Pickup selector issue JP6

[ArthR]

I recently acquired a beautiful 2011 JP6. Just a very special guitar for me. I’ve only played it a couple times and there were zero issues. Today when I plugged in, I noticed the 3 way pickup selector was kind of getting stuck when trying to go from middle position to the neck. Also noticed that while it slips into the bridge position easily, there is no sound from the bridge pickup when selected or in the middle position. This is a non piezo. I pulled the back and all looks in order with the wiring but the problem persists with the switch from middle to neck. Eventually it slips into place. Full volume when selected and lower when in mid (with no bridge in the mix).

I ordered a new 3 way selector direct from Ernie Ball this aft and actually went for black to match the tone and volume. It’s on a dark red burst body so should look great. Any opinions on whether this switch is the entire problem? I mean with how it’s acting obviously and both issues surfacing today, the switch it needs to be replaced and I’m just assuming with the circuit board attached to it there has to be a connection to the pickup issue. Just find it odd that for how smooth it slips into the bridge position that there is no sound from that pickup. But, I know my limits on knowledge of such issues… which brings me here to the pros…

 

[beej]

Heyya- it's hard to say without seeing it. Could easily be that the switch is faulty, which is a relatively easy fix. Could also be a bad solder joint - maybe a previous owner rewired it and something's come loose (again, easy fix).

Was it working well when you bought it?

 

[ArthR]

Hi. Thanks for this. Yes, everything was working and though I have only had the guitar out a few times I did go back and forth through all positions several times and don’t recall the switch being anything but normal and pickups working fine. Person I bought it from said it is all original and it does look that way. So fingers crossed it’s the switch. But will see if he can test anything before swapping it out to rule out anything else as being the cause. Thanks!

 

[beej]

You could open up the rear cavity and have a look- maybe there's a wire or two that have come loose?

The other thing you can do is check connectivity with a multimeter. But if you're taking it somewhere, just wait until you have the parts. It's an easy fix.

 

[ArthR]

Hey. Thanks. I did pop that off and all the wires seem to have good solder connections throughout in there though I understand a cold solder joint can mislead. I agree that seeing I am getting the new switch that a pro should solve this in short order!

 

[beej]

Hey great