Another Rock-Ola 470

Greetings,
This jukebox stuff can be quite addictive. In the course of a month, I've gone from NO jukeboxes to THREE:
An NSM Galaxy 100 CD box, a Seeburg 147, and the latest acquisition: a 1977 470 Rock-Ola. Whooo hooo!

I snagged the Rock-Ola off of Craigslist. It had belonged to the guy's dad who recently passed away. He, in turn, had purchased it from the Paso Robles Moose Lodge, so I did get a little history with it. Of course it didn't work and nobody wants them in their way if they can't play records.

The unit itself is pretty clean inside. The top lock was drilled out so it was easy to open and have a look. The gripper arm looked like it had gotten out of sync with the basket. Apparently the basket tried to move, but the gripper didn't get out of the way in time. I managed to carefully back things out and get everything unstuck. The culprit? It appears to be a lack of lubrication. Everything is really gooey. When I first applied power, everything turned super slow

I applied some 3-in-1 motor oil(always highly recommended here) and now the mech seems to be doing its thing correctly. The write-in and read-out wipers got some DeOxit and after exercising it a few times with the SCAN switch, it actually grabbed and played a record, a left over selection from the last time it was powered up, no doubt. The write-in side is still super sluggish, so I've got to dig deeper into the mech to oil it. I think some of it may be related to the grease that goes around the perimeter of both sides of the selection carriage. Super sticky. I'm thinking white lithium grease here?

The main problem with it now is that it won't play a record after making a selection. It takes all 3 numbers, the relays click, the write-in carriage begins to rotate, albeit slowly, and the coil does activate the pin. But the basket just sits there unless I bump the SCAN switch. Once it's off its home position, the basket starts turning, it finds the record, and plays it. It's super fun to watch. I don't know why they covered up the mechs in later years.

There's a few other minor issues that will most likely resolve themselves with a good maintenance: the center balance control is either very dirty or broken. Turning it left and right does not cause the audio to move from the left to right speakers. I thought the amp had a blown left channel or a bad cartridge. Turned out to be a loose Molex connector coming out of the amp. It seems to have plenty of audio in both channels now. It really does crank! The selection lights don't seem to illuminate while the read-out carriage is searching, but I think that could be more dirty contacts.

I still need to line up a manual and find a key for the upper display and coin box. I haven't quite figured out how to get the rear access hatch open. I'm sure it would make it easier to get access to the mech. All in all, not bad for a Sunday's worth of work, tho.

-Jim

Hi Jimmler,
"addictive" ? I don't know, as I repair, but do not "collect" them !
Anyway--the WI motor is an open frame AC motor, and they do become "sluggish"--One very "stern word of advice" here--do NOT dis-assemble it. You may, if you wish, remove then saturate it with the same oil, and pray it "loosens up". As for grease on the write in / read out carriages, I am not sure, but I don't think it was ever factory applied. I use a LIGHT coating of the same oil on the "tracks".
On the non-starting problem--there is a coil and a Microswitch on the top of the pin bank. The coil should energize every time a selection is made. Energizing the coil should operate that switch ( there is a mechanical component involved--a "U-shaped", copper colored, "helper" spring, that tends to be broken), which starts the read-out (basket) motor.
Once you have the manuals, you will be able to figure it out more easily---HTH, Ron Rich

Good call, Ron. I found the remains of the helper spring on the floor of the jukebox. Looks like someone tried to repair it once before, but the solder didn't hold. I re-soldered it & now the jukebox works as it should! It still needs a good lube job, some DeOxit, and some light bulbs, but in the meantime, it's fun to listen to. Thanks for your help!

-Jim