Pickup "Open Internally" what does that mean?

[Rich#6]

I sold a pickup on ebay that I took out of a guitar just a week ago. The buyer tells with that it's bad and it's open internally according to his ohm meter. What the hell does that mean? I'm sorry I smell BS

[dg]

I'm guessing he means it's got no continuity through the coils, as in a broken or shorted wire. Has he installed it and claims it doesn't work, or is he just testing it first? This is a tough one, because if he's clueless & can't wire it up right, he's still going to blame you.

edit- another thought... It's possible that he's not even checking across the right wires. For example, if it's 4 conductor humbucker, does he have the correct two wires connected to make it series? Does he even know what the color code is for the pickup?

[phill_up]

some of that is going to depend on the meter he has also. I have never even thought to ohm a pickup to see how many ohms it has but I have ohmed enough of other things. I have a clamp on (amprobe-multi-meter) that will measure ohms but when i get down to the gnats ass i have to get my other Fluke VOM meter to get down really deep into "K"ohms or "M" ohms. you may go over the SD forum and ask those guys how many ohms a pick has and then ask the guy what kind of meter he has.

I smell bullshit

[Spivonious]

+1 on the BS call. Ask him to send you a photo of it wired up.

Note to self: don't sell anything on ebay. It seems like the scammers have taken over.

[DonP]

What the hell does that mean?

The buyer is saying your pickup has a coil where the thin wire is broke.

If he has the ability to check that it's open, that should mean he has an ohm meter.

Ask for two pictures, one checking the DC resistance of each coil.

Each coil has a start and finish. Look at the pictures making sure he's using the proper wire colors for each coil. Every manufacturer uses different colors.

Also make sure his meter is set up properly for the DC reading, and that it has good batteries.

[phill_up]

OuCH! I think you are on to something. I bet he isn't using a DC meter

[Newc]

If it's a Duncan and he's a DiMarzio user, he's probably checking the red wires, which is primary for DiMzos but Split (thus half) for Duncans.

Or it's vice-versa - he's reading a Dimzo split wire as a Duncan primary.

[Rich#6]

A-hole won't respond to my emailed questions. He bought another pickup around the same time too so I am hoping is isn't confusing the 2. Grrrr!

[CharvelRocker]

A-hole won't respond to my emailed questions. He bought another pickup around the same time too so I am hoping is isn't confusing the 2. Grrrr!

Getting in contact with the other seller privately (IE email/IM) to see if the guy is making a similar claim would be mt advice

[MartinBarre]

A-hole won't respond to my emailed questions. He bought another pickup around the same time too so I am hoping is isn't confusing the 2. Grrrr!

Sounds like he bought two, decided he prefers the other one so doesn't want yours now.
I've done that myself a few times in the past, but I don't rip people off who sold me the things, I just resell them on eBay.
Guy sounds like a prick, but then again, maybe it got damaged in the post.

[Newc]

If he's not responding, he's already made his mind up that he's getting rid of the pickup, probably due to the otehr purchase. Otherwise, he'd be open to the idea that he's not checking it properly and would respond.

[Rich#6]

He got back to me and I even called him on the other pickup. That one is going back to because the top is cracked. Mine he says is dead. He is an electrician by trade and fixs guitars on the side. We will see when I get it back.

[StukaJU87]

Make sure the one he sends you back is the one you sent him. He may try to pull the old okie doke on you.

[Newc]

But what does an electrician-by-trade know about pickup voltages? It's one thing to be able to tell a 480 relay from a 220 relay, but I still think he was testing the split wires, or did not have the ground wire and common (green or black on Duncan) together.

[Gank]

But what does an electrician-by-trade know about pickup voltages? It's one thing to be able to tell a 480 relay from a 220 relay, but I still think he was testing the split wires, or did not have the ground wire and common (green or black on Duncan) together.

I agree. My bet would be that he's testing it incorrectly.