loose wires on the coils

[darthphineas]

while checking out a pickup, it wasn't giving any reading on the multimeter. the tape on one edge looked like it had been disturbed, so I removed the tape and discovered the black wires had come apart. I connected them and the pickup tested strong and in the proper range. I was giving the pickup a final looking-over before putting the tape back on and saw this on the opposite end (see attached)

should that be a single wire connecting the coils? or is is supposed to be that way? if not, it's almost as if something was poking down the sides. if that needs a single wire, is it as simple as replacing it?


thanks!