Hey, as some of you guys know, I've got new pickups and a new pickup selector switch. Recently, an electrician soldered in the new switch, but only two positions worked. I've actually figured out why, and its because the wires were in the wrong places.

I do have a soldering iron, but not solder. I have absolutely no hands-on experience, but I have seen it done personally and know how it is supposed to be done. Do I need solder, and is this safe to do by myself, as I do not like traveling several miles to a guy just to have him solder a few wires? I am scared that I might fried something, but am also scared that not enough will be applied, and I might get in trouble with my dad, as I didn't buy the switch.

What do you think?



-The Screamin' J

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CURRENT RIG:
2008 Squier bullet stratocaster modified with Rumpelstiltskin pickups -> Dunlop GCB-95 Original Crybaby -> Fender Vibro Champ XD

"Could you take the stain from this pair of pants, and put in on this pair of pants?"

I think what you need is 60/40 rosin core electrical solder, but I'm not 100% sure, it's been years since I soldered guitar electronics.

It's really not hard at all, just make sure you have some heat sinks/traps to draw the heat away from the delicates.

soldering is not hard at all. If you are worried ask your Dad to help. If thats an option.

There are some things you really need to be made aware of especially if you have never done any soldering before. Things can go wrong. You will discover that when you desolder the old wire going to the switch that Fender stupidly runs the wire through the hole and then wraps it around the terminal. This makes desoldering it very hard. So you either have to work with it for awhile and pull and twist and what not or you have to cut the sucker and throw the old switch away.

Something else to really be aware of. It is very easy to let a piece of solder drop into the switch. If you use too much gravity forces it to go downward. If this happens your switch is instantly ruined. I've ruined at least two switches this way. You need to take care to only use a small dab of solder here.

Do some practicing before hand with junk pots and switches to develop your soldering technique. That's what I did and it was time well spent. But soldering is a little tricky. You need to develop a method that works for you.

The most important thing when soldering is heat. Not enough and you get a cold joint that has high resistance and likely will come apart. Too much and you risk damaging parts.
Also, don't heat the solder with the tip. You should be heating the area to be joined and allowing the solder to flow into the joint.
I would suggest you use your old switch for practice before you ever touch your good parts.

Hi 357mag: when desoldering you need to use either a solder pump (a.k.a. solder sucker) or solder wick. Two different methods of pulling the old solder off the joint without it dripping where you don't want it.

Google for more info - either option is pennies.

Cheers - C

This electrician you know, why don't you bring it back to him with the wiring diagram and explain the situation? Or, if your school have an electric shop class, again, explain the situation and ask the teacher if one of his better students could do it up for you.

Either way, if I were you, I'd let my father know exactly what is going on as you are clearly a victim of circumstance here and surely, have done nothing wrong.

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You dig?

Thanks guys. My dad hasn't really soldered anything in a very long while. I wouldn't really trust him with it. So if I get a bit of solder on the switch but clean it up right away, then that would be fine?

It doesn't seem like too hard of a job, but I'm not sure how many watts my soldering iron is. Is there any way to check? I'm hoping that the iron is high wattage...


-The Screamin' J

_________________
CURRENT RIG:
2008 Squier bullet stratocaster modified with Rumpelstiltskin pickups -> Dunlop GCB-95 Original Crybaby -> Fender Vibro Champ XD

"Could you take the stain from this pair of pants, and put in on this pair of pants?"

Oh my...

Good luck, Hendrixfan.

Cheers - C

I like to use a magnifier when I solder, or do fine work. yeah my eyes aren't 20/20, but I did it even when i was a lot younger, and wasn't as poor in the eyesight dept.It was a trick i learned form a repair ace, who did have 20/20 vision.

You'd be amazed at how much better your fine motor skills are when you look at something magnified.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Yes. But even when you are soldering if you use too much solder it can flow downward and right into the switch. That's why it's important to watch closely and just use a small dab.

If someone knows how to solder, the last time someone did it is irrelevant; it is like riding a bike, one never forgets.

If some of that solder drips down and solidifies into the mechanism of the switch, chances are, it would be easier to pick fly crap off the head of a pin with boxing gloves than it would be to salvage that switch.

A high wattage iron is NOT appropriate for your particular task.

I know you probably don't want to read this but I think you're digging a deeper hole for yourself, trying to attack this head on without any prior knowledge/experience.

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You dig?

You can do this by yourself. Here are some tips:
http://www.theguitarfiles.com/guitarfile504.html
You can get everything from Radio Shack for around $40 or so.
Get a de-soldering braid to work off the old soldering joints on switches, etc.
Make sure the soldering tip is heated up - or you'll have a cold joint.
Practice first, for sure. Get some old wires and pickups and switches and give it a go. Make sure you tin your tip (the tip is covered with solder) when you solder a connection. You also need an ohm meter to check your wiring before you put pickguard back on, IMO. With that said, if you really feel you can't do it, don't. But I learned last year without any problems. Check out Seymour Duncan's website for diagrams, that's what I use to guide me every time.
Good luck. Soldering is not hard, it's just a skill to learn.

I've read that even though one risks burning something with a high-watt iron, using a low-watt iron would take longer to heat up, and can destroy to a certain degree the housing of the iron and the inside.


Is this true?


-The Screamin' J

_________________
CURRENT RIG:
2008 Squier bullet stratocaster modified with Rumpelstiltskin pickups -> Dunlop GCB-95 Original Crybaby -> Fender Vibro Champ XD

"Could you take the stain from this pair of pants, and put in on this pair of pants?"

Too much wattage will immediately fry a terminal and/or prevent the solder from quickly and correctly resolidifying.

In terms of terminals, you won't burn them with a low voltage iron as this is exactly what low voltage irons are made for. This is also provided that you don't subject the terminals to PROLONGED, SUSTAINED heat. In terms of the back of pots, oftentimes, the low wattage just won't melt the solder correctly and this is among other things, what a higher wattage iron if for. Some people still insist on trying to get away with a low wattage iron for this application. Once in a while, they do get away with it. Most times, due to the PROLONGED, SUSTAINED heat of someone insisting on trying, regardless of them being successful in making the solder even partially fuse (or not), the 'can' (meaning, the pot's housing) gets very hot and this excessive heat radiates throughout the inside of the pot, thus frying the inner mechanism of it. This comes under the heading of, "The operation was a success but the patient died".

The bottom line: Pprolonged, sustained heat or simply brief but excessive heat on ANY contact when soldering is absolutely WRONG and will oftentimes, destroy the appliance.

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You dig?