EMIT pots are sketchy on my RSM speakers

[Ron Howard]

I am the original owner of a pair of RSM's bought around '80. I love my speakers and have babied them through the years and have re-foamed the grey woofers twice. A few years ago the tweeter pots started sounding like static when adjusted. Recently one EMIT has quit producing those rich highs all together and I'm assuming the pot is the culprit. I've tried 'cleaning' the pot by twisting the knob back and forth while the speaker was off but it hasn't worked. Is there a way to clean these or do I have to find replacements? If so where can I do so? Btw, the tweeters are in excellent condition.

 

[chef free]

Buy some DeOxit D5. Remove the woofers, you have experience with that. Dribble a little DeOxit into the pot and twist the pot a bunch of times. That should do it...

 

[goodolpg]

RSM pots/L-pads are on the front of the baffle.
Remove the 4 corner screws and it will come off.
The EMIT L-pad is a small sealed pot most likely, try to get Deoxit in the openings where the leads the wires attach to come out of the casing.
For the mids, there were two styles of L-pads used, a perforated metal case, and a ceramic case.
Easy enough to shoot Deoxit into the perforated case style, the ceramic case is held together with a pair of wire type clips that can be removed to open the case for a real good cleaning.

BUT--since you say one EMIT has totally quit, check the fuse with a multi meter OR replace with a known good fuse. "It looks good" is not good enough. They can look good and still be bad. Don't have a spare fuse, take the one out of the working speaker and try it in the one with no EMIT output. You may see putty around the fuse holder end, that is normal. Also, you might want to clean the fuse holder ends with a little spritz of deoxit.
The L-pad may be fine, just a blown fuse, so I'd try checking the fuse first, then Deoxit if that doesn't fix it.