w2100 letter solenoid mystery

[Bosco]

Hello,

I didn’t plan to post again so soon, but something came up with my w2100. Last month two letter solenoids stopped working. “D” and “R.” Both B-Sides, so I loaded up 45’s with crummy B-Sides that nobody would select anyway. A work around to get me through the end of the year.

However, last week the “C” and “N” solenoids stopped working. Today the “Q” stopped working.   If, for example, I press “Q-2” the rotating plate goes into action, hits the stop pin, the Q & 2 keys pop back out, then nothing. The machine remains in “at rest”

I know the first step would probably be to test the solenoids, but I don’t know how to do that. Plus, it looks like I’d have to pull out a lot of machinery to access them.

It seems to me that these going out so close together when the 2100 has not been moved, disturbed, or even played that much is kinda odd. Five solenoids going out might just be a coincidence, but could there be a root cause?

Barring that, is there an easier way to access the letter solenoids?

Bosco

[robnyc]

Bosco, it is extremely rare for those coils to go dead -I've never encounter one. more common are poor contacts in the keyboard.

If you hit a failed letter or number repeatedly, does it ever "take'? if so this would confirm keyboard problems. These mechs were known to accumulate a lot of crap in the pinbank so thorough cleaning is generally required. This involves dismounting it and removing the pin assembly from the solenoid base casting. I always did this as part of every carousel restoration.

As with cleaning testing the coils is best done with pinbank off the machine.

Here are the functional diagrams for that model:

www.flickr.com/photos/90641375@N06/30945799957/ Follow arrows to the right for more diagrams.

Flickr has gotten a bit bitchy about offsite hotlinks so here is the text:
www.flickr.com/photos/90641375@N06/30945799957/

RobNYC

[robnyc]

Bosco, it is extremely rare for those coils to go dead -I've never encounter one. more common are poor contacts in the keyboard.

If you hit a failed letter or number repeatedly, does it ever "take'? if so this would confirm keyboard problems. These mechs were known to accumulate a lot of crap in the pinbank so thorough cleaning is generally required. This involves dismounting it and removing the pin assembly from the solenoid base casting. I always did this as part of every carousel restoration.

As with cleaning testing the coils is best done with pinbank off the machine.

Here are the functional diagrams for that model:

www.flickr.com/photos/90641375@N06/30945799957/ Follow arrows to the right for more diagrams.

RobNYC

[Bosco]

Rob,

Thanks for the quick response. It’s very much appreciated.

Re: your suggestion, I did try one of the errant letter keys in combination with various number keys. Did it about twenty times. No dice. Here’s further background info

I sent the keyboard to L.A. about six months ago. They gave it a good going over, cleaning, then testing running.

Once the 2100 was all back together, I ran it hard several times. Like two 2 - 3 hours at a crack. It performed great. It was a few weeks later I noticed the D and R selections had stopped working. I can’t say it happened during the one of the long play sessions, but maybe. Because…

I was running the 2100 yesterday and probably made around 20 selections. They ran through and I started to make more, beginning with a “Q” selection. The rotating plate found the stop pin, the keys popped back out, then nothing. The jukebox remain at rest. I had played a “Q” song or two earlier, so the issue occurred some time during the first play, or that very first selection on the second play.

Your pin bank suggestion is puzzling. I have no doubt the pin bank is dirty. Probably not cleaned in 30 years. Are you saying dirt might prevent a particular pin from popping up? If so, wouldn’t that link the problem to particular letter/number pins? Say, the Q-5 pin wouldn’t pop up because of dirt, but that wouldn't prevent other “Q” number combinations performing. Instead, none of the “Q” combination execute.

Also re: the schematic you attached. I have it in my manual and took a closer look. Unless part of the Frame blocks it, the errant “N” solenoid seems to be easily in view. Tomorrow I’ll pull out the magnifying glass and see if I can detect what’s happening (or not happening).

Again, thanks

Bosco