'89 HM Strat

[vtc01]

I'm new here. Found this board after searching for info about HM Strats on Google.

I picked up an HM at a thrift store a while ago and am in the process of fixing the wiring. It was a real mess and I am hoping someone here can answer a few questions for me.

The pickups test out very good on an ohm meter. (HSS) The super 3 is fine it seems.
The single coils look original also. I have some questions about them though. There are three contact points on each. One point on one end and two points on the other. I am thinking they are set up for a coil split. Are they stacked? How were they wired stock from the factory? Which eyelets are the hot? And what are the wires screwed into the guitar under the single coils for (grounds)?

I really appreciate any help.
Thanks, Tim

[heem6]

Hi Tim,
At a thrift store?!! I think everyone here is now very jealous of you.

I think the humbucker was the only pickup that coil split. If you'll look at the wiring diagram on the Background page of the website www.heavymetalstrat.com, it will show this better. That diagram is not original, but should work great for the HM's. We created that based on but modified from some Seymour Duncan wiring diagrams. The single coils that came with the HM's had only two wires - one to ground and one to the selector switch and they were true single coils, not stacked. I believe that the wires screwed in underneath are grounds, yes.

There're prolly people here who know more about the wiring than I do, though.

Welcome to the forum, congrats, and let's see some pics! (Also, please register the serial number in that thread when you have a chance!)

[nickwellings]

Do you have pics, Tim of the wires? I haven't heard of the single coils having three wires. I am betting like Jim said, one f those wires is signal ground and one is just shield ground.

[vtc01]

Thanks for the welcome.

The guitar has a maple fretboard and a repainted black body w/Kahler Spyder. The original color, from what I can tell, was fuchsia (pinkish red).

I'll try to get some pictures up of the guitar and pickups.

So maybe these single coils aren't original? I'll try to describe them a little better. The contact eyelets are at each end near the screw holes. Two line up if you were to draw a straight line between them from one end of the pickup to the other. On the end that has the extra eyelet, it is located above the screw hole. By putting the ohm meter on the two that line up from end to end I get 12.4 . By moving the probe up to the other eyelet on the end that has two it reads 6.2 .

Tim

[nickwellings]

Hmm! Well it sounds like the pickups might be getting read as wired in series, when you're getting a 12.6 k reading. Each pickup is probably 6.2 k which sounds very correct for the HM single coils. But the three wires thing does not sound normal. Pictures would be a big help if you can get them.

Are there three wires coming out of each pickup? Or just two coming out of each pickup?

[vtc01]

The 12.4 and 6.2 readings are from each pickup separately out of the guitar. Each pickup has three contact points but only two wires were being used when they were hooked up.

Ohm meter probe stays on this contact point - -> (. PUP : ) <-- by moving the other probe between these two contact points I get: top point 6.2; bottom point 12.4

I think they are stacked and are set up for a coil split if wanted. The covers only cover half the sides of the pup. You guys have seen a lot of HMs and they had traditional two contact point pups so I'm thinking these weren't stock to the guitar.