Humbucker - no output when ground wire connected

[TheGrateOz]

I have a humbucker that I am installing into the bridge of a guitar with a Sustaniac in the neck position.

The Sustaniac seems to be working nicely and the the Sustaniac pickup is acting as a normal pickup when the driver is turned off.

I have one side of the humbucker coil connected to a three way switch and the other side connected to ground. With the exception of a bit of noise, the humbucker sounds good. However, when I connect the ground wire, soldered on one side to the humbucker baseplate, to ground in the electronics cavity, the pickup goes silent.

Probably a noob question, but what went wrong? Thanks!!

[David Schwab]

Sounds like you have a short.

[TheGrateOz]

Sounds like you have a short.

Would that short be within the pickup? err... better posed, is there a way to test the pickup to eliminate it from the equation? Thanks

[David Schwab]

I don't think it would be in the pickup, but maybe in the wires coming from the coils. One of your hot wires is probably touching the baseplate. That would also explain why it's noisy. Do you have your hot and ground mixed up?

[TheGrateOz]

I don't think it would be in the pickup, but maybe in the wires coming from the coils. One of your hot wires is probably touching the baseplate. That would also explain why it's noisy. Do you have your hot and ground mixed up?

I have it wired as follows:
Slug Start -> Adjustable Start (tied together)
Slug Finish - > 3-way switch
Adjustable Finish -> Ground
Ground Wire (Baseplate -> Ground)

Both coils are wound CCW

[David Schwab]

Check to make sure some insulation didn't melt when soldering, or that a wire isn't pinched. Clearly one of your signal wires is shorted to the baseplate, which is why the pickup cuts out when you ground the baseplate.

How are you getting any signal without the ground connected? That's the question. That points at something being miswired.

Alternately try some 4-conductor wire to keep the pickup wires the the ground separate until the end of the cable.

[TheGrateOz]

Check to make sure some insulation didn't melt when soldering, or that a wire isn't pinched. Clearly one of your signal wires is shorted to the baseplate, which is why the pickup cuts out when you ground the baseplate.

How are you getting any signal without the ground connected? That's the question. That points at something being miswired.

Alternately try some 4-conductor wire to keep the pickup wires the the ground separate until the end of the cable.

Thank you, David.

I am using 4 conductor wire. I will try measuring each wire to see if any short to the baseplate while they are disconnected from the guitar.