Nakamichi LX-3 Wont Play (but will FF and RW)

[Jordanne]

Hello all!

I'm having a bit of trouble with a Nakamichi LX-3 that I received a while ago. I've been getting into learning how to repair and service tape decks, but I am still new to it. Everything seems to work OK except it does not play. It will fast forward and rewind, but when I hit play, all I hear is a motor buzzing, along with the capstan belt moving fine, but the tape does not play. The cam also seems to shift a little bit when I hit play, but not very far.

I've already looked to the internet for a few solutions. I took the entire transport assembly apart and replaced all the belts and the idler tire. I also checked on the switch at the bottom of the PCB that's connected with the long spring, seems to be seated properly but I am not 100%. I've read it could be something to do with the pinch rollers, but I'm not sure how to diagnose if they're frozen or not.

Anyways, I am a bit lost as to what I should try next to fix this. Any ideas are much appreciated, thank you!

 

[radiokom]

Hello all!

I'm having a bit of trouble with a Nakamichi LX-3 that I received a while ago. I've been getting into learning how to repair and service tape decks, but I am still new to it. Everything seems to work OK except it does not play. It will fast forward and rewind, but when I hit play, all I hear is a motor buzzing, along with the capstan belt moving fine, but the tape does not play. The cam also seems to shift a little bit when I hit play, but not very far.

I've already looked to the internet for a few solutions. I took the entire transport assembly apart and replaced all the belts and the idler tire. I also checked on the switch at the bottom of the PCB that's connected with the long spring, seems to be seated properly but I am not 100%. I've read it could be something to do with the pinch rollers, but I'm not sure how to diagnose if they're frozen or not.

Anyways, I am a bit lost as to what I should try next to fix this. Any ideas are much appreciated, thank you!

I believe it is stuck mechanics. You should heat and remove pinch roller arms, clean old grease and relube. Bad news are - after that you should use alignment gauge to adjust arms to correct position. And you should align head with correct high alignment tape. So - if you have no experience with Nakamichi classic mechanics, and have no all necessary tools, it is impossible for you to do it correctly.

 

[Jonny Ramone]

A motor lifts the play mechanism up into place. I had to physically move the transport into place, as a dead spot from inactivity was preventing this(I have an LX-3,also). Once I got it there, it worked fine afterwards.There is a lock that has to be moved to do this - the gear that drives it up isn't too hard to find(I'm thinking it's belt driven). Here's some pics I took, but you will need to do some investigation(this was in 2015, my memory is kind of fuzzy on this).

 

[Jonny Ramone]

The big gear. Note the small belt-driven gear that drives it.

 

[Jonny Ramone]

I'm thinking this lock needs to be moved to the right to allow the big gear to be rotated. Try this with the power off.

 

[68custom]

I had a BX-2 that acted in the same manner. Hence the end to my cassette journey. The guy I sold it to had it lubed and replaced all belts and it lived again. But mine would occasionally play a tape if I first hit ff and rewind thus loosening the tape? He had a torque tool in the form of a cassette that claimed everything was good but it rarely worked correctly. I think the processor was to quick in shutting things down? I do have a mid grade. Onkyo dual cassette player but that another story. I think Mr Ramone is on the right track!

 

[Jonny Ramone]

I ended up sending my LX-3 to member here, to give it a good servicing/calibration, as he has most of the special Nakamichi tools, and knowledge. That's the best feature of a Nakamichi, besides the performance, is the availability of service techs.

 

[Bill Tuffs]

Timely post, had the same problem. Had my unit complety rebuilt including full recap, new belts, rubber, idler wheel, transport disassembly, cleaning, lubing, aligned and calibrated . Picking up completed LX-3 tonight.

Idler arm (hardened grease) and hardened rubber wheel were the main culperates preventing the play button from engaging, this after the unit was supposedly surviced. The capstan motor was also half seized due to hardened grease.

The rest of the rebuild was done because of the LX-3's age and I wanted to understand what type of gains can be realized from a fully rebuilt unit handled by a skilled tech who knows the classic Nakamichi decks. Tired of buy and sell sites dropping in the term 'serviced' when a belt has been changed and a drop of oil squeezed onto a part connected to the transport.

Good luck with your Nakamichi, glad you were able to take it to a member that knows his way around Nakamichi decks and has the set-up tools.

Dollar to donuts hardened grease and hardened rubber will have played a roll in your unit not playing.

 

[David R]

My 30 year plus LX3 has a slightly different problem (I think) then the those described here. The mechanism moves into position just fine, but then stops after a second -- either on play, rewind or ff. Is this a sensor issue? Something else? Any thoughts appreciated. Solutions would also be wonderful.

 

[radiokom]

My 30 year plus LX3 has a slightly different problem (I think) then the those described here. The mechanism moves into position just fine, but then stops after a second -- either on play, rewind or ff. Is this a sensor issue? Something else? Any thoughts appreciated. Solutions would also be wonderful.

Looks like move sensor lamp is dead

 

[David R]

Looks like move sensor lamp is dead

Easy fix? Hard fix? Where does one obtain a sensor lamp?

 

[radiokom]

Easy fix? Hard fix? Where does one obtain a sensor lamp?

It depends on you and your skills Backlight is working? If it shorts (sometimes) it can kill fusible resistor and sensor lamp will not work. In my opinion, if you are not familiar with Naks, better find technician.
It is impossible to repair it by distance. And any Nak, even working, needs full service.

 

[zedex]

Hows the idler tire? Does the counter work in FF/rew/play?
Any deck that sits for any extended time will have problems with hardening grease in the mechanism. In multiple locations but mostly pinch roller arm pivots.

 

[perryinva]

The original sensor bulb is a 7219 or for better life, an 8111, both found on Mouser. They have to be soldered in and requires faceplate removal, where it can then be easily seen and accessed. If the LX-3 hasn’t been serviced in 30years, then like zedex said, probably needs a new idler tire, as the old one will have glazed over or hardened.

 

[nakmandan]

Huh, never tried the 7219 or 8111 for the sensor lamp. I always use the 23 lamp. Interestingly, the lumens, lifespan and MSCP for all three lamps are identical, yet the current draw for the 23 is 40mA, whereas the 7219 and 8111 are up in the 60/65mA range. Additionally, the 23 and 8111 are designed for 14V, so derating to the actual 12V that the deck uses should lower the current draw slightly and extend the service life a bit. The original lamp is only 25mA draw but you can't find those lamps anymore. Just about any small, T-1 size lamp will work, even an LED. In some decks, in a darkened room, you can actually see the glow from the sensor lamp on the right side of the well.

 

[perryinva]

I’m surprised the original is a 25mA. That’s a pretty dim bulb. The 8111 is much dimmer than a 7219, but works fine. It is slightly larger than a 7219, but fits fine. It is rated for 14000 hrs@14V, so basically forever on 12V.
I also install LEDs, on request, just substitute a 3.9k dropping resistor in place of the one there, and use a standard white water 3mm led, bent to fit and point, with correct polarity. Most of my own decks have the LED install. I know Willy used to install 12V LEDs that have a built in dropping resistor, but then he had a couple of them fail. So I don’t know if he still does.