Thorens TD 160 troubleshooting

mike11292

New Member
Hi everyone.

I have only been into vinyl for a few years. Started out with a cheap TT, upgraded to a better one and now just recently got a Thorens TD 160. I love it but have been running into a couple problems. I have searched on the threads and seen some people have similar problems.

1. LPs play a hair too slow and 45s are off, too. The belt doesn't shift fully up when I switch to 45 setting so I understand why 45s are off. From what I have read, the belt may be stretched and that is why it is slightly off. Only a genuine Thorens belt is the way to go, correct?

2. Not getting good outputs. I'm getting very little, almost nothing, out of the left channel (right channel works perfectly fine). Sometimes it will kick in and work fine but most times it does not. I did read the manual and put my soldering skills to work to ground wiring below that was not grounded. That didn't fix the problem. There is no corrosion anywhere that I can find. I have not gotten a multi meter but that is the next step. Are there any other suggestions? I know it is something within the TT and not the receiver.

Thanks for reading....hope to get the problems resolved soon!
 
Hi everyone.



2. Not getting good outputs. I'm getting very little, almost nothing, out of the left channel (right channel works perfectly fine). Sometimes it will kick in and work fine but most times it does not. I did read the manual and put my soldering skills to work to ground wiring below that was not grounded. That didn't fix the problem. There is no corrosion anywhere that I can find. I have not gotten a multi meter but that is the next step. Are there any other suggestions? I know it is something within the TT and not the receiver.

Welcome to the AK turn table forum.

Check the continuity of the RCA cables - left channel, with the multi meter. :idea:
 
My TD 160 should receive a rewire. The headshell often starts buzzing, but it's a simple quick fix of loosening and retightening theheadshell screw. It also hums when the turntable is off (not rotating). It bugs me, but the hum disappears completely the moment I turn the motor on. So I haven't rewired yet. On my list of a billion things to do.

EDIT: The RCA cables should be changed, too. They are finicky, and not the best quality.
 
You haven't measured anything yet so unless the problem is reproducible on a different good receiver, you don't really know that.
  1. genuine belt, motor azimuth adjustment (in the manual), clean lubricated platter bearings and grease free (not even finger prints) drive belt path, pulley, belt and sub-platter rim.
  2. typically caused by bad wiring or bad RCA terminals. I'd start with the usual suspects, the headshell leads and their contact with the cart pins, then the headshell connector with the tonearm socket. In the WCS it's a bad cart channel. Verify internal cart resistance/inductance between R/G and W/B pins. Ensure the values are similar.

I have 2 other turntables that play through the receiver no problem and I hooked up the Thorens to a different receiver and still have the same problem. So I am fairly certain it is the TT that is the problem.

Thanks for the advice. It was fully cleaned up at the shop where I got it but it doesn't have a genuine belt so I'm going to start with that along with triple checking wiring.
 
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I have 2 other turntables that play through the receiver no problem and I hooked up the Thorens to a different receiver and still have the same problem. So I am fairly certain it is the TT that is the problem....
fair enough. So keep the platter bearing well maintained and verify the cart integrity. Otherwise it's just bad contacts somewhere on the headshell to RCA termination path. It's almost always is.
A "cruise control" is just a clean sine voltage generator for 16VAC synchronous motors made by Music Hall. It's an external speed controller.
You really don't need one for a TD-160 to get on speed, unless you want one.
 
Anytime a Thorens with original wires loses a channel, it is time for new RCA plugs on the end of the cable. Usually checking the other connections, cartridge, headshell, tonearm wires and phono cable underneath is quick and easy then it is time for the soldering iron. Some install RCA jacks on the back of the table instead of new plugs.

If you have a meter you can check from the tonearm cable location for resistance of the cartridge on the two channels. If one is open then look upstream for the cartridge connections stuff if both read good, RCA plugs, probably 99% of the time years ago before the extra corrosion that might have caused the arm cartridge connections to fail, dropping the RCA jack problem all the way down to about 95% of the time.
 
I'd start at the RCA terminals, as suggested from near everybody.' because it's easy.
Then I'd check continuity from the cartridge end of the tonearm wires all the way through to the terminals inside the plinth.
Ohm out the cart itself.

The good news is, you can do a total rebuild on that bad boy for short money, and not a ton of experience or expertise...well, except for the damn tonearm re-wire, which requires a lot of patience.
 
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