83 spoiler with possible pickup issues

[baleyguitarrepair]

I am hoping someone can confirm what I think is wrong with this spoiler.
It came to me with output issues.
One pickup had very low response to string noise and a constant loud hiss. I verified it is the pickup by switching it to the other channel. It has unusual and changing ohm readings.. sometimes 5k, sometimes dead short. sometimes open. This variability is caused by wiggling the wire as it enters the back of the pickup potting. The potting looks odd.
Pickup two has similar issues except it is usually zero output. I was able to get it to have the same issue as the other pickup by wiggling the wire going into the potting. It did not stay that way once it was reassembled into the bass but now the hiss and low output comes and goes if I tap on the top of the pickup.
When I removed the pickups both of them looked odd to me. the copper shielding is visible as are the little hanger wires used in the potting process. Also the pickup wires in both pickups were "glued" to the floor of the cavity in a few places by some clear coating on the cavity floor. Not sure if this is original or something that leaked out of the pickups.
It seems odd that both pickups did this at once but the problem follows the pickups, not the electronics. Apparently this bass was stored in "an attic" for a couple years.
Are the pickups internally damaged? If so, are there replacements available?
Thanks for any help
Dave

[adriaan]

Hi Dave,

The pickups would appear to be toast - if you can see copper shielding on an opaque finish Alembic pickup then the integrity of the pickup is likely to be compromised. Is the housing cracked, or perhaps the flange where the mounting bolts should be in a two-over-two-under diagonal pattern? I wouldn't expect glue to be used on the pickup wires, you should be able to remove a pickup with the wire after disconnecting the solderless connector at the preamp, threading the connector through the channel. The good news is that replacement pickups are available. Assuming it is a regular Spoiler with two AXY pickups, you might even opt for the beefier, wide aperture Fatboy pickup in the bridge position.

[gearhed289]

Photos of the underside of the pickups, the pickup cavities, and the control cavity would help a lot to diagnose this.

[baleyguitarrepair]

the goop in the pup cavity could be extra thick finish from a prior re-finish but it looks very thick for that.
Hopefully the pix are clear enough. The bottom of the pickups looks very wrong to me but these are older than I have seen previously.
thanks for the help.
Dave

[edwardofhuncote]

The bottom of the AXY pickups in my '81 Distillate bass look a little bit like this, though the outline of the coils are less pronounced. What I see that may be at issue is the wire leads look like they got kinked or crimped a couple times. I would suggest waiting for Mica to opine here, this could be a fixable thing. Or it might mean replacements are in order. Or you may have a whole other thing going.


I wouldn't worry too much about the pooled clear whatever-it-is in the pickup cavities. Ideally, nothing contacts the 'floor' of the rout anyway.


Good luck fixing up that old Spoiler, looks like it's been a workhorse!