Volume Pot and Output Jack Woes

[Death2Silence]

I have a 1985 Rampage that I recently got that I'm trying to get back into playing order. I will admit the most I've done technical wise with a guitar is change the strings , so this is going to be my first.

The volume pot will not adjust the volume. It appears to have been replaced at some point by someone not so great with a soldering iron. They grounded the third lug to the pot itself. The pickup is grounded to the pot also and it works, since the pot is into contact with the copper shield. Could it just be bad or does anyone see a problem with it? (pics below) The output jack was loose so I tightened it up, but I'm still having an issue with it. To get the output jack to work, the input has to be slid out slightly. I got a new jack to replace it. If anyone could give me some advice or pointers it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Elwood]

If you right click on an image and choose 'copy image url' , that will give you the pic address.
(in this case it's a matter of adding .jpg on the end) I bumped up the size a little.

I'd replace the volume pot , it looks as that one has had it's day. It might be the original CTS ...so you can stash it away (well labeled) for any future collectors.
There is a little tutorial on replacing those barrel jacks, I'll see if I can find it (if you haven't already)

Once you've dialed in the intonation, and action to your liking , that's going to be a great guitar again.
Is the back of the neck smooth ? if it was me I'd be tempted to hit it with some fine sandpaper and a bit of tru-oil
to seal it.

elwood

[Elwood]

Here's Ken B.'s tutorial ( applies to both bass and guitars) :

http://www.bassesbyleo.com/jack_replacement.html

[KenC]

Before I replaced the jack, I would check to be sure you aren't just dealing with oxidation on the contact surfaces or a bad solder joint. You could also try cleaning the old solder off the pot and re-soldering the connections.

Ken

[Death2Silence]

I finally got the pot to work! There was a slight crack in the solder where the ground lug is soldered to the pot's body. Quick heat up with the soldering iron and it now works.

I briefly tried a different cable with the jack and it seems to works pretty good. I think it may just be a case of oxidation on the contacts.

Thanks guys.

[Craig]

I finally got the pot to work! There was a slight crack in the solder where the ground lug is soldered to the pot's body. Quick heat up with the soldering iron and it now works.

I briefly tried a different cable with the jack and it seems to works pretty good. I think it may just be a case of oxidation on the contacts.

Thanks guys.

Good to hear you have been able to resolve the pot issue.
Regarding using different cables, make sure that you use standard size, not metric size cable ends. This has been discussed in the past on the G&LDP, so
you might want to do some searches and see which cable brands worked for other members.

Atleast, now you can focus on playing your Rampage and have fun with it.

Also, don't forget to add it to our G&L Registry.