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Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10123&t=42233		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Duhjoker [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 2:13 am ]
Post subject:  Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Hi guys
I'm ready to start wiring my acoustic/electric hybrid. I bought a presoldered wiring harness to make things easier and it came with instructions. My problem is the pickup I bought has the wiring different than what it's supposed to be I think. Any way here's a pic of my diagram sorry it got messed up a lil.

Image

And here's my wires.
Image

See the red and white wire are supposed to be soldered together but this has got the green and red.

Would any body happen to know which wires are what?

North start===
North finish===
South finish===
South start===

Thank you! Any help would be appreciated.
Author:  Duhjoker [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 3:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
This might help.

Image
Author:  Sandywood [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Not all double coil pickup manufacturers use the same color coding.

I can't see "red and white" in your schematic but that is how Seymour Duncan "Hotrail" pups would be- which would be "finish to finish".

It could be that green and red are "finish" leads on the pickup you have. You should be able to confirm with the manufacturer.

It may also be possible to see (which I can't) on the pickup to determine start and finish leads from each coil.

If red and green are the finish then black (hot) to switch/pot and white to ground - like Lindy Fralin.
Author:  Duhjoker [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 2:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
All right so I contacted the seller and of course they don't know anything about it. So I made a complaint.

This is the info I could find.
Twin "hot rail" style twin coil humbucker strat neck pickup.
4 wires for coil tapping.
Two pole pieces and is fully shielded for low noise and wired for hum cancelling.
This pickup has high output power.
the Resistance between red wire and black wire :appro 4.98 K.
the Resistance between white wire and green wire :appro 4.98 K.
The two fixing screw holes are 77mm apart.
Size:8cmX2.5cmX2cm(L X W X H)(Appx.).
Cable Length:38cm.
Color:Black.

I can see that the black wire is black and bare soldered together.
Author:  Sandywood [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 2:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Then with the red and green together (Fto F)- using blk (+) and wht ( -) or vice versa -you should get a resistance @9.9-10.0

Did you try and see the coil leads? I imagine the tape is preventing you but it's easy way to confirm the S and F.
Author:  Duhjoker [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 3:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Image

Image

Image

These pics are enlargable.
Author:  Duhjoker [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 3:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
The leads go up under the copper which I'm not removing.
Author:  Duhjoker [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Ok so looking at the pickup from the top. Which side is the start and which side is the finish?
Author:  Duhjoker [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Ok I think I got it. The red is north-finish the green is south-finish. The white and black wires are opposite which would make the white wire north-start and black wire south start and bare.
Author:  Sandywood [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Did you take the reading as I suggested and get @9.9-10.0?....with G/R tied.

To determine visually one has to be able to see the copper wire the leads are soldered to.
I don't recommend removing the tape. Very risky. I believe the red/gr are FF.

To determine phase- http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/pickupwiring.htm
Author:  Duhjoker [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Sorry don't have any electrical testing equipment.
Author:  dzsmith [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Hmm,
I'd tie the red and white together, green is hot, and black is ground.
This is based on the manufacturer's description and the way most of the overseas pickups I have seen.
Should be easy enough to try.
Author:  Sandywood [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
dzsmith wrote:
Hmm,
I'd tie the red and white together, green is hot, and black is ground.
This is based on the manufacturer's description and the way most of the overseas pickups I have seen.
Should be easy enough to try.


Not sure what overseas pickups you're talking about.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/sc ... olor_codes

One guess is as good as another.
I wind my pickups and test any I install whether or not I made them.

If one chooses to guess....guess the manufacturer tied the finish to finish together-as should be. Which in this case is red to green.
Author:  dzsmith [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Sandywood wrote:
dzsmith wrote:
Hmm,
I'd tie the red and white together, green is hot, and black is ground.
This is based on the manufacturer's description and the way most of the overseas pickups I have seen.
Should be easy enough to try.


Not sure what overseas pickups you're talking about.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/sc ... olor_codes

One guess is as good as another.
I wind my pickups and test any I install whether or not I made them.

If one chooses to guess....guess the manufacturer tied the finish to finish together-as should be. Which in this case is red to green.

Correction: Green is ground, black is hot (on GFS pickups).
Author:  Sandywood [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Like I said....guessing.


Without knowing the manufacturer or having a test meter and not being able to see the coils - one guess is as good as another.

There is only a few points to help....
One is that Finish to Finish is common.
One may assume that the manufacturer tied them together.

(there are also other clues....take note of the readings and what colors used to get them.....and a biggy that blows your guess...the black being soldered to ground)

By using those two points then it is only logical to assume Red and Green are FF....and since black is soldered to a bare then it's only logical that white is +.


I don't know if that is a Fralin pup but Fralin uses that color code.

White and black can be reversed....and no worries since it appears to be the only pup used.
Author:  Duhjoker [ Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help wiring a Hotrail pickup.
Ok I got it right. I assumed that the black and bare wires were ground and therefore the south start. This is so on my dragonfire screamers. And that the red and green being soldered together were the north and south finish since they were presoldered together. If all that was true then the white wire was the hot. Also there was guy on cigar box nation who had the same problem he wired his red and white soldered and made his green the hot. He did not get good results. So he wired it back green and red joined and the white hot and got it right. I tested this afterwards by tapping a quarter across the rails to activate the pickup and was pleasently surprised. When I tapped the pickup with a quarter in single coil mode I got one rail reacting and the other silent and both rails reacting in humbucker mode.

I want to thank you all for your help. I really aprreciate all your posts.
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