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Fisher 500c right channel out phono only

B

berry1235

New Member
Hello,
As the title states the right channel is out on the phono stereo out only, phono mono comes out of both speakers and aux works fine. I swapped new tubes in the v16 and v17 slots and the result was the same. Also it's not the turntable, I plugged it into the phono stage in my preamp and it works fine off that.
Has anyone had this happen before?
Any simple remedies I might be missing?
Thanks.
 
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Welcome to AK. First thing I would do is clean all the pots and slider switches to eliminate that as a issue. You might be surprised.
 
Cleaning the pots and switches means getting something like deox inside of them somehow so if the bottom plate needs to be removed to do so, then do so!

What's your level of expertise? Got a meter?
 
I have cleaned pots and switches before just never in the fisher. Wasn't sure if people go through the bottom or take the faceplate off. I'll open it up in the next few days and see what I can do.
Thanks all.
 
Aside from if it really were a dirty pot or switch, with a basic volt/ohm meter, you would probably be able to find the fault within minutes which is why I had asked your level of expertise.

Also, wiggle the jacks and/or poke around with a plastic stick or chop stick to rule out any intermittent connections or bad solder joints. With a meter, you can also compare voltages from the good side vs the bad side.

Sometimes these are simple problems to diagnose but can be difficult to explain over the interwebs unless someone else is there to help you in person.

I'm on the west coast. Where do you reside?
 
berry1235 said:
I have cleaned pots and switches before just never in the fisher. Wasn't sure if people go through the bottom or take the faceplate off. I'll open it up in the next few days and see what I can do.
Thanks all.
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Hi there, I’m having this exact same issue on my 500-C. Did the pots and switches cleaning do the trick? Thanks.
 
cademan said:
Aside from if it really were a dirty pot or switch, with a basic volt/ohm meter, you would probably be able to find the fault within minutes which is why I had asked your level of expertise.

Also, wiggle the jacks and/or poke around with a plastic stick or chop stick to rule out any intermittent connections or bad solder joints. With a meter, you can also compare voltages from the good side vs the bad side.

Sometimes these are simple problems to diagnose but can be difficult to explain over the interwebs unless someone else is there to help you in person.

I'm on the west coast. Where do you reside?
Click to expand...
So this has happened to me again. The first time it was an issue of wiggling the connector and the channel came back. However it's happened to me again and I'm afraid of wiggling the connector too much. Is there anything I can do to the connector from inside to have it give me a better connection?
 
Don't know your level of expertise but if it is indeed connector related, I think you would have to take it apart and clean or solder or lube or whatever it is going to take to make a solid connection. :dunno:
 
quick and dirty check that will tell you if its input jack related or output coupling cap related is to plug the turntable into the Tape Head jack, and use that position on the selector. If both channels work, its an input problem. If the same channel is out, its the output cap.

Tape head uses the same electronics as the phono preamp, just with a slightly different EQ curve. Won't sound quite right but its good enough for a basic function test.
 
berry1235 said:
So this has happened to me again. The first time it was an issue of wiggling the connector and the channel came back. However it's happened to me again and I'm afraid of wiggling the connector too much. Is there anything I can do to the connector from inside to have it give me a better connection?
Click to expand...

First thing to do is get over your fear of wiggling "the connector." It is precisely what you must do to replicate the fault, identify the exact cause, and finally address it.
 
Last night I took a qtip with a little deoxit and rubbed it in the connector. Let it sit for an hour ish, fired it up and the channel worked (just tested for a few mins). Not sure if that was due to the deoxit or I just hit it right when I plugged the turntable back in. Planning to get some listening in tonight, hopefully all is still good. Thanks all for the help. I will report back.
 
Pulled connector out, got a slight buzz then back in and it worked then the right channel dropped out again after about 2 mins.
 
Based on what you’re reporting, it’s appearing more and more that you have a mechanical issue. It really isn’t enough to plug it in, have it work, and wait until it doesn’t. That process tells you nothing other than “it works, then it doesn’t.”

As I mentioned in my previous response, you have to ACTIVELY attempt to replicate the condition by manipulating the plug. That will either confirm or eliminate mechanics as a cause at the connector junction. If that doesn’t reveal the fault, then move out from the jack to the associated wiring and components using a nonconductive tool for the manipulation. If that doesn’t force a fault, then you can begin to think about the possibility of a defective component in the circuit.

In a prior post you stated that you fixed it by “wiggling the connector.” Moving forward, let’s settle on basic terms: the wiring from the TT ends in a “plug.” The receiver has a “jack” that receives the plug.

Again, if the simple act of wiggling corrected the problem before, my guess is that your cause is mechanical.

Good luck!
 
try the other jacks and see if it does the same thing. That will maybe give us a clue if the problem is the plug or the socket. I had issues with my Thorens and it was the plug on the end of the cables. Chopped them both off and replaced with new, been problem free for years at this point.
 
gadget73 said:
try the other jacks and see if it does the same thing. That will maybe give us a clue if the problem is the plug or the socket. I had issues with my Thorens and it was the plug on the end of the cables. Chopped them both off and replaced with new, been problem free for years at this point.
Click to expand...
I have a thorens. Maybe that is the issue.
 
possible, the factory ends just aren't anything special. Mine were also pretty oxidized, maybe yours just need cleaning. Mine had the wire break right inside the strain relief at the plug. Bend it the right way and it would work, anything else would cut out randomly.
 
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