I think the heat killed my P basses - FIXED!

[Ray]

Plugged in my American Original P - nothing, dead as door nail. Tried my American Standard- same. My Jazz is fine though.

 

All three basses are on the same rack stand in my music room which gets really hot, especially with this heat wave. They might have been in direct sunlight for a while too. 
 

I’ve opened them up and, although I’m no expert when it comes to electronics and wiring, everything looks intact. 
 

Anyone experienced anything similar?

Edited August 17, 2022 by Ray

[PaulThePlug]

Got a multimeter?

Stick a lead in and measure continuity and/or resistance between tip n sleeve.

Does it change when ya turn the vol pot...

[Ray]

  On 13/08/2022 at 18:11, PaulThePlug said:

Got a multimeter?

Stick a lead in and measure continuity and/or resistance between tip n sleeve.

Does it change when ya turn the vol pot...

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I have a voltage tester but not a multimeter 😕

[PaulThePlug]

As you say could be the heat has got to 8t, maybe expanded the pot, no longer making contact... and not the pickup windings? Both Passive i presume not the heat got to a battery.

Move em away... bit of luck and fingers crossed all will be fine later... mine are in a rack by the patio window, curtain drawn, not a lot else can be done, no more room...

[Ray]

UPDATE:

 

They are not completely  dead. If I crank the volume on my amp to the max I can just about hear some signal coming through. Also, if I touch one of the pole pieces it buzzes loudly. This is the same on both basses. 

[Ray]

  On 13/08/2022 at 18:37, PaulThePlug said:

As you say could be the heat has got to 8t, maybe expanded the pot, no longer making contact... and not the pickup windings? Both Passive i presume not the heat got to a battery.

Move em away... bit of luck and fingers crossed all will be fine later... mine are in a rack by the patio window, curtain drawn, not a lot else can be done, no more room...

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Yeah, both passive. I’ve moved them to the coolest room in the house. Fingers crossed 🤞 

[PaulThePlug]

Wire or link the pup hot direct to the socket ...By pass the controls? Fingers crossed its a pot and not pup...

Edited August 13, 2022 by PaulThePlug

[Reggaebass]

Silly question but have you double checked the lead, only I had this a while back and it was a loose Jack plug 🙂

[Ray]

  On 13/08/2022 at 18:47, Reggaebass said:

Silly question but have you double checked the lead, only I had this a while back and it was a loose Jack plug 🙂

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Not a silly question. Yes, tried multiple leads through two different amps. 🤔

[Ray]

  On 13/08/2022 at 18:44, PaulThePlug said:

Wire or link the pup hot direct to the socket ...By pass the controls? Fingers crossed its a pot and not pup...

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You’ve obviously never seen me use a soldering iron… 😝

[ezbass]

Hmm, I wondering if they’re shorting to ground somewhere, on some shielding perhaps?

[Ray]

  On 13/08/2022 at 19:00, ezbass said:

Hmm, I wondering if they’re shorting to ground somewhere, on some shielding perhaps?

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Would that kill the output too?

[ezbass]

  On 13/08/2022 at 19:08, Ray said:

Would that kill the output too?

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Yep.

[itsmedunc]

I have a lead that only works on certain basses of mine. Weird as it looks exactly the same as the rest?

[Ray]

  On 14/08/2022 at 22:51, itsmedunc said:

I have a lead that only works on certain basses of mine. Weird as it looks exactly the same as the rest?

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That is odd! I've tried all sorts of leads into all sorts of amps and it's definitely the basses that have bust.

[Ray]

I'm taking them to my local tech tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be able to fix them.

[Musicman666]

spray contact cleaner inside jack input hole...

[Ed_S]

I'm not sure which group this should worry most - those who never take a backup to gigs because what could possibly go wrong with a P bass, or those who always take a backup to gigs because if one fails you can rely on the other!

 

Never had anything similar myself. Hope you get 'em sorted without too much inconvenience and expense, and it'll be really interesting to hear what it turned out to be.

[Ray]

Update… both basses have been fixed! 😃 The heat had cooked the solder attaching the wires to the pick-ups.

 

BTW, I took them into Strings Direct which is just a stones throw from where I work in Southend-On-Sea. Chris Ward (from The Bass Centre) has a work shop there that he works from one day per week. Highly recommended. 
 

Thanks for the input, guys. 😊

[Ed_S]

  On 17/08/2022 at 12:45, Ray said:

Update… both basses have been fixed! 😃 The heat had cooked the solder attaching the wires to the pick-ups.

 

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Now that's a proper bass ownership story to tell - the day my music room got hot enough to melt solder! 🙂 

[ped]

This should be front page news, under the headline 'the real cost of climate change' - just like when the war in Ukraine meant my mum couldn't get her knitting patterns any more! 

 

Glad you got it sorted, that must have been really mind boggling to happen especially to two basses at once. 

[Reggaebass]

Glad it was a simple fix 👍

[Baloney Balderdash]

  On 17/08/2022 at 12:45, Ray said:

Update… both basses have been fixed! 😃 The heat had cooked the solder attaching the wires to the pick-ups.

 

BTW, I took them into Strings Direct which is just a stones throw from where I work in Southend-On-Sea. Chris Ward (from The Bass Centre) has a work shop there that he works from one day per week. Highly recommended. 
 

Thanks for the input, guys. 😊

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I would have though that as good as impossible, what I would think possible though was the wax potting of the pickups potentially partially melting causing microphonic pickups.

 

In either case it is probably a good precaution not to leave your instruments in direct sunlight, where the temperatures can get pretty crazy, and I'd say especially for the sake of the wood rather than the electronics.

 

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Baloney Balderdash

[nikon F]

  On 17/08/2022 at 13:01, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

I would have though that as good as impossible, what I would think possible though was the wax potting of the pickups potentially partially melting causing microphonic pickups.

 

yep .

90 to 450 °C

Soft solder typically has a melting point range of 90 to 450 °C 

 

 

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[Ray]

The solder didn’t melt. The heat caused ‘dry’ joints. Apparently this is quite common in Fender valve amps - the heat from the valves can make the solder joints dry. Maybe it’s down to poor quality solder and/or solder joints from Fender 🤷‍♂️

Edited August 18, 2022 by Ray