Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

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OV7
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Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by OV7 » Tue May 12, 2020 11:06 am

I’ve got a Nash JM-63 that seems to have a problem with static electricity building up under the pickguard near the 3 way switch and below the pickups. The problem goes away temporarily after running a dryer sheet on the pickguard and all over the switch. Once the static electricity appears again, usually after about 3 days, the switch will fail to engage the isolated neck pickup. The switch works fine after using the dryer sheet trick. Any clues as to why? I’ve Googled this nonstop for days.

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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by timtam » Tue May 12, 2020 7:23 pm

Never heard of that connection between static and a selector switch fault (and only in one switch direction) . So IMO a specific connection like that is as much of a long shot as the static affecting something else in the neck's circuit and the switch is only seeing the result of that ... ie similarly unlikely ... except that something is obviously happening to you.

In any case, does the Nash have grounded pickguard/cavity shielding ? And if you open it up you can also observe the switch wiring / operation of the switch contacts directly.
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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by OV7 » Tue May 12, 2020 7:55 pm

There is no shielding of any kind in the cavity or on the back of the pickguard. It has less hum than any other JM circuit I’ve ever had. Weird.

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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by timtam » Tue May 12, 2020 8:23 pm

Weird indeed. Static seems to be an issue in some environments but not others. If the switch contacts look OK and all the switches' and pots' bodies are grounded I would probably try grounded shielding on the pickguard (eg copper foil with conductive adhesive).
"I just knew I wanted to make a sound that was the complete opposite of a Les Paul, and that’s pretty much a Jaguar." Rowland S. Howard.

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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by OV7 » Tue May 12, 2020 8:41 pm

I will try that soon. I have a huge roll of copper tape for partscasters I assemble.

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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by jvin248 » Wed May 13, 2020 3:23 am

.

While copper foil looks classy, you can do the same with aluminum flashing tape. For others that find this thread later, check continuity with a meter as you lay the flashing tape strips down and wrinkle or lay a bridge piece across any that don't conduct for whatever reason. A roll of the aluminum tape for $7 or so will shield at least two dozen guitars, normal copper shielding kits run about $25 per guitar. There is also some Faraday cage research out there that aluminum performs better than copper. Copper looks classy and is why players use it.

Make sure to run shielded cable to the output jack from the volume pot -- in many guitars that is about half the noise floor. We use shielded cable from the guitar to the amp because it's important.

As for your switch and static problem ... you may have a dirt or worn contact problem that happens in parallel with the static issues. Deoxit or another good contact cleaner sprayed in there while working the switch can fix many problems. Or if the switch gets a lot of use over years you may just be on the ragged edge of the switch failing and you need a replacement.

.

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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by OV7 » Wed May 13, 2020 5:32 am

All grounding is done properly and the switch is brand new and clean. All solder joints are completely solid. I had this problem with the original switch that came on the guitar and on both replacements that I've tried. The pickup connections are perfect. I'll get around to shielding the pickguard soon. I'm about ready to just stuff a dryer sheet under the pickguard and see if that works ;D

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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by fisonic » Thu May 14, 2020 1:17 am

jvin248 wrote:
Wed May 13, 2020 3:23 am
.

While copper foil looks classy, you can do the same with aluminum flashing tape. For others that find this thread later, check continuity with a meter as you lay the flashing tape strips down and wrinkle or lay a bridge piece across any that don't conduct for whatever reason. A roll of the aluminum tape for $7 or so will shield at least two dozen guitars, normal copper shielding kits run about $25 per guitar. There is also some Faraday cage research out there that aluminum performs better than copper. Copper looks classy and is why players use it.

Make sure to run shielded cable to the output jack from the volume pot -- in many guitars that is about half the noise floor. We use shielded cable from the guitar to the amp because it's important.

As for your switch and static problem ... you may have a dirt or worn contact problem that happens in parallel with the static issues. Deoxit or another good contact cleaner sprayed in there while working the switch can fix many problems. Or if the switch gets a lot of use over years you may just be on the ragged edge of the switch failing and you need a replacement.

.
The shielding specific products claim to conduct through the adhesive. Might explain part of the higher price point. There are, no doubt, some probable work-arounds for this, but none the less worth consideration.

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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by OV7 » Fri May 15, 2020 9:44 am

I got a Nash JG-63 two days ago. It started to have static crackling when touching the pickguard after 1 day. So I rubbed a dryer sheet on the pickguard and it went away. I'm thinking the lack of shielding may be causing the issues. None of my other guitars have this problem and they are all shielded(some extensively, some just under the switches and pots). One day I will disassemble and shield the Nash guitars and see. Thank you all for brainstorming with me. I appreciate it.

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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by adamrobertt » Sun Jul 25, 2021 8:18 am

OV7 wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 7:55 pm
There is no shielding of any kind in the cavity or on the back of the pickguard. It has less hum than any other JM circuit I’ve ever had. Weird.
That's because shielding doesn't do anything about 60 cycle hum, it merely blocks extraneous RF frequencies.
OV7 wrote:
Fri May 15, 2020 9:44 am
I got a Nash JG-63 two days ago. It started to have static crackling when touching the pickguard after 1 day. So I rubbed a dryer sheet on the pickguard and it went away. I'm thinking the lack of shielding may be causing the issues. None of my other guitars have this problem and they are all shielded(some extensively, some just under the switches and pots). One day I will disassemble and shield the Nash guitars and see. Thank you all for brainstorming with me. I appreciate it.
In this case shielding the back of the pickguard might help - it could give the static a place to go other than to the components.

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Re: Can static electricity cause switch to fail?

Post by alexpigment » Mon Jul 26, 2021 8:37 pm

This is very interesting because I battled with my neck pickup randomly going out every few weeks and sometimes resolve itself after a day or so. I’d go in there and resolder, and it would always work after that, but then crop up again at some point. The guitar was fully shielded.

I finally got tired of this and replaced the neck pickup and haven’t had the problem since. I wish I would have tried a dryer sheet to confirm your findings, but honestly I never thought about static electricity being the problem. At any rate, I would be interested to know if swapping the neck pickup cures it for you though.

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