Pioneer PL-50 Auto Return Doesn't Work....Help!

[Franksta]

I've got a beautiful new Pioneer PL-50 TT. I just put on a new belt. Everything works well accept it will not auto return.

Can someone tell me by looking at this picture if any of the mechanics under the platter look out of place? I stated moving things around and now I'm not sure if everythings right or not! At one time I couldn't get it to shut off at all. I think it's possible that that white plastic "L" shaped lever #2 may have slipped out of place ? Maybe it supposed to go over the pin on the metal lever #3 or on the other side? Is the #1 lever set up right? It can be easily lifted off! It will not trip the switch to make it return to shut off. If anybody has a PL-50 could you slide your platter off and tell me how these mechanics are set up? It would be a good time to drop a couple of drops of oil in the "oil hole" while you are there. The owners manual suggests that occasionally and also a couple of drops by the spindle too. Thanks for any help or suggestions! Franksta

 

[jeeves]

I just fixed the same problem with my newly acquired PL-50. It's been a while since your post, so I don't know if you still need help. But if not, maybe it will help someone else.

As long as everything is still in it's proper place all you need is a few adjustments and some lubrication.


First, take off the platter. Turn on the turntable, drop the tonearm down to the play position (don't forget to protect your needle or remove it!). Move the tonearm toward the spindle and then swing the end of the black arm mounted under the platter toward the power switch. This should activate the return mechanism. If this works, or mostly works, you should be able to fix it by following the steps below.


Look at the black arm mounted under the platter. This arm swings out when the tonearm reaches the end of the record. A pin on the bottom of the platter then catches it and activates the return mechanism. If you look at the under side of the turntable, you will see a square plate attached to the underside of the black arm. If this plate does not move freely the mechanism will not work.

Take the black arm off, remove the sleeve that holds the plate on (from the top), clean and oil it, and reassemble. I used Singer sewing machine oil and it seems to work well.

From the bottom, you can adjust the screw that contacts the plate if necessary. This will change how far the tonearm goes before it activates the return mechanism. You're looking for a screw on the end of an arm that contacts the plate when the tonearm is moved toward the center of the platter.

Next, look again at the black arm under the platter (from the top). When the arm is activated by the tonearm, the pin on the platter catches it and moves it farther. This moves an "L" shaped nylon arm which in turn moves a metal arm (it has a pin sticking up that contacts the nylon arm) which activates the return mechanism. The metal arm is adjustable and will not fully activate if not properly adjusted.

Turn the turntable over and you will see a large metal plate. Just under the edge of the plate, you will see an adjustment screw. This will move the metal arm with the pin closer to the nylon arm. Adjust until the pin on the bottom of the platter is able to activate the return mechanism. It might take a few tries to get it right.


That should fix it. :thmbsp:

I hope this helps.

 

[Tim Welsh]

Your post has likely helped many Thanks

I just fixed the same problem with my newly acquired PL-50. It's been a while since your post, so I don't know if you still need help. But if not, maybe it will help someone else.

As long as everything is still in it's proper place all you need is a few adjustments and some lubrication.


First, take off the platter. Turn on the turntable, drop the tonearm down to the play position (don't forget to protect your needle or remove it!). Move the tonearm toward the spindle and then swing the end of the black arm mounted under the platter toward the power switch. This should activate the return mechanism. If this works, or mostly works, you should be able to fix it by following the steps below.


Look at the black arm mounted under the platter. This arm swings out when the tonearm reaches the end of the record. A pin on the bottom of the platter then catches it and activates the return mechanism. If you look at the under side of the turntable, you will see a square plate attached to the underside of the black arm. If this plate does not move freely the mechanism will not work.

Take the black arm off, remove the sleeve that holds the plate on (from the top), clean and oil it, and reassemble. I used Singer sewing machine oil and it seems to work well.

From the bottom, you can adjust the screw that contacts the plate if necessary. This will change how far the tonearm goes before it activates the return mechanism. You're looking for a screw on the end of an arm that contacts the plate when the tonearm is moved toward the center of the platter.

Next, look again at the black arm under the platter (from the top). When the arm is activated by the tonearm, the pin on the platter catches it and moves it farther. This moves an "L" shaped nylon arm which in turn moves a metal arm (it has a pin sticking up that contacts the nylon arm) which activates the return mechanism. The metal arm is adjustable and will not fully activate if not properly adjusted.

Turn the turntable over and you will see a large metal plate. Just under the edge of the plate, you will see an adjustment screw. This will move the metal arm with the pin closer to the nylon arm. Adjust until the pin on the bottom of the platter is able to activate the return mechanism. It might take a few tries to get it right.


That should fix it. :thmbsp:

I hope this helps.

