Stewart-MacDonaldEverything for building and repairing stringed instruments!
Your order cart Your order | Account | Saved list
Sign in
E-mail us or call 800-848-2273
Home Free catalog Quick order International Customer service
Home : Free Information : Electronics : 3-way Lever-action Switch

3-way Lever-action Switch

Wiring for Tele & two-pickup guitars



i-3191 Updated 02/09

This traditional spring-action lever switch is commonly used for Telecaster® style guitars. This switch has 1-5/8" mounting screw spacing, and needs at least 1-3/8" depth in the body cavity. A 1/16" x 1-1/16" slot in the pickguard/control plate is required for the lever.

About our kits
Stewart-MacDonald wiring kits contain black and white non-shielded wire, plus shielded coaxial cable. Extra black wire is included for running a string ground to the bridge.

Notes on wiring
Reduce unwanted electrical noise by using shielded coaxial cable for your longer wiring runs (for example, the connection between the controls and the output jack). Coaxial cable contains a center “hot” conductor which is shielded by an outer braid used for the ground wire.

For short connections between components, use standard non-shielded wire. Typically, white wire is used for hot and black for ground.


#0138 Wiring Kit for Tele®

The spring on the switch can be on either side (there’s no difference, electronically). String ground on a Tele® is usually made by the metal baseplate of the bridge pickup contacting the metal bridge. If your pickup doesn’t have a metal baseplate, run a string ground wire from the back of the volume pot to the underside of the bridge (shown by dotted line).




#1801 Wiring Kit with 3-way Lever Switch

This wiring diagram is suitable for any two-pickup guitar with humbuckers, single-coils or a combination of both.




#1801 wiring option

For guitars with humbuckers that have a coil-tap or series-link, this wiring makes the middle position a combination of neck and bridge single-coil outputs in parallel.













Lever-action Pickup Switch Lever-action Pickup Switch


Toll-free order line:   800-848-2273   9am-6pm Eastern Time, M-F
Your order | Your account | Trade Secrets E-mail Newsletter
Home | Free catalog | Catalog Quick Order | International | Customer service
Our guarantee | Shipping | Security & Privacy | Contact us
Site map | About Us | Employment
© Copyright 2009 Stewart-MacDonald
Your shopping is secure with VeriSign! HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.