is the most popular, so I use it.
T

[David Schwab]

Well not me, and not to start a spat or anything but I would think White or Black should be hot myself.

Gibson and Fender used Black and White for hot, as well as Rickenbacker, and other stuff like the (USA) mains are Black=hot (White=Neutral Green=GND).

It is interesting that 9V battery leads, automotive system/battery cables, as well as meter leads (VOM/DMM) use Red for hot, and also interesting (to me) is how some pickup makers from the vintage era used White leads for the Start, and Black leads for the Finish

Brad, you are giving examples of two conductor pickups, and even then they can't make up their minds. Fender has white as hot and black as ground, which is the opposite of standard US electrical wiring, where black is hot and white is neutral, and green is ground.

Red is still the hot on the 9v battery leads, and I learned to use red for hot and green for circuit grounds a long time ago.

But we aren't talking about electrical wiring. Red is a hot color. Fire is red (more or less). Green is the color of grass. So out of those four colors red makes you think of hot and green as ground, right? On a 4 conductor pickup, black and white are neither here nor there.

The bigger problem is that none of the pickup makers can agree on the colors, and that makes it hard for everyone. DiMarzio did it first, so I consider that the standard. EMG HZ pickups also follow the Dimarzio wiring. The rest of them have no rhyme or reason. But if you really want to get goofy, look at Schaller's colors!

I also use white for start and black for finish, but that's because I was copying Gibson!

[Tom Phillips]

...It is interesting that 9V battery leads, automotive system/battery cables, as well as meter leads (VOM/DMM) use Red for hot, ...

You would think so but that assumption almost caused a disaster late one night when I was hooking up jumper cables under the hood of a 1975 BMW. The positive battery lead was stock black.

[RedHouse]

...Red is a hot color. Fire is red (more or less). Green is the color of grass. So out of those four colors red makes you think of hot and green as ground, right?..

David, of course I agree about colors (in general) it makes sense to me too and I don't fault your logic.

BigT, I agree, as a low-voltage technician I was also taught red=high black=low.

...On a 4 conductor pickup, black and white are neither here nor there...

That's where I disagree, unlike on a 2 conductor cable, on a 4 conductor cable the concept of "hot" and "ground" don't exist, they are now matters of phase, so in that respect it's why I think the "neither here-nor-there" colors of White and Black are more appropriate and force the user not to think like hot=red ground=green. But anyway, I started my opinion with "not to start a spat or anything" so let's not get into a "last-word" thing, you said your peace, I said mine, neither requires an obligatory rebuttal until it devolves into an arguement right?
(sending out a big internet hug here)

I too have always wondered why there was no "official" color code/standard, sure I understand it all developed in an off-the-cuff kind of way, but one would think early on (and like you said) DiMarzio having set the bar for the 4-conductor pickup wiring thing, why the rest of the industry didn't follow when they too went to a 4-conductor offering, is a weirdness.
(ie; industry followed DiMarzio by offering 4-conductor wiring options, but then dropped the ball in the color code department)

[RedHouse]

You would think so but that assumption almost caused a disaster late one night when I was hooking up jumper cables under the hood of a 1975 BMW. The positive battery lead was stock black.

Yep, totally agree, back in the late 80's I spend a couple years doing a parts-counterman gig at a BMW dealership parts department, and lemmie tell ya battery cable color is but one of MANY weirdness'es found in the house of BMW!.

[ken]

Yep, totally agree, back in the late 80's I spend a couple years doing a parts-counterman gig at a BMW dealership parts department, and lemmie tell ya battery cable color is but one of MANY weirdness'es found in the house of BMW!.

AMEN! I had one of those for a short while in the early '80s - NEVER AGAIN.

Anyways, I use red for the start of the screw coil and black for the finish, then green for the start of the slug coil and white for the finish. Red = hot, tie white and black together, and green for ground.

I think the color code issues come from pickup makers not wanting techs to 'mix and match' pickups from different makers.

ken

[David Schwab]

Yep, totally agree, back in the late 80's I spend a couple years doing a parts-counterman gig at a BMW dealership parts department, and lemmie tell ya battery cable color is but one of MANY weirdness'es found in the house of BMW!.

I had an '81 BMW 320i. It was a funky little car. The electrical system was crap, and started acting weird, so I sold it about 10 years ago.

I paid $250 for it.

[RedHouse]

I had an '81 BMW 320i. It was a funky little car. The electrical system was crap, and started acting weird, so I sold it about 10 years ago.

I paid $250 for it.

Yeah, Robert Bosch sheesh! except for the Colt (router) on my CNC router, I stay clear of anything that says "Bosch".
(and fully expect the router to fail prematurely too)