Pickup Selector Switch Went a Bit Wonky

[GADonis]

So last night I was playing my McSoaporina and notice that the switch wouldn't "click" into position for the neck pickup. It would click in place for the bridge and the middle, but when I switched to the neck the toggle would go back to the middle. So I took the plate off and took the switch out (still connected) and futzed around with it for a bit. It looked like the long contact strip was bent slightly out of position. So I bent it back into position and the switch would then click into place. Put the switch back in place and noticed that the middle and the neck positions sounded exactly the same. Took the switch back out and saw that the smaller contact strip wasn't engaging/disengaging properly. So I gently adjusted it's position until all three positions started working correctly.

I have no idea how these strips would have been knocked (bent) out of place for this to happen. It seemed to happened out of the blue. Oh well, at least it was at home and not at a gig. I love the neck position and it would have completely ruined me for the night if it happened at a gig.

 

[TheCraftsman]

Maybe switched through them with a bit too much “uff” whilst rocking out?

 

[JasonE]

I am pretty OCD with 3 way switches and for exactly the reason you are having issues. When I am done playing any of my guitars that have a 3 way on them, I put the switch back in the middle so the tab that makes contact in them is not bent to either side and stays straight. I was looking at one of my guitars that I had been playing hanging on the wall many years ago and happened to think about how that switch works and that metal will fatigue over time. That did it. From that day forward, for many years now, I have to put them back in the middle when I am done playing.

 

[GADonis]

I am pretty OCD with 3 way switches and for exactly the reason you are having issues. When I am done playing any of my guitars that have a 3 way on them, I put the switch back in the middle so the tab that makes contact in them is not bent to either side and stays straight. I was looking at one of my guitars that I had been playing hanging on the wall many years ago and happened to think about how that switch works and that metal will fatigue over time. That did it. From that day forward, for many years now, I have to put them back in the middle when I am done playing.

Working the switch back and forth and watching it, I don't think the deflection of the contact strips is enough to really be an issue either over time or if a switch was in one position for a long time. The strips are very long relative to their thickness and they don't appear to bend anywhere near the yield point and the bend is pretty gradual over the length. Which is why I really have no idea why/how mine would have been "out of adjustment."

 

[JasonE]

Working the switch back and forth and watching it, I don't think the deflection of the contact strips is enough to really be an issue either over time or if a switch was in one position for a long time. The strips are very long relative to their thickness and they don't appear to bend anywhere near the yield point and the bend is pretty gradual over the length. Which is why I really have no idea why/how mine would have been "out of adjustment."

My OCD brain won't allow me to leave the switches in a position to find out. Once I had the thought, that was it.