Pickup lead broken on Series I Bridge pickup

[attmann]

Hi everyone,
I got this beautiful Series I Point Body in March '08. I've had experienced a funny behaviour of the bridge pickup ever since. All of a sudden the sound would thin out with tremendous amount of buzz.
The lead and connectors inside the cavity would get very microphonic (just like an instrument cable being plugged into an amp with no bass connected).
Strange enough the problem would sometimes go away when disconnecting/reconnecting the pickup to the preamp card.After working properly for a while it would come back again(preferably on the more important gigs). Searching the preamp card for bad soldering  spots(even detecting some and refreshing some, then even replacing the FET)did not fix the problem permanently.
Now today I think I finally found the real trouble source: the pickup lead is broken. It is most likely broken just where it joins the pickup's epoxy...Moving it a little makes the meter read open then all of a sudden it will come back to life with its proper 3.24 KOhm...
 
Now here's my question: How deep can I work my way inside the pickup - with a dremel tool - in order to solder a new lead to the old root part at a point where it's not breaky and rotten.  
Does anyone have experience and suggestions? I remember reading a post on the forum dealing with exactly this issue but cannot find it no more.
Thanks everyone!

[terryc]

Would it be more prudent to send it to Alembic?
It could be a difficult repair and it could end in destroying the pick up altogether.
If Moca picks this thread up she will give you the best advice or you could contact Alembic direct.

[terryc]

It could be a difficult repair and you could end up destroying the pick up.
If Mica see this thread she may offer the best advice or maybe contact Alembic directly

[LMiwa]

It's a really small part that's easily mailed. If it were me, I would phone first, then send it home and let the parents fix it!

[attmann]

Thanks for your advice. I actually discussed the issue with Mr. Wickersham on the phone in the meantime. Accordingly I ordered a new pickup as plan B in case I should fail to dig in below the unhealthy part. Status report for now is: I dremeled around the lead about 2mm deep and made a  brave CUT!!! I found the shielding wire was totally breaky in the area. Lucky enough I still  was able to find a few valid wires. A littly tricky but finally I soldered the original lead(previously cut off) to the root. I have no idea how long this connection will last but at least it works for now.

[terryc]

Well attman I guess you had nothing to lose since you ordered a backup and it was a challenge I would have tried as well.
Hope it all works out