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Author Topic:  Bill Lawrence pickup wiring help
Chris Tarrow


From:
Maplewood, NJ
Post  Posted 16 Jun 2022 4:53 pm    
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Just installed a Bill Lawrence pickup and I seem to have a grounding issue, getting a click when I touch the neck. Pickup has 3 wires (black, white, red). I believe the red is a coil tap which I am not using and I just taped it off. black and white wired to the output jack. Anyone had this issue? Thanks in advance.
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Jeff Highland

 

From:
New South Wales, Australia
Post  Posted 16 Jun 2022 5:33 pm    
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You may have reversed the hot and ground wires at the jack.Its easy to get this wrong, ground is the tab which leads to the sleeve.

IDK what the colour coding for these is. If you have a multimeter, read for continuity with the baseplate from leads to identify ground and once you have established that then the higest reading from the other leads to ground will be hot, and the intermediate reading the coil tap.
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Jeff Highland

 

From:
New South Wales, Australia
Post  Posted 16 Jun 2022 5:35 pm    
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This says that red is hot, white is tap, black is ground
https://madhatterguitarproducts.com/en-au/pages/mad-hatter-solderless-tone-shaping-system-wiring-sheets-references

Best to check it as above.
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2020 Highland New Yorker.
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Chris Tarrow


From:
Maplewood, NJ
Post  Posted 16 Jun 2022 6:09 pm    
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Jeff Highland wrote:
read for continuity with the baseplate from leads to identify ground and once you have established that then the highest reading from the other leads to ground will be hot, and the intermediate reading the coil tap.


Thanks for this I will pick one up tomorrow. Could you explain the above in more detail? Pretend I don't know anything about electronics. Very Happy
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Jeff Highland

 

From:
New South Wales, Australia
Post  Posted 16 Jun 2022 6:50 pm    
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Set the multimeter to read Resistance (ohms) Touching the two probes together should show zero (or a very low value) from the ground lead to the metal baseplate should read the same. From the Ground lead to the Hot will give a value up in the 10K ohms more or less and the coil tap half of this.

But first check you have not reversed the leads at the jack, that is the most common mistake.
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2020 Highland New Yorker.
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Ricky Davis


From:
Bertram, Texas USA
Post  Posted 16 Jun 2022 7:43 pm    
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Chris the new Bill Lawrence 710 made by Becky Lawrence with "https://www.wildepickups.com/pages/wiring-and-technical-information
The "White" wire is Full "hot" ; the Black Wire is Ground and the "red wire is split coil"; Jeff's link is incorrect.
Yes wire tape the end of "Red" wire and stick it under a bracket so doesn't come loose and touch something. White wire goes in positive prong of input jack and black to negative(ground) of the jack; that's the prong with metal from prong going round center. Is this a double neck guitar with three ways selector switch??; you might be having a wire prob there?? if not; I always run a extra black(ground)wire from negative of input jack under a screw that touches anything on E9 changer brackets/springs...etc.
Show me a wiring pic of your area...I can see more.
Ricky
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Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2022 4:39 am    
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I've had 8 Lawrence pickups over the years and none have ever had a metal baseplate, always plastic. And the red wire was always a coil tap. I wired the red wire to a switch under the guitar to switch it from humbucker to single coil.
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Chris Tarrow


From:
Maplewood, NJ
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2022 8:56 am    
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Ok thanks you guys for all the help. Bought a multimeter. Pickup has a plastic baseplate. Here are the readings I get:

Black/red: 9.6
White/red: 9.6
Black/white: 19.2

I believe that confirms the red is the coil tap.

Single neck guitar and I don’t think I will use the coil tap so I’m just going to tape it out of the way.
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Ricky Davis


From:
Bertram, Texas USA
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2022 9:43 am    
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That's it Chris, you got all that right,go for it bro.
Ricky
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Chris Tarrow


From:
Maplewood, NJ
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2022 11:52 am    
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ok just wired it back up, and I actually think I had it right before, just didn't do a great job of soldering. Anyway, all squared away now, thanks all!
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Ricky Davis


From:
Bertram, Texas USA
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2022 1:36 pm    
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Awesome Chris; Good on ya.
Ricky
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