Rockola 1468 Mute circuit problem?

Hello group,
I have a Rockola 1468 Tempo 1. I have been told this problem could be in the "Mute" circuit, i am looking for additional advice / thoughts.
This is what I observe;
1. lost volume, though very faint when turned up.
2 . Static through the speakers only during the gripper arm cycles.
3. No static during the record select cycle.
4. It appears to complete the record selection & play cycles ok...

I have the schematic & manual for the jukebox, from what i can "see" the mute function is wired into the 3 micro-switches at the gripper arm. Is this where I need to look? I would think it would be muted during the gripper arm cycle and un muted during record play.
Thanks for the assistance...

Hi
The amp should be muted until a few seconds after the tone arm lands on the record and mutes again after record has finishing playing and the tone arm cut off switch is closed. The mute relay contacts could probably do with cleaning but I would say the amp as it is old would need to be fully serviced including caps, tube/valves , transformers checked, bias set. Also check speaker connections.
Clones

I had the amp re-capped about a year ago. If it were amp ONLY related, would the motor noise still be there? I need to understand better how the mute switch affects the amp. I noticed in the Rockola manual that there is listed a mute switch & bracket in the parts section, however this is one of those that is NOT pictured, but after looking at the schematic, the 4 wires coming off the mute plug go through two switches (a microswitch & a relay in the control box). thanks for the reply.....

Hi Chris,
Just a "guess'--is the shield for the pick-up dis-connected somewhere--are you sure it goes from the cart to the amp--sounds like it, or the other wire to the cart-amp, is/are open ?? Ron Rich

Ron,
The shield is making contact with the inside of the tonearm & at the amp. I modified the tone arm to play stereo records-in mono with a shure 44 magnetic cartridge, it has worked well since last spring.

I found the mute switch, it looks like it engages from the gripper arm cam, It appears to be working, as I do hear something at 75% volume , i'm not sure if it is doing what it is supposed to at the amp level. Would a tube going bad have these symptoms? The gripper motor static and volume loss occurred at the same time........
-Chris

Hi Chris,
ANYTHING, can cause this--you need to find out what--Ron Rich

Ron Rich wrote:Hi Chris,
ANYTHING, can cause this--you need to find out what--Ron Rich

That's right Ron.
Attempting to diagnose even a simple "symptom" over the internet can be frustrating.

I'm "old school" - take it to the shop.

The problem was an open resistor in the amplifier...............