I have a 90's Mexican standard strat that's giving me some trouble.

The output jack was loose, and when I removed the two phillips screws and pulled it away from the body to tighten it, the connected wires broke off. I figured "no big deal." This could be an easy opportunity to try my hand at soldering (I think I did it once before in my 8th grade technology class). So I went out and bought a 30 watt craftsman soldering iron and some solder, watched a few videos on youtube, then gave it a go.

It didn't work out so well. I was able to reconnect the wires, but now the guitar produces a loud hum. It's not from the single coils. It's really loud and constant throughout all pickup configurations. I disconnected the wires and switched them around and the hum is still present. The guitar worked great before this incident; quiet and clear.

I'm not too knowledgable about electronics, so it's very possible that I'm using incorrect procedures or making a mistake of some sort. Or it could be possible that the wires became loose somewhere under the pickguard (I haven't removed that yet, just the jack). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't have any pics, but I could post some if necessary.

I'm also wondering if the solder I'm using is causing the problem. I told the salesman at Sears about my indended application and he gave me lead free solid wire solder. But I've been reading some things about resin cores and tin/lead ratios and I'm thinking that I might be using the wrong type of solder. Am I right?

Thanks in advance.

Off the top of my head, I'd say the other end of the black wire on your output jack came loose from the back of the volume pot.

Don't worry about the solder in this particular situation, it is alright as long as it sticks to the job and doesn't simply run off all over the place.

Acid core solder is NOT for electrical applications; resin core is. Resin (in this context) is also known as soldering paste or soldering flux. This helps clean the intended connection and helps the solder stick to the job. So, if you are using solid solder, make sure that you solder to an already established solder joint as that brown, gooey slime remnant is the aforementioned resin, etc.

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You dig?

When I pulled on the wire it was pretty taut, but taking off the pickguard and examining all the connections would probably be a good idea anyway. I'll do that.

Thanks for the comments on the solder as well.

Took off the pickguard. The wires didn't come loose. Everything seems to be well connected.

Check for a break inside the output jack's black wire.

You're welcome about the solder commentary.

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You dig?

Do you have an ohm-meter? You might try checking for continuity.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.