Help! Luke III no sound coming out

[Jorge ven]

Hi guys, I just got a used Luke III, and no sound comes out, seller said everything was working fine before he shipped, and has agreed to take it back for full refund, but I really like the look and feel of this one. Any idea what it might be??
So I plug it in and it sounds like the volume is in 1, with the boost on. Boost off and no sound at all.. on either pickup.. changed to a new battery as well..
Any help will be appreciated.

Jorge

 

[Rbg]

Would you mind posing a video?

 

[beej]

I'd check that the battery is making good contact. If the little connectors inside the battery box are bent, it may not be. You can try pushing the battery in a little further with your hand and see if it makes any sound.

 

[Jorge ven]

I will check that. Also noted the volume pot doesn’t go up or down, it stays at a certain level, might that be the problem? Maybe a bad connection on the pot or bad pot? Not sure how to upload a video but I ll try.

 

[beej]

The push/push controls the boost. If it got stuck, you'd still have volume.

On the sticking- sometimes loosening the knob can help. There may not be enough room for the shaft to depress fully, allowing it to release.

 

[Jorge ven]

Checked battery, when taken off completely dead, installed you still hear the low volume, so I guess that does work.. volume doesn’t move, pushed almost no sound, I only hear a little it’s pulled. So that’s my guess.. any way to test those pots? It’s actually scary to look even touch in there, so many things going on.

 

[Jorge ven]

https://imgur.com/MBg1QxJ

https://imgur.com/Ljrcq6x

When I touch this area with my finger I get full sound with some buzzing, but volume pot still doesn’t work.

https://imgur.com/qpnjWzB

https://imgur.com/YBJkeq2

 

[BrickGlass]

Wow, killer looking guitar. I have no advice on fixing it, but I sure hope you get it solved and can enjoy that beauty.

 

[Bungholi0]

Try removing the chrome volume knob from the front of the guitar. It has a grub screw on the side. Then see if the push push pot will stay in both the up and down positions.

 

[Jorge ven]

Try removing the chrome volume knob from the front of the guitar. It has a grub screw on the side. Then see if the push push pot will stay in both the up and down positions.

I did remove it, and it actually does stay up and down, When pot is up, that’s when I get Some sound, volume doesn’t go up or down when turning it though.

 

[beej]

Ok you've done all the obvious stuff. Beyond that, it's really hard to know. If someone's been in there, could be a bad solder joint on the pot PCB, etc. But you'd basically have to dig around and do some detective work to find it.

If the seller is willing to take it back, would they be willing to let Music Man repair it? You could have it shipped to them to take a look. Perhaps contact them and see what the timeframe would be.

 

[Bungholi0]

Checked battery, when taken off completely dead, installed you still hear the low volume, so I guess that does work.. volume doesn’t move, pushed almost no sound, I only hear a little it’s pulled. So that’s my guess.. any way to test those pots? It’s actually scary to look even touch in there, so many things going on.

I,m trying to understand this statement. Does this mean the old battery was dead? Or that there was no sound without the battery?

Might not be a problem with the pot.

If the guitar with no battery installed has the same low volume as with a battery installed, then the power is not getting to it. Unscrew the battery box and Check the wiring from the battery compartment. Maybe a loose wire somewhere in there.

 

[Jorge ven]

Ther

I,m trying to understand this statement. Does this mean the old battery was dead? Or that there was no sound without the battery?

Might not be a problem with the pot.

If the guitar with no battery installed has the same low volume as with a battery installed, then the power is not getting to it. Check the wiring from the battery compartment. Maybe a loose wire somewhere in there.

Yeah There was no sound without the battery, im guessing these new pickups are active??

 

[Bungholi0]

Ther

Yeah There was no sound without the battery, I'm guessing these new pickups are active??

The pickups are passive but it has a powered circuit. I think i made mistake in my last post. Someone knowledgeable will come along to correct me.

So.. The diagnosis so far = with dead battery or full battery installed, guitar has same low volume.

 

[Jorge ven]

The pickups are passive but it has a powered circuit. I think i made mistake in my last post. Someone knowledgeable will come along to correct me.

So.. The diagnosis so far = with dead battery or full battery installed, guitar has same low volume.

No, no battery no sound, on either boost pot pushed or pulled. Battery installed, low volume on boost pot pulled, lower volume on boost pot pushed.

 

[Rbg]

From my memory my LIII has much cleaner soldering job. Some soldering joints and wire bends look not very professional. How comfortable you are with the soldering iron?

 

[Jorge ven]

From my memory my LIII has much cleaner soldering job. Some soldering joints and wire bends look not very professional. How comfortable you are with the soldering iron?

I’m comfortable to a certain point. I just never messed with PCBs before. What would be a good starting point to check things??

 

[racerx]

Here are some photos of my unaltered L3 if they are useful:

https://imgur.com/a/BwTULsb

I agree with @Rbg that, at the least, your volume pot was pulled out for one reason or another. Your troubleshooting seems to confirm this too (pressing the pot restores some sound + buzzing). For sanity, you should probably consider returning the guitar before the seller changes his mind. If you got a great deal, then potentially negotiate a partial refund for a tech to look into replacing that pot and cleaning up the solder joints.

 

[Jorge ven]

Here are some photos of my unaltered L3 if they are useful:

https://imgur.com/a/BwTULsb

I agree with @Rbg that, at the least, your volume pot was pulled out for one reason or another. Your troubleshooting seems to confirm this too (pressing the pot restores some sound + buzzing). For sanity, you should probably consider returning the guitar before the seller changes his mind. If you got a great deal, then potentially negotiate a partial refund for a tech to look into replacing that pot and cleaning up the solder joints.

The seller responded this morning with the same suggestions. Take it to a tech and send a quote for a partial refund, or return it for a full refund. I really like this one, so hopefully We can get it working before the 30 days he gave me to return it.

 

[beej]

Yeah, that's really the best way to go. I'd guess it's not a complicated fix, but you do have to find someone comfortable to work on it.

Let us know how you make out.