Hi

My first post here and if similar stuff has already been answered then I am sorry (please could you post a link)

I have what I think (going off the serial) is an 85-86 made in japan stratocaster, that is original as far as I can tell. Does anyone know how the pickups are connected in positions 2 and 4?

I know it is neck&middle, and bridge&middle but is this in parallel, series (I don't reckon it is) Humcancelling?- How can I tell if the middle pickup is reverse wound or not?

I hope I am not making a fool of myself again..

Thanks for any help with this

Welcome!

OEM, your pickups in positions 2 and 4 are wired in parallel.

You can tell if the middle pickup is reverse wound/reverse polarity (which will make the circuit humbucking when used with either pickup #1 or #3) quite easily: Plug in your guitar and listen to the hum with you pickup selector switch in position 1,3 or 5. Now, move the selector switch to position 2 or 4. If the circuit quiets down and most of the hum disappears, the middle pickup is RW/RP and hence, the circuit became humbucking. If the hum doesn't radically quite down, that middle pickup is not RW/RP and hence, there is no hum cancellation happening.

And no, you are not making a fool of yourself; glad to help!

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You dig?

... and if you can't tell by listening, a compass could be used to identify the reverse polarity (or not) of the middle pickup.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Thanks for the great advice - and sorry for the delay in my reply

The "hum" seems to be the same no matter what position the switch is in...
I did try a compass near each pickup, the red north arrow seems to be attracted to the top of each pickup (all 3 pickups do exactly the same) You can't get the other arrow pointer "white" anywhere near!
So I am thinking that maybe they are all the same magnetically?

This is a clip I read on wikipedia:stratocaster

"With the rising popularity of using pickups in combination, Fender introduced a new feature in 1977 coinciding with the standard 5-position switch; a reverse-wound, reverse-polarity middle pickup. As the description implies, the magnetic polarity of this pickup is opposite the other two, as is the direction of the wire winding around the bobbin. This provides a hum-canceling effect (removing hum induced by poorly shielded, medium to high output AC devices) in positions 2 and 4 on the selector switch."

This is why I presumed going off the serial number A01**** it was an 85-86 strat and therefore would have the rwrp modification but maybe it does not - maybe because its a japanese version??

Thanks

You're welcome.

I agree with all of your conclusions.

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You dig?