EVH wiring - huh??

[AndyK]

I opened up the two wire covers on the back of my EVH last night, to see what's going on in there. Holy cr@p, I've never been so confused by a guitar with one volume and a 3-way. I think someone tried replacing the pickups at some point, so maybe that explains the cut and spliced wires?

Main thing was to see if I can replace the toggle switch. The pickups are wired to the tiny board on the switch - makes zero sense to me. I just closed it back up and ran away. Has anyone figured out the wiring to the toggle on their Axis?

Good thing EBMM does electronic work on older guitars!!

 

[fbecir]

Don't panic ... we have some electronic gurus here ... just PM beej !

 

[AndyK]

I should take some photos, someone really did an interesting splicing job on top of the confusing configuration! I'm afraid if I uncoil the wiring it will all fall apart.

 

[Spudmurphy]

TNT is useful on pickup wiring too
- sorry, not my Forté.

 

[beej]

Hope the PM helps ... buzz me if you need a hand!

 

[AndyK]

Hope the PM helps ... buzz me if you need a hand!

Yeah, thanks Jason. Not sure you saw my PM reply about my EVH having single conductor wiring, unlike your diagram showing two conductor wiring.

I have a call in to AJ to see how much a re-wire would run, while the guitar is there for new frets.

 

[AndyK]

The good news is AJ says they have no problem rewiring the guitar and bringing it back to factory spec!

 

[beej]

Yeah, thanks Jason. Not sure you saw my PM reply about my EVH having single conductor wiring, unlike your diagram showing two conductor wiring.

Hey Andy- no, I didn't get that ... odd.

Sounds like you're all set with AJ (which is the best way to go). But for the record, wiring things up with earlier EVH pickups is a cinch. You just have a hot and ground, so you just omit what were the black & white wires from the schematic, since they're already wired together.

Good luck with the refurb!

 

[AndyK]

What's confusing to me is how you wire to the underside of the board when it's blocked by the switch?

 

[beej]

The solder pads are on the bottom of the PCB. So once the switch is mounted to the body, they'll be pointing right at you as you're looking into the control cavity. Makes for easy soldering.

 

[AndyK]

The solder pads are on the bottom of the PCB. So once the switch is mounted to the body, they'll be pointing right at you as you're looking into the control cavity. Makes for easy soldering.

Yeah, that makes sense, BUT, the wires are all soldered UNDER the PCB board, not on the outside that is facing me! I'll post a photo of the shoddy wiring later. The beauty is AJ said a complete re-wire should only cost $30!

 

[beej]

I see- you mean the old switch. Either take it out, flip it over and unsolder it (I gather they soldered it before they installed it), or you can clip the wires very close to the toggle (I usually use nail clippers to get into tight spaces).

But ya ... if MM is going to refurb it, I wouldn't touch a thing.

 

[AndyK]

Right, MM will re-wire, add my NEW toggle, AND, replace the volume knob. So, the guitar will be restored to factory wiring! Like I said, I'll post some photos of the lame wiring in the guitar now. I'm surprised it still works.