Bought my first Jukebox! Seeburg SS160.

Hello All,

First time poster here. I'm jumping into the world of Jukeboxes. I purchased a Seeburg SS160. It's not working. It scans properly and pick the correct record but stops as soon as the needle hits the record. The plethora of information here seems to indicate either a gunked up clutch assembly or probably the large cap in the auto speed unit.

I'm in the process of cleaning the whole assembly right now and it doesn't seem too bad. I'll clean the contact points and lubricate all the moving parts and re-install and see what happens. I'm assuming I'll have to change the large cap (and maybe a few more) to rebuild the auto speed to correct this problem.

During my exploration, I happened to try a quick scratch on the needle (I'm old school) to test for audio and received zero sound. I only tried it the one time and on one side of the needle but I'm assuming I have a problem with my audio path. I'll have to trace right from the needle to speakers and track down the offending break\problem when I re-assemble after I solve my first issue.

Something occurred to me, hence this post. Is the needle always "live" or is there an attenuation circuit? Could I simply have tried the sound check while it was muted or should I have had sound at all times? Just wondering...

Also, Anyone have a recommendation for a service\trouble shooting manual? I don't mind flying by the seat of my pants but directions will always get you there faster. Also it'll avoid the inevitable "the part that's connected to the do-hickey" frustration on both our parts as this conversation continues...

Attached are a few photos so everyone can see where I'm at. As you can see from one of the photos, I have the red arm. Maybe this is where my sound issue is. How difficult is the swap out to the blue\green arm if this is the cause of silence?

Looking forward to all your help and suggestions!

Thank you,

Jack

Quick reply--as I am short on time---read above "Announcements--where to find --"
Will add more later today-- Ron Rich

Thanks Ron. I updated my location. I'm up in Canada.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Jack

Hi Jack,
OK--got some time now---will attempt to answer you questions, in order.
Yes--the audio has a mute function on all ( "modern") jukeboxes, muted except when needle hits record.
Seeburg printed an excellent Manual set for this model--probably the best one ever-- reprints are available, from vendors listed above--I strongly suggest that you purchase the printed set, rather then some of the copies offered elsewhere. Also, I would suggest that my "Seeburg Mechanism Guide" would be of benefit to you ( PM me to purchase if direct, if you wish).
Swapping the tone arm, itself, is somewhat "tricky". IMHO it is much easier to swap the whole tone arm-cradle assembly--and the cost is about the same--
HTH, Ron Rich

Hi Ron,

Thank you for your quick reply.

OK, its good to know that there is a mute function. It was probably muted when I briefly tried the needle for audio. That probably solves one problem.

I'll be lubricating and hopefully re-installing the mechanism tonight. Due to the lack of old grease build up, I'm thinking I will need to replace the big cap in the auto-speed module. Any vendors here that can supply? I'd rather spend my money with people who have helped me out.

Thx,

Jack

Hi Jack,
What--are you using for oil ??
Yes--I stock that cap--but if you have a "Grainger" close by, they do too !
Ron Rich

Ron,

I'm using the SAE 3 in 1 motor oil. I did my reading here!...lol.

All lubed up and re-installed the mechanism but still no-go. Scans and picks the record but as the needle touches, it returns the record and moves back to its resting position. It might be the cap in the auto speed module. That's next on the to-do list. What are the odds its only the large cap? What are the odds any of the other smaller caps should be replaced or is the money on the main one? I'll PM you about purchase.

Wow, I have sound! You mentioned the "muting" unless the needle is on the record. That left me a small window to test, but both sides of the needle thumped the speakers with a light tap of my finger just at that right moment before the 45 was kicked back. One less problem to solve. I'll worry about all speakers firing and overall sound quality later.

I have more issues like the two small lights for selection display are not working and the rotating display motor just hums loud (disconnected for now) . Nor does the top florescent light illuminate (I'm assuming the ballasts are to the lower left behind the power supply) but also tasks for later.

Jack

Jack, the speed unit has nothing to do with rejecting the record. if that fails all that will happen is the mech will stop dead when a 45 mounts.

The causes of rejecting are:

-Shorted trip switch on the tonearm assemble. these are delicate reed switches and they do (rarely) go bad.

-Shorted-jammed reject button on rear of machine.

-Old, gummy oil in clutch assembly. Here is a lube chart: http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/Rob-N ... ort=2&o=18

There are a set of contacts on the mach that open the trip relay after the the SCR conducts on play-trip, but these are unlikely to cause your problem.

On the lube chart at the front of the mech there is a "manual trip lever". It is just to the left and slightly lower then the vertical contact stack. When the machine trips at a selection that lever will swing up and it should then fall down in about one second. If it doesn't fall down try pressing it down. If it tries to pop up again the problem is electrical as in 1&2 above. If it let's you press it down and stays down the machine will play the record. In that case it is likely lubrication of the clutch assembly at fault. read the post on the "G" problem and Ron's suggestions there too.

As for having sound, this machine is now almost 49 years old. The amp -must- be rebuilt with new capacitors for reliable, safe operation (and decent sound).

These transistorized machines are the simplest and (IMO) easiest to service of any Seeburgs.

Rob/NYC

Thanks for the info, Rob-NYC. I may have more than one problem then.

Here's a quick video of it doing what it's doing. In this video, it hangs when the 45 is loaded, but its hit and miss. It will either hang or just return the 45 as soon as the needle gets to the record.

https://youtu.be/fOUxhruYbQQ

I'll try the manual trip lever tonight. Please comment on the video if anything else jumps out at you!

Yes, I'm sure the amp will need a rebuild. I'm about the same age, nothing works as well anymore...lol.

Thx,

Jack

Hi Jack,
Got--answered the PM--
Looking at the vid--that's typical Autospeed failure--
IF you remove the "mech" (mute) plug from the TSA, will it still reject, sometimes ??
BTW--if you have a 33 rpm record, you should be able to play it with that plug removed--it just won't cancel at record's end.
Ron Rich

Hi Ron,

I tried unplugging the "mute" plug from the TSA and play a 33 1\3. No joy! It is doing the same thing. I posted a video to show the results. I tried multiple times, both with and without the mech plugged in to the amp. Almost every time, it just rejected the record like you will see in the video. Only once it hung and I had to manually eject by turning the shaft on the clutch to remove the record.

Am I correct in thinking the auto speed unit is not the culprit now?

Help!

https://youtu.be/P5kenDgEaZ8

Jack

Jack, there is something weird going on here (not reassuring to read, I know). From your vid it appears that the pop meter is firing twice -does it? And I don't see the manual trip lever flipping back up as the mech rejects. Maybe it is just the angle, I'll D-L the vid and look more closely.

At this point and given the sound of the pop meter, I suspect a gummy clutch.

There are some contacts on the mech that you should look at to be sure they are opening-closing properly:
Mech schematic: http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/Rob-N ... rt=2&o=124

Trip ckt: http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/Rob-N ... rt=2&o=125

Control ctr: http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/Rob-N ... rt=2&o=126

Mech harness: http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/Rob-N ... rt=2&o=127

Oscillator (speed unit): http://s1192.photobucket.com/user/Rob-N ... rt=2&o=128

Rob

Hi Jack,
Ab-sol-lut-ly, without any doubt, it is a stuck clutch yoke PIN ! Nothing else will cause the "double click" on the pop meter !
I describe my (easy, as I am basically very lazy), method of curing this in my Seeburg Mechanism Guide.
Ron Rich

Ron,

Thank you for looking at the video. OK, I'm getting somewhere now. Not auto speed but a gunked up