Sony PS-X70 has stopped auto lift/return

[cnolanh]

My Sony PS-X70 works properly in every way except that recently the auto return has stopped working. At the end of a record side the stylus stays in the locked groove and the table keeps spinning until I push Stop, which lifts and returns the arm normally.

So the return mechanism is still working but the triggering is not. Is this one of those tables which uses a light bulb as part of the auto return triggering? If so, and it's burned out, I'd like to get it working again. Or is there another part I'll need to replace?

Anyone else make this repair on a PS-X70 or similar Sony table? Thanks for any info...

 

[Balifly]

My Sony PS-X70 works properly in every way except that recently the auto return has stopped working. At the end of a record side the stylus stays in the locked groove and the table keeps spinning until I push Stop, which lifts and returns the arm normally.

So the return mechanism is still working but the triggering is not. Is this one of those tables which uses a light bulb as part of the auto return triggering? If so, and it's burned out, I'd like to get it working again. Or is there another part I'll need to replace?

Anyone else make this repair on a PS-X70 or similar Sony table? Thanks for any info...

See instruction on "Tone arm drop point adjustment", page ten of the owner's manual.
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/sony/ps-x70.shtml

 

[cnolanh]

See instruction on "Tone arm drop point adjustment", page ten of the owner's manual.
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/sony/ps-x70.shtml

Thanks for the idea, but I don't think that's the problem here. Just now I tried adjusting it so that the tonearm starts at the VERY edge of an LP, and still it won't pick up at the end of the side. So for testing I turned the adjustment another half turn outward/counterclockwise, and even in that state the arm doesn't lift at the end of the side. It worked fine for years, so something new seems different.

 

[cnolanh]

I did just find that on page 6 of the service manual there are directions for replacing the "Auto Return Detecting Lamp." I'll give that a try next.

 

[cnolanh]

So I got a replacement fuse lamp and installed it. No change: auto return still doesn't work. Turns out, to my surprise, the original bulb was not burned out. With the bottom panel off the turntable, and playing a runout groove, I don't see anything light up (using either the old or the new fuse lamp). Is that lamp supposed to be on all the time, or does it light just when the tonearm gets to the runout?

I have tried the auto return pick-up adjustment, of course, yet the arm doesn't pick up. And until a few months ago the auto lift/return/stop function worked fine.

One other piece of info: the Stop button works completely normally, lifting the tonearm, returning it to its rest, and stopping the platter. So it's only the autodetection part that's not working. Anyone have any other troubleshooting ideas for this Sony?

Grateful for any wisdom,

Nolan