Broken switch?

Teetonetal

Got a fender ja90 Tele. Not used it for a few weeks. Tonight no bridge pickup, so middle and bridge positions don't work.

Lp wiring on this. Broken switch?

richardhomer

IIRC, they have a Les Paul type toggle?

These ‘can’ get stuck if left in one position for a while. Have you tried switching back and forth several times?

I leave my 335 in the centre position while it’s in its case, to avoid this happening.

Teetonetal

Yes.. it's am lp. Left in neck position.
Does getting stuck stop all sound when switched?

richardhomer

Teetonetal said:

Yes.. it's am lp. Left in neck position.
Does getting stuck stop all sound when switched?

Can do - it’s a common problem with this type of switch.

ICBM

It's not a switch problem - if it was, the neck pickup would still work in the middle position.

If there's silence in the middle position as well as the bridge, the fault is a short in the bridge pickup wiring. (It could still be a short *at* the switch in the bridge pickup connection though.)

When it's in the middle position, does turning down the bridge volume control bring the neck pickup back in?

Teetonetal

Nope. Completely dead in middle and bridge.. Checked the loom and no obvious break' or cracked solder.

ICBM

Teetonetal said:

Nope. Completely dead in middle and bridge.. Checked the loom and no obvious break' or cracked solder.

There won't be - it's a short, not a broken connection. Look for something (bare metal) touching something it shouldn't be.

If it's still silent when the volume control is down, it's at least not the pickup - it's either at the volume control, the switch or the cable in between the two.

(I should have said check in the middle position *as* you turn the volume down, not with it right down, if that makes any difference!)

Teetonetal

@ICBM found it. On the bridge vplume pot there is a small wire connecting the bottom lug to the centre of the pot. Pushing it to a different position and we have noise again. 

Not the neatest loom I've ever seen... lot of extra cable in there.

I have a feeling I should replace that wire. Wiggling it causes a cracke and loss of sound in a random way.