Wurlitzer 3600 SuperStar

[mglen]

Hi Guys,

I inherited a Wurlitzer 3600 jukebox and I'm trying to get it back in working order. I'm very new to Jukeboxes, so hopefully this is an easy fix. So far I've done quite a bit of tinkering with it, set it up for free play (thanks Ron, for the info in a different thread), adjusted the release lever adjusting screw (the behavior was the buttons would press, but nothing would happen, if i slightly moved this screw, the connection on what i believe are the latch switches would engage and then the selection accumulator would kick in and run)

My issue now i think is with the selection accumulator. If i choose A 1, the selection accumulator will cycle, the pin will pop, and then the record will play as expected. When the record is complete, it is put back in the carousal, the pin is pushed back down, and everything is what seems to be in working order. This is also the behavior for a few other combinations. (A 2,3,4,5 works (A 9 does not), B 1,2 works (after i figured out i needed to change the "LP Conversion" setting), C 1 etc.

However, most of the combinations do not work. I don't think anything over D works i.e. D 1-9, E 1-9 etc. The behavior when D (or other non working combinations) and a number is pressed is that the selection accumulator kicks in, and spins completely around, but the pin never pops. Once it finishes spinning completely around, it stops and the letter and number buttons that were pressed will disengage and the machine is idle. Interestingly enough, even if i manually pop a "non working combination pin" and play say A 1 (which then in theory should finish and then should play the next "popped pin") it doesn't, it just seems to skip right over the pin and will shut off.

Hopefully this is clear, if not, i can take a video and post what happens with a working combination and a non-working combination.

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!!

Mike

(Michigan)

[Ron Rich]

Hi Mike,

It appears to me that there are two problems here.

One in the keyboard (or plugs going to it), and one in the read-out section.

Look at the keyboard, and you will notice it's wired in a chain, or ladder fashion. Check the continuity of the circuits starting at the key PRIOR to the failing one. Also, check (See our FAQ's section on contact checking--check with power OFF !)the leaf switch you "adjusted" before--that linkage may just be sloppy enough, that it does not always close with the needed force.

On the read-out problem-- Is this happening only on "one side" of the records ?

Ron Rich

[mglen]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the quick reply!

So for problem 1, I would of thought that if i had a continuity issue or keyboard issue in general, then after pressing the letter/number nothing would happen. This is not the case any longer, after i adjusted the lever, everything seems to be in working order - or perhaps i should say, the behavior of pressing A1 and pressing R1 are the same in terms of the keyboard. The problem is that A1 plays, and R1 does not. I made a video that should hopefully help explain it. A1 works like a champ. R1 (among many others) has the accumulator spin. This being the case, can we rule out keyboard or no?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYNRJMC7Olk

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bZxgkoWrIg (High Def)

To answer your read-out problem - I also tried running A2, and it worked perfectly fine. One thing i did notice in video two, is it looks like the base, or plate that is spinning looks to be warped. Should that be flat?

Thanks again for the help!

Mike
(Michigan)

[Ron Rich]

Mike,
If A-9 won't play will A-8, A-7,A-6, A-5-go back till one plays then check the ladder circuit on the keyboard and check the number latch switch, BOTH, WITH a METER, as described in the FAQ's.
Yes--it should be flat--but that's probably not giving you a problem--yet-- Ron Rich

[mglen]

Hi Ron,

Here is some additional interesting data, I started by following your direction to find out which buttons are failing and i found that the results changed.

Here is the first pass:
NO (Accumulator spins, but does not pop a pin so no record played): A5, A7, A8, A9, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, C4, C5, C8, D4, D6, D7, D8, E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, E8, E9, R0, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9,
YES (Accumulator spins, and then the device plays record): A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, A6, B0, B1, B2, B3, B9, C0, C1, C2, C3, C6, C9, D0, D1, D2, D3, D5, D9, E0

So then I tried a few more again to validate that my results were correct and then noticed that some of the ones that were not working, actually started to work! So I did a 2nd test on the ones that originally did not play and here are those results:

NO: A7, A8, B7, B8, C7, C8, D4, D6, D7, E4, E6, E8, R0-R9
YES: (Did not work during the first test, but did work during the 2nd) A5, A9, B4, B5, B6, C4, C5, D8, E1, E2, E3, E5, E9.

So this is a bit crazy.

Here is a video of the latch switch with one that works, and one that doesn't:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Ys3vnZQEM

Mike
(Michigan)

[Ron Rich]

Hi Mike,
This is a typical case of "garbage in--garbage out ! Any diagnosis on the part of the reader is dependent on what was written. Had you written this before, I would have said --this is a case for "magic juice". Spray a small amount of Deoxit -5 on the disc that the fingers spin on. Run that arm around several times by just "giving it a small push". Allow the juice to dry--shoot a small amount on it again---push it again--allow it to dry, and you problem will be fixed ! ( well, Most of the time ---) Ron Rich

[mglen]

Thanks Ron! I'll see if I can pick up some spray this weekend and give it a shot! Once i get all of that wrapped up, I'll start focusing on making it sound good. Is there a recommended needle/cartridge for this model? All that is listed in the manual is:

Pickup: Astatic
Stylus: Dual tip diamond .7 mil

[Ron Rich]

Mike,
Why do you think yor cartridge is "bad" ?? Ron Rich

[mglen]

Hi Rich!

I had a guy come over earlier in the week who knew a lot more than I about JukeBoxes, i recall him saying that "it would sound better if you had the right one" - and that is was dirty (referring to the needle).  Another thing i notice is after songs, there could be a large "Humm" and if i flip the switch back and forth on the cartridge it will make that noise go away. So no justifiable reason at this point, i was thinking more of standard maintenance and getting a fresh clean start.

P.S. The DexoIT certainly helped! I'll have to go out and check them all again, but definitely noticed more buttons working. Great call!

Mike
(Michigan)

[Ron Rich]

Hi Mike,
"Dirt" on the needle usually causes poor sound--is the needle wiping brush correctly adjusted ?? As for the "hum" ?? Glad the magic juice worked--it usually does ! Ron Rich