I have been looking for this kind of help a good while now. Others have posted some info on this TT before elsewhere, but never so clear.
Thanks again!

 

[keithpgdrb]

If anyone involved in this thread is still connected from years ago, I am having trouble getting this fixed.

when the platter is off, and I manually trip the autoreturn, it works great. when the platter trips it, it sometimes doesnt lift the needle all the way off, and when it does, it only returns about half way.

I checked everything I could without unscrewing anything, and I think the problem is the same as described in the last paragraph of the above fix.

"Turn the turntable over and you will see a large metal plate. Just under the edge of the plate, you will see an adjustment screw. This will move the metal arm with the pin closer to the nylon arm. Adjust until the pin on the bottom of the platter is able to activate the return mechanism. It might take a few tries to get it right."

I can not find the adjustment screw for the metal pin arm. do I have to remove the large metal plate to find it? I dont see any screws under the edge of any plate. unless I have remove something, which I will do if necessary. I have the service manual, and I cant find the answer there either.

 

[keithpgdrb]

bump. anyone?

 

[keithpgdrb]

last attempt bump.

 

[techfile]

The problem of no or partial auto return is more involved than what is posted here. The cure is to remove all of the dried grease from the auto return mechanics and re lubricate. There also is a silicon oil damped cam that leaks the oil out over time and causes further sticky lever problems. The only way to do this is to remove the entire return mechanics from the underside and give it a WD-40 bath, clean off the dried out white grease around the auto return swing arm assembly pivot point, all of the leaked out silicon oil and relubricate these areas. The oil damped cam with need to be refilled with 100,000 CTS oil and then this entire assembly reinstalled. From there the auto return tension spring will need to be readjusted until the return is slow, smooth and consistant. This job is not for the novice and takes 2 to 3 hours to do it right.

The PL-50 also has a odd bias (anti-skate) geared assembly that will need to be realigned if your table has a loose knob while adjusting

 

[keithpgdrb]

The problem of no or partial auto return is more involved than what is posted here. The cure is to remove all of the dried grease from the auto return mechanics and re lubricate. There also is a silicon oil damped cam that leaks the oil out over time and causes further sticky lever problems. The only way to do this is to remove the entire return mechanics from the underside and give it a WD-40 bath, clean off the dried out white grease around the auto return swing arm assembly pivot point, all of the leaked out silicon oil and relubricate these areas. The oil damped cam with need to be refilled with 100,000 CTS oil and then this entire assembly reinstalled. From there the auto return tension spring will need to be readjusted until the return is slow, smooth and consistant. This job is not for the novice and takes 2 to 3 hours to do it right.

The PL-50 also has a odd bias (anti-skate) geared assembly that will need to be realigned if your table has a loose knob while adjusting

that's quite a first post. All of what you say is true I'm sure. But it's working fine now with my cobbled fix. Maybe someday when i'm rolling in dough, I'll bring it to a tech.

 

[scottdavis08]

My Pioneer Pl-50

I bought one of these from craigslist a few months ago and am impressed. I swear to God this table sounds better than my Denon DP-45 with the same cart (DL-110). I listened to Love's Forever Changes remastered cut the other day, and was blown away at how good the whole combo sounded. And just like Aker Keith, I have the exact same Auto Return problem. I wonder who in my town makes turntable repairs like this?

 

[scottdavis08]

pioneer pl-50

Tried advice from original post. What happens in my case is, after the record is finished playing, it makes a kuplunk and the arm almost returns to its starting point. It appears the pin and black return handle work fine. There is something deeper in the mechanism/plinth that a novice like me aint going to mess with. So I guess I do everything manually until I decide to have it fixed. But, like I said before the tt itself sounds really really good considering. Well sae la vie.

 

[inperson]

The problem of no or partial auto return is more involved than what is posted here. The cure is to remove all of the dried grease from the auto return mechanics and re lubricate. There also is a silicon oil damped cam that leaks the oil out over time and causes further sticky lever problems. The only way to do this is to remove the entire return mechanics from the underside and give it a WD-40 bath, clean off the dried out white grease around the auto return swing arm assembly pivot point, all of the leaked out silicon oil and relubricate these areas. The oil damped cam with need to be refilled with 100,000 CTS oil and then this entire assembly reinstalled. From there the auto return tension spring will need to be readjusted until the return is slow, smooth and consistant. This job is not for the novice and takes 2 to 3 hours to do it right.

The PL-50 also has a odd bias (anti-skate) geared assembly that will need to be realigned if your table has a loose knob while adjusting

Where can I buy 100,00 cts oil? I cleaned the thickened old oil out my auto return and didn't put any oil back in and the return shot back at a 100 miles per hour

Oh, it's cst not cts.