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Technics SL1400MK2 will not start rotate the when tonearm manually moved over the record

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vladc77

New Member
According to the Technics SL1400MK2 service manual on page 5, moving the tonearm manually over the record will start the turntable to rotate. Mine turntable 1400mk2 does not want to do that. What may cause this not to work? Is there a switch that controls is responsible for that? Any help is highly appreciated!

Auto-return at the end of the record and by pushing the stop button works. It can also start rotating by pressing the start button.
 
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I don't know this model so everything that follows is speculation, but from a little reading around, you might have an issue with this part, which is prone to breaking with use and age. It seems you have to dig in quite deep to get to it.

allforturntables.com

How to fix your Technics SL 1400 mk2 cueing cam lever? - All For Turntables

I have really gotten into the world of vintage Technics record players lately. You have probably figured this out due to the vast amount of Technics SL Series articles that have been popping up on the site lately. I recently wrote about the Technics SL – 1400MK2 that I was lucky enough to pick...
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(There's also link in there for a video that goes into quite a lot of detail. Handy at least for getting a look at the guts of the player.)

I'm not sure about all the functions of that lever, but it's possible it acts as a cam to operate a microswitch as you rotate the arm, supplying power to the motor. If it's working normally, you'd probably hear a click as it operates the actuation button of the switch. Even if the part is working normally, the switch itself can fail if it needs cleaning or has become damaged in some way. Continuity/resistance can be checked with a multimeter.
 
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There's something listed as an "arm switch" in the service manual (S501, page 17) that could be what you need to track down: where it is, and what operates it.
 
Also, you can see a microswitch (black) in the dead centre of the photo in the other thread that you were asking in yesterday. Looks like it's connected in the direction of the arm via a couple of parts. Clearly the switch is to be operated by the part (white) that's right next to the red button, so it may be that moving the arm towards the record, when working correctly, would swing that part on to the switch button.

Photo from comment #5 in this thread:

Technics SL-1400mkII: automatic functions don't work

I just finished fixing the infamous cueing problem as described here: http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=372527 Now the cueing works manually, but none of the automatic functions work. The table starts turning when I press start, but that is it. Auto return doesn't work either...
audiokarma.org

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Be careful when setting up or testing the microswitch. It is connected to the mains supply. make sure you have unplugged the turntable from the mains supply before messing with it.
 
Thank you for all of your suggestions! I replaced the cueing lever. I cleaned all the switches on the board. It fixed auto-return and cueing problems. Everything works as it should except for starting to rotate the platter while the tonearm moves toward the record. Yes, I've seen that many videos do not show that operation. However, the manual says it should work this way. Perhaps, it is a common problem that many neglect to address. I plan to track down the S501 switch. I don't see any mention of it on page 17 in the Technics 1400MK2 service manual.
 
The manual also has Fig. 11, which shows a finger pressing the "start" button, but for some reason, I can't find the sentence where it is being referenced. The manual also talks about a "memo-repeat" knob, but mine doesn't have this. I know the 1300MK2 has the repeat knob and the arm auto-start.

I would like to have this auto-start functionality restored on my 1400MK2, so please keep us updated on what you find. I have an SL-D3 that has this auto-start feature and love it.
 
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For sure the 1300MK2 has this functionality. Maybe compare the block diagram and schematic of the 1300MK2 vs. 1400MK2. That might show where to trace the problem.
 
vladc77 said:
I don't see any mention of it on page 17 in the Technics 1400MK2 service manual.
Click to expand...

The page number of the pdf I looked at doesn't match the manual then. There isn't a page number visible in the manual itself for that section. It's in the parts list though, which covers several pages.

SL1200iiSM.JPG
 
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