Common Telecaster 4-Way Switch Problem - SOLVED! 

Holy cow...the other day I noticed that my 4-way Tele would not always engage the bridge....I thought it was a looseness in the switch...NOPE...it was the exact problem you cited. Took a file to the neck of the switch to cut out an indentation so that the switch could travel all the way over....5 min...DONE! THANKS!!

Good catch! Kluson plates are built with a longer slot to accommodate 4 way swtiches.

You sir just saved me a lot of trouble. I was going to install a 4 way on a Squire plate....now I know better! Thanks a bunch!

Excellent information No one else has mentioned this. Well done, thank you I would have thought it was my wiring and tore out all my hair.

I found this video because I have a switch cap that annoyingly keeps popping off my modded telecaster; it hasn’t occurred that the efficacy of the switch might be affected by this design, too. Thanks a lot!

Thank goodness I found your video! Luckily I'm modding a Thinline so all I had to do is just dremel the plastic pickguard. Thanks a BUNCH!

Problem solved, I was about to reflow all my joints. THANKS A BUNCH!

Well that was interesting! The average pickup swapper would probably not look for that. Thank you! .......Fast forward two weeks, just installed a 4 way switch into a Tele, everything looked right and could not figure out what was wrong. I started searching the internet and this video came up again....sure enough, that WAS the problem. And the whole switch plate came pre wired from a name brand....and THEY got this wrong. Pretty unbelievable.

Thank you sir! Good info. It's funny how the Fender part can be the problem, not the cheaper copies.

Oh my goodness I have racked my brain why my switch wasn't working this video is a life saver dude thank you so much. I took the switch out of the control plate and it worked fine, now just a little mod to the plate.

Thank you for sharing this information with us! I am going to get to work on mine that has this problem.

Bro, this video is super helpful! I bought a 4 way and had this problem...I kept going back and check different wiring diagrams. I used my 3 way instead. I'm about to put my dremel to work and widen that slot. You've restored my hope to having a more versatile tele! Thank you, bro!!

Good information to get out there. I did two of these mods but luckily I noticed that the switch arm was hitting the end of the slots (metal control plates) before I even wired them up. I found that two metal cutting hacksaw blades (32 TPI) held together was the same width as the slot. So I just used it like a fine file on both ends of the slot until the switch arm no longer made contact. I've also heard of people filing small notches towards the bottom of the switch arm for clearance.

I appreciate this. I had this exact issue, and it kept the bridge pickup from working in bridge only. Appreciate it a bunch.

Also, you can un-mount the switch from the pickguard, and if it works then, you know it's the blade being obstructed in the slot, and not your wiring job. Thank you so much for this!

THANK YOU,,been wiring on my 4 way for 2 days! You just saved me from buying another and not knowing it was gonna be the right one. I used a Stu Mac rounded nut file and cut my slot just slightly, worked perfectly! Kudo's to you sir.

thanks john, 👍 i`ve just fitted a 4way switch on my tele, and found this out also, fortunately i managed to mod the offending parts and hey presto....😁works fine!

Dame I spent ages taking apart putting together wireing . Saw this checked mine dame you right. sods Thanks 🎉😊

You are a very kind man. Thanks for your time...

Wow! I sure am glad I came across this video. I am putting a 4-way Mojotone mod in my Tele and I have the same issue. The slot on both ends isn't allowing the switch to go full throw. On the neck pickup end there's still space between the plates in the switch, but on the bridge end it's so close I can't see space so I'm going to have to modify it. Thank you!

Just a big thank you. Good to know before you start.

I put an Oak Grigsby 4 way switch in a 50’s MIM Tele and it worked fine. I tried the same switch in a Peavey Reactor with a twin blade neck pickup and it never worked right. Put in a 3 way switch and it works fine.

Problem solved! Mechanical mal-function! Good call/good info 👍

This happened to be the other day- had I not found this video I would not have noticed

I ad the same problem , after a feew day, I sa your video WOW! thanks

This was my exact issue! Thanks for the heads-up!

I came to this video with a little bit of hope. I have a pre-wired harness and two Seymour humbuckers. Followed the diagram. Watched the video. Took the harness out of the plate to see if the plate was the issue. Still hums. I’ve never had issues doing pickup mods in the past. The 4way mod on a MIM tele has been an unfortunate adventure. I would not recommend it.

great info. I plan on doing this mod in the near future but I bought a Kluson plate so I should be okay (I hope!).

seems to be my problem. thanks

You make a great point but did not mention that the pot holes on the cheaper plates will not be big enough to fit a normal sized CTS pot. So the trade of is using cheaper pots. Seems to be a lose lose situation.

Thank you so much! This is very helpful

Glad I watched this one man.,thanks....

you are the best ever existed!!! thank you so much!

Just had a similar issue with an old tele I picked up, but with a regular 3-way switch. In this case, after taking it apart, going through everything multiple times, giving up and putting it back together, I noticed the switch knob came down further than it should, and was hitting the top of the switch screw, stopping it from fully going into the bridge position

Thanks for this very helpful video. Cheers

Thank you, good and helpful information. I have another problem on a 4-way tele mod. Maybe this has also come across your way. Position 2 and 3 are not working properly. There is no change in sound. It sounds weak (not as thin as oop) but no power and less mids, less brilliance, a little muddy... This occured accidently while playing. At first everything was allright. Both pickups are working correctly on Pos. 1 & 4. Any idea? I am clueless. I am using the standard ser/par wiring. And as said everything worked fine a couple of weeks.

Thanks! I have the same issue too Can you recommend a place to order a control plate with the correct width of the slot for a 4-way switch?

thanks so much

I had the same problem I had to file the shaft of the switch

Thanks for the info, did not know that. Although I have another issue. Installed a 4way switch, did the neck pu ground switch to the cover, wired all up correctly, twice, and all I get is the neck pu on all four positions. I just can’t figure out why?! Tried with 2 different switches and always the same issue.

Very interesting. Would this account for humming in the bridge position? The humming disappears when I touch the plate. No humming on the neck.

Just came across this video while having this exact problem, thanks for the explanation. However, the replacement plate i got still has a short slot. Do you have details on the Chinese plate with the longer slot?

will a squier slot work?

I am not getting sound from any position. I wired exactly the way Fender says to wire, and others also. I get squeal, and I am not sure what is going on. I have quadruple checked, and checked again. It seams like sorting is grounded out.

I'm having an issue with my push-pull switch. I use a push pull cuz in the Philippines, the 4-way switch is P1000 more than getting a DPDT push-pull potentiometer. I dunno why I got it all wired up but my bridge won't make a sound in the series setting even though it works perfectly on its own. What gives?

Be better to just do a 3-way & use a push-pull or a push-push instead & not worry about this issue

Hey there John, can I use a push pull pot to do a 4 way upgrade, thanks.

I watched your video quite awhile ago when i considered installing the 4 way mod and recalled the throw length issue when I demoed after install as I was like” the middle position sounds identical to the bridge position “ . Then I pushed a little more forward to the bridge and it changed