Seeburg Q - Safety plunger moves too slow

I have a Seeburg Q that was in storage for about 5 years, and is now having trouble with the safety plunger. The symptom is that it after it rejects the record, it puts it right back on. After reading the manual, it pointed me in the direction of the safety plunger. It does move after it rejects the record, but way to slowwwww. If I time it right, I can manually close it fast enough, and it moves on to the next selection. My question is:

- How do I get the best access to that part of the mech so that I can clean/lube that area? Would I need to remove the mech from the machine, or remove the record rack?

I do have the service manuals, and I have a copy of Ron's Seeburg book on the way.

Scott

Hi Scott,
You can reach the whole "safety plunger assembly" by removing the "gingerbread" on the right-hand side ( with you facing the JB) of the record rack and scanning it down there. I use a "Valvespout" (brand) oilier, with a 13 inch spout, 20 wt. ND oil only.
When you get the guide--look at pg 29--that shows both the plunger itself ad the pivot--oil BOTH sides of the pivot -it may take a few minutes to "work in" --then you will need to re-oil it and play the H outta it ! Ron Rich

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the reply! The only thing I am not sure about is what you mean by the "gingerbread". Your book came in today, so I see the diagram on page 29.

Scott

Hi Scott,
Thanks for purchasing the Guide--hope it helps !
"Gingerbread" is the "stuff hanging" off the side of the record rack, used to make it look "nice"--has no practical value, phono can and will function, if removed. Ron Rich

Thanks Ron, I'll remove that when I get home tonight. Once that is out of the way, is it easier to get to those areas from behind the jukebox, or from the front by going over the top of the mech? (I'm sure I can figure it out once I have better access, but I'm curious how you do it.) The only oil that I have with any kind of retractable spout is one of those Zoom spout oilers (which I know you DO NOT recommend), but I guess I could just pour that out and refill it with the 3 in 1 that you do recommend.
Scott

Hi Scott,
I really don't attempt to remember each model, and how to remove that stuff--I just do it --I think you will need to do both, front and back, on your phono--I don't like the "zoom spout", itself, either--it is too difficult to maneuver where I want it--that's why I still have my 50 year old "valve spout oiler" -- I think I'd use an old fashion "oil can" before the zoom spout--
Ron Rich

Ron,
Unless you advise against it, I think i will pull the mech out of the cabinet so I will have better access to everything. And, I know my 51 year old eyes will be able to see everything better when the mech is not in a dark cabinet! I probably would have also asked about removing the record rack, but I noticed in your book (and here on this forum). that you almost never recommend doing that.
Scott

Hi Scott,
Sure--pull the mech from the cabinet, if you want to--I'm too lazy, so I don't do that to oil it !
Ron Rich

Hi Ron,
I took your "advice" and I was lazy and left it in.... And, I've had pretty good success as it now clears about 90% of the time. So, I think I just need to work it in a little more and I will be good. But, I'm having another issue and I'm not sure if it is related at all, or completely independent. When I make a selection, most of the time it scans twice without making picking that selection. I can turn the unit off and on, and sometimes it will start picking up selections again, and sometimes not. After playing with it for about an hour last night, I'd say it would work around 20% of the time. I did take out the RCA plug from the selector and clean it off a little to make sure it was making a good connection, and it first it seemed to help, but then it went back to being intermittent. Should I just make a new thread for this issue since this appears to be an electrical issue and completely independent of my original issue?
Scott

H Scott,
Glad it's somewhat working--run a little more oil in it, and it should improve --
Yes--you probably should re-post this under a new subject--Ron Rich

Have my hsc1 for about a month. Worked on that safety plunger issue every day . oiled the crap out of it. Manually pulled it up and down about a thousand times and pulled out that Allen screw on the left shaft of the arm that moves up and down . It refused to loosen up enough for the spring to move it fast enough. Moved the spring up an inch with a very small Allen wrench bridging the top of that assembly. FIXED!

Only one problem--well, two, I see here--1. The "safety plunger" goes side to side, not up down, and 2. There is no "Allen screw" in the safety plunger assembly that I can recall--sure you are not talking about the record lift arm ??
Ron Rich