Garrard Changer Help!

[visman]

I am working on restoring a KLH Model 20+ system.
This system has a common Garrard changer that’s giving me fits.
I cleaned and lubed the turntable including motor - but obviously I missed something.

Here is what happend:
Record set on high spindal
Controls turned to auto
Record drops
Arm goes to start of record and drops slowly
Beautiful music
End of record arm stays on LP (no lift and/or return)
turn control to auto again
Arm lifts and returns to within 1/2” of rest
Arm then returns to start of record
Arm drops to record and turntable shuts off

Anyone with experience with these changers I would appreciate any help.

Picture of KLH Model20+ and Garrard Turntable....

 

[moodydan]

I would sort why the tonearm is not triggering the auto return first. The trip pawl - the little funky arm on top of the main gear shown in your picture without the platter on - is not being extended (or not far enough) to catch the platter and begin the auto function. Make sure the pawl is clean and moves freely, that the linkage underneath the table that actuates the pawl when the tonearm gets close enough is moving and doing its job, then test again. My 2 cents!

 

[visman]

Good call moodydan - I took that trip pawl completely apart and made sure both swing bits operated freely. I did have to use some heat to get the pin released.

Put it back together and voila - I have end of record lift and return.

Still advances to start of record and shuts off (instead of the rest) so I will work on that tomorrow.

 

[visman]

Well, after another round of cleaning and greasing - on the underside - I now have the tonearm returning to the rest position. These guys are tricky and need a lot of detailed cleaning. But what a trip watching this guy go through it’s motions! Plus it has a really good FM section picking up stations with no antenna and in my basement. I rebuilt the speaker crossovers last month and this setup sounds surprisingly good - with some mid century mojo.

 

[moodydan]

When I work on changers I usually strip them down completely, clean all grease away, then replace and rebuild. It’s a little more involved sometimes, but I like it better than chasing out all the gremlins. Good to hear you have it acting right!

 

[stereofisher]

When I work on changers I usually strip them down completely, clean all grease away, then replace and rebuild. It’s a little more involved sometimes, but I like it better than chasing out all the gremlins. Good to hear you have it acting right!

Good call^^^. Have seen this on old Garrards. Had a version of this back in the late 70s. Glad it’s fixed.

 

[visman]

moodydan, I am curious when you say “strip them down completely” do you do it a piece at a time or all at once - I have a vision of a work bench with thousands of bits laid out! It would be a jigsaw puzzle to put it back together!

 

[moodydan]

I take a lot of pictures, but I more or less “field strip” the player until it’s pretty much as you describe. I’ve done enough Duals I don’t really need help putting them back together, but the other changers (Garrard, Voice of Music, BSR, BIC, etc.) all follow similar concepts and I sometimes need the pictures to guide me along the way. Again, it might take a little longer, but I feel better about it once reassembled.

 

[gadget73]

I sort of work in groups of parts as much as possible so the entire machine isn't apart at once, but that only works to an extent since there are linkages between areas of the changer. Usually I do the stuff around the arm first, then the cycle cam in the middle, then the speed change stuff, but that will vary depending on how the thing is actually constructed.

 

[visman]

I’m impressed with anybody who can do that!

Good idea on doing sections and taking lots and lots of pictures.

 

[gadget73]

Someone with two hands and a brain put it together, someone else with two hands and a brain can do the same. The factory had the advantage of knowing specifically what order to assemble it in, 50 years later you sort of have to figure it out as you go. The harder part is not having one of those clips go flying across the room, never to be seen again.

and be very very careful with the tonearm. Some of them have a whole bunch of really teeny ball bearings underneath that are quite difficult to re-assemble, assuming they don't get lost in the first place. Not an issue unless you remove the arm, which is not typically something that needs to be done. I found out about the ball bearing thing when I loosened the wrong screw on my Lab 80 and the arm fell out, followed by the faint sound of a bunch of little things dropping to the floor and vanishing. I managed to find about half of them.