Seeburg Wurlitzer Rockola Repair Services You Can Trust Since 1995
Reliable Repairs
Seeburg Wurlitzer Rockola Repair Services You Can Trust Since 1995
Reliable Repairs
Jukebox Operation - Questions
Seeburg Jukebox Not Playing Selections?
Seeburg Jukebox Not Playing Selections?
Is your jukebox playing some selections but others? Does it repeatedly play the same songs? If so, read about the possible causes and remedies.
Early Seeburg jukebox models between 1950 through 1954 (M100B/BL/G/R/J/W) used Selector Assembly (Pin Bank) as memory units to control the mechanism so that it played selections. In later models, the pin bank was replaced with the solid state Tormat Memory Unit that was more reliable.
If your Seeburg jukebox is a model M100-B, -BL,- C, -G, -W, or a HF-100R and HF-100J, your jukebox has an electromechanical Selection Assembly (a.k.a., pin bank). These pin banks are an early type of memory unit in that the selections are stored in the pin bank until they are detected and played. Play begins with the mechanical movement of an armature (i.e., pin) that starts the record playing. When these units start to fail some selected records are not played. Or some records are played repeatedly. In these cases, the pin bank needs to be refurbished.
Note: If all the selections will not play, then the problem is likely to be elsewhere and not within the pin bank.
Cleaning a pin bank is an involved, lengthy process involving disassembly of the top section to access the grounding switches and group magnets and, separately, disassembling the bottom portion to remove and clean the armatures (e.g., pins), contact washers and step bars. It is necessary to do this when pins do not move freely because they were stuck to grimy contacts or when the selector coils are disabled. Doing a thorough job requires several hours of labor that include an overnight soaking of the pins and washers to remove solidified grease and grime. When the selector coils were burnt or had broken wires, the entire coil must be removed and replaced.
When a jukebox is not making some selections, customers often spray contact cleaners into the openings of the pin bank attempting to clean the internals. This seldom resolves the problem but adds to the buildup of grease, oil and grime that prevents good electrical contact between these parts.
I suggest the Jukebox owner consider having the contact block cleaned at the same time as refurbishing the pin bank. Once the pin bank is removed it is easy to remove the contact block. The contact block is responsible for cancelling a selection after being played so that the selection does not play repeatedly. (For anyone considering removing a contact block it is important that all wires leading from the mechanism to the contact block terminal lugs be labeled for error-free reassembly.)
If pin bank selector coils are burnt the selection is not played. Selector coils can be burnt for many reasons but most often it is a result of a problem within the Cancel Credit Unit (CCU). The CCU is located on the Wired Selection Receiver (WSR) and may be hardwired or plugged in to a socket. Replacement coils are difficult to find as they must come from other cannibalized pin banks. It is suggested that the CCU be cleaned to prevent this from happening. The CCU is hardwired into the WSR on all models except the HF-R and HF-J. Therefore, the entire WSR must be shipped. Otherwise the CCU can be unplugged and shipped separately.
Yet another cause of burnt coils may result from a faulty AC/DC rectifier in the WSR. The CCU and many other components within the jukebox require a stable constant 25volt supply that comes from the power transformer and through the rectifier to the rest of the jukebox circuitry. The original rectifiers can fail after 70+ years of service and should be replaced by a current solid-state rectifier. A faulty rectifier could even wreck the transformer which is difficult find and costly to replace.