Series pickup problem

[wayne]

Mica-
 
The bridge pickup on The Unicorn has started cutting out on me.  I'll be rockin' along and all of a sudden the output will drop to about half of norm or go out completely.  No distortion, no warning, just gone.  
 
It's only the bridge pickup, and it's definitely on the bass.  I swapped amp channels, F1-X's, cabinets, and power supplies many times to be sure where the problem is.
 
I removed the cover plates and inspected all the connections (like I really know what I'm looking at!) and everything appears to be connected.  The only thing I noticed is that there is quite a bit of wire (the actual metal) showing where the pickup leads attach to the board via the little rust colored connectors.
 
Can you tell me which lead should be which?  Does the little rust colored connector remove easily?  And can the wires be more securely afixed to them by a novice?
 
thanks!
 
C-Ya.............wayne

[mica]

The amount of bare wire does vary and shouldn't have any impact.     Some stuff to try:    Wiggle the wire from the bridge pickup where it connects to the PF6 card to see if you can make it cut out.     You might also change the positions where the neck and bridge pickups plug in and see if the problem stays in the position or follows the pickup. Then we'll know if we're looking at a pickup problem or an electronics problem.    You need a crimping tool to attach the connectors. They're about a hundred bucks or so. To check the crimped ends, you need to removed the rust colored housing/ You can remove it with something small like a mechanical pencil:  

  You need to insert the pencil in both slits, and gently pull the wire out. You might have to pull a little on one side, then on the other as you use the pencil.   Appearance of the crimps:

    Make sure you plug the crimped ends back in the proper location:  

    I'm not sure if that's what you meant by "which lead should be which"  so let me know if I misunderstood you.    The thing that really puzzles my dad is your observation that the signal goes to half sometimes. He's got some questions fo rou:    1. Can you give us some idea of how frequently this is happening?     2. Also, is there anything you can do to make it happen?    3. Does this happen with the 1/4" and the 5-pin cord?     4. Have you tried more than one 5-pin cord with the bass?    I'm sure with some clarification we can figure out what's happening with the bass.  (Message edited by mica on July 03, 2003)

[wayne]

Well, I printed out Ron's questions, got everything set up and ready to troubleshoot......and there was no problem to troubleshoot!
 
So, when/if it ever acts up again, I'll let y'all know and maybe we can track the problem down.
 
Thanks!
 
C-Ya..............wayne