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PLEASE-- I can't be the only one...

Have two of these WA9ES units and replaced all of their belts (8) because of issues of door not opening and erratic tape handling. In replacing the belts, a critical issue is not allowing the Selection Lever to get out of alignment with the Mode Cam. This can occur when replacing the small square belt.

Slipping in the smaller square belt can be done with a 1/4" or less of separation at one corner of the two brackets that sandwich these mechanisms, gears and belt. Done this way and not moving anything accidentally, you will keep the alignment. Once the new square belt and brackets are secure, the larger flat capstan belt can be mounted without worry of screwing up alignment.

PM me if you want detailed information and belt sources. I have done a few decks and this model is challenging. Patience, Service Manual and dexterity are primary ingredients.

Good pic of similar Sony model alignment issue at post #4 of this thread; http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=402544
 
Thank You

Hello Hatman, Thanks very much for the detailed response. I have replaced a drive belt in my WM-D6C, but when saw the YouTube video of the dual well deck replacement procedure, I thought it best Sony should handle it. I sent the deck down, they claim (although it does not show up on the Statement Of Work enclosed with the "repaired" deck) that they did indeed replace all 4 belts. Curiously, they only charged me $25.00 labor and $22.70 parts. They told me over the phone they replaced all 4 belts. The rear of the deck had a gold circular sticker, saying something like "O.A.inspected and certified", I can't remember the exact wording. Whatever the case may be,either: 1) they never replaced the belts, 2) they did but allowed that lever to slip as you described, 3) they replaced the belts properly but something else is wrong. For the deck's well A to malfunction exactly as it did before I sent it down there is inexcusable. I would consider some leeway if it were an intermittent problem, but it is far from that. It does it first time, every time. They got the deck yesterday I am guessing, so I will update the thread when I get more data. I love my ES stuff, and I am told this is the last "true" dual well ES deck made. The TC-WE475 has fairly similar specs, but not all of the Dolby settings, and certainly not the build quality of WA9ES. THANKS AGAIN for trying to help. Chet
 
I am sorry I missed this thread. I don't think the problem is mechanical. I think it is electronic. There may be a switch that tells the microprocessor the position of the mechanism, and it could be dirty. There could also be a bad microprocessor or the drive IC for the reels could be bad. The thing is, the supply reel is turning backwards, which it should never do. Usually when a piece of equipment acts brain damaged, the microprocessor is at fault.
 
dr*audio makes a good point about microprocessors. The supply reel going backwards may be a processor symptom, and as a novice this is over my head and defer to the doctor to further help the OP.
What has to be kept in mind is that this is an auto reverse dual deck and for the novice it can get confusing as to what is "turning backwards". My decks crazy symptoms made me think brain damage (my brain), but going for what I could accomplish, I got lucky with belt replacement. With the cover off, comparing the good and bad deck operation may help ID a belt or processor issue. I used White-Out dots to mark belts and pulleys.
The doctor and other AK experts can help save this deck or aid in finding a good repair tech.
 
dr*audio and hatman, Hey guys. Many thanks for the input. The deck was shipped back to Sony's Factory Repair Center the day before Thanksgiving. I have heard null back regarding a diagnosis/estimate for repair as of today. As soon as I hear anything I will update the thread. Thanks again for your interest, RJMac
 
THREAD UPDATE , hatman and dr*audio

Hey Guys, Well, suffice to say this should surprise none of you, but the massive mishandling of this repair continues. It was returned on 11/29, they had it for (7) working days, and then according to the telephone rep. "all worked ceased". There is no reason in his file why the work stopped. I received no "parts on back order" , or any other sort of update... Apparently, neither did he. I told him this was totally unacceptable for a person 1) who purchased the prodigious amount of Sony ES gear I had, and 2) the fact this is a second attempt at a repair. I demanded to speak to the supervisor of that section. That supervisor does not talk to lowly consumers, but the rep. promised me that he would have an answer for me by 10AM tomorrow. This is absolutely beyond my experience. I probably should have waited until tomorrow to post so I relay the answer I get, but I guess I jut needed to vent. Thx For Listening. Mac:beer::beer::beer:
 
dr*audio said:
I am sorry I missed this thread. I don't think the problem is mechanical. I think it is electronic. There may be a switch that tells the microprocessor the position of the mechanism, and it could be dirty. There could also be a bad microprocessor or the drive IC for the reels could be bad. The thing is, the supply reel is turning backwards, which it should never do. Usually when a piece of equipment acts brain damaged, the microprocessor is at fault.
Click to expand...

I would unplug each connector and reinsert them into place. Maybe that will solve the problem. I had a Zenith CR 670 deck that acted the same way.
 
RJMacReady said:
Hey Guys, Well, suffice to say this should surprise none of you, but the massive mishandling of this repair continues. It was returned on 11/29, they had it for (7) working days, and then according to the telephone rep. "all worked ceased". There is no reason in his file why the work stopped. I received no "parts on back order" , or any other sort of update... Apparently, neither did he. I told him this was totally unacceptable for a person 1) who purchased the prodigious amount of Sony ES gear I had, and 2) the fact this is a second attempt at a repair. I demanded to speak to the supervisor of that section. That supervisor does not talk to lowly consumers, but the rep. promised me that he would have an answer for me by 10AM tomorrow. This is absolutely beyond my experience. I probably should have waited until tomorrow to post so I relay the answer I get, but I guess I jut needed to vent. Thx For Listening. Mac:beer::beer::beer:
Click to expand...

Oh wow! Been a while and just catching up on this thread.

What a friggin nightmare. Considering tapes decks are a forgotten tech, I'm not too terribly surprised though. Hope this gets sorted.

Keep us posted.
 
This sort of thing is why I hate to deal with repair shops. I assume there are good ones somewhere....but how can you tell?

I had a Phase Linear amp once that needed a repair...some distortion was audible in one channel. Took it to a local shop with a repairman who would obviously have been accustomed to early equipment. Told him no hurry...just work on it when you get time. I would drop in now and then and check on it. He had it a year...I am not exaggerating...one full year, and never worked on it.

I have two RtRs that I would love to have recapped....but where to take them?? Who could you trust? Especially at the price everyone charges to do anything anymore.
 
TC-WA9ES Repair Update

Hello All AKers, The second trip back to Sony's Repair Facility in Laredo, TX resulted in them declaring a "Brake Slider" inside well A's mechanism as the culprit. After about a two week wait, I received the deck yesterday by FedEx Overnight. A cursory inspection resulted in an optimistic outlook. Opening and closing the well A door door does not advance the time display 5-8 seconds as before. The p/n for the slider brake is: 3-356-614-01. Perusing the factory repair manual schematic, it is difficult to decipher what this part does, it has at least 1 and possibly 2 springs attached to it. I have yet to run it through every single function test, but the sound coming from the headphones jack seemed fine. Both well doors make exactly the same series of sounds opening and closing, as they did before. It looks like they might have gotten it right, the conclusion of a saga that began on 5 October 2011. I will make a final report once every single function has been checked and double checked, and putting at least 4-5 hours of operation in. I would like to thank all of the AK community who reached out to me, "Hatman" in particular. Mac :yippy:
 
TC-WA9ES Problem (?)

Hello All AKers, Here is a quandary for you sages and soothsayers:

Got the TC-WA9ES back from the second repair attempt, and was running every possible test I could imagine on it before putting it back in the A/V rack. All of the tapes used were factory fresh Maxell XLII 90's. I inspected the visual appearance of the tape surface before using them. Ran (2) tapes through each side, just hitting play and letting them run. Inspected the tape surfaces afterwards, all looked identical as when brand new. Ran the Auto Cal on both wells, results = OK. The third test session I puts tapes in both wells, ( I can't honestly say these were the ones I ran the Auto Cal procedure on or not) and hit Play on both wells simultaneously. Obviously there is no reason to do this in normal operation, but I wanted to speed the testing process up a bit. About 2-3 minutes in, I heard a strange "whistling" or "buzzing" type sound. Stopped well B, sound got louder. Stopped well A ( the repaired side), noise = null. Immediately hit Play again on well A only, no noise. I am now running the dubbing tests now. The sound started so faintly I could not tell where it was coming from, and it quickly increased. As far as intensity goes, I don't think you could have heard it if you were more than 20 feet away).

Any ideas what that sound might have been?

Any Ideas Greatly Appreciated, Mac
 
This reminds me of my experience at the Sony Repair Depot in Atlanta, which has long since closed.

I had one of the original CD players, a Sony CDP-101, that played CD's fine for several years, and then started "skipping" around on the CD. Took it into the repair depot with a detailed description of the problem, which I watched the counter person who accepted the machine write on the work order, and I even verified that he described the problem correctly.

They called a couple of weeks later to come pick it up. Got there and they brought out the unit. The repair order said they replaced some IC in the door/tray circuitry, and that the door/tray was now operating correctly. Nothing mentioned about skipping. I made them get a CD and play it while I was at the counter. It still skipped. They had not even addressed the reason I brought it in. I asked the guy if they were using monkees for service technicians. They still wanted to charge me $97.00. I picked the unit up and walked out. (Back then they did not require a deposit or credit card up front) Ended up buying a new player.
 
Situation Resolved

Hello AKers, Before anyone spends any more time or effort on this, allow me to spare you. Well A whines continuously on high speed dubbing, the very same sound described in the post. That Laredo facility is a disgrace, Sony is losing a lot its' appeal for me. Thx All, Esp Hatman
 
mrdbdigital said:
This reminds me of my experience at the Sony Repair Depot in Atlanta, which has long since closed.

I had one of the original CD players, a Sony CDP-101, that played CD's fine for several years, and then started "skipping" around on the CD. Took it into the repair depot with a detailed description of the problem, which I watched the counter person who accepted the machine write on the work order, and I even verified that he described the problem correctly.

They called a couple of weeks later to come pick it up. Got there and they brought out the unit. The repair order said they replaced some IC in the door/tray circuitry, and that the door/tray was now operating correctly. Nothing mentioned about skipping. I made them get a CD and play it while I was at the counter. It still skipped. They had not even addressed the reason I brought it in. I asked the guy if they were using monkees for service technicians. They still wanted to charge me $97.00. I picked the unit up and walked out. (Back then they did not require a deposit or credit card up front) Ended up buying a new player.
Click to expand...

I had a Sony CD player that skipped or froze until I tapped the front bezel with a finger. It would operate for a while longer, then repeat this behaviour.

I brought it to a Sony depot three times. Each time they said that it was fixed but within minutes of getting it home the problem would reappear.

Eventually I got rid of it. I went Yamaha and never looked back.

RJMacReady said:
Hello AKers, Before anyone spends any more time or effort on this, allow me to spare you. Well A whines continuously on high speed dubbing, the very same sound described in the post. That Laredo facility is a disgrace, Sony is losing a lot its' appeal for me. Thx All, Esp Hatman
Click to expand...

I have never owned a Sony product that didn't break. I am not exaggerating; every single Sony product that I bought broke within two years.

I am done with them. :rant:
 
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