Choosing a Location

• 1). Choose a place on the guitar's body where a switch can be installed. One way to avoid drilling a new hole is to use a push-pull potentiometer. This can replace an existing volume or tone control and allows for a volume or tone function in the lateral direction and a coil selection switch in the vertical direction.
  
  
• 2). Identify the start and finish wires for each of the two coils. Since different manufacturers use different color codes to identify these wires, it is best to refer to the instructions that came with the pickup, or consult the manufacturer's website.
  
  
• 3). Determine the pickup's coil orientation by referring to the instructions packaged with the pickup or by contacting the manufacturer. With a standard humbucker, some manufacturers indicate which coil is considered the "north" or "south" coil--the coil that is closest to or farthest from the instrument's bridge or neck with respect to physical orientation. This is helpful in determining which wiring diagram to use.
  
  

Wiring the Switch

• 1). Secure the switch in a soldering stand or vice, lug end up.
  
  
• 2). To select the south coil, solder the north finish and south finish wires to lug 3. Solder the north start wire to lug 2. Solder the south start and shield (bare) wire to together to the back of a control casing. Solder the output wire to lug 2.
  
  
• 3). To select the north coil, solder the north finish and south finish wires to lug 2. Solder the north start wire to lug 2. Solder the south start and shield (bare) wire to together to lug 3 and connect this to the back of control casing. The north start wire is used as the output wire and is connected to the pickup selector switch or volume control.
  
  
• 4). Secure the switch to the face or pick guard of the guitar. Test by plugging the instrument into an amplifier. If there is no sound when the switch is in either position, inspect the switch for loose connections or stray solder that may have shorted the circuit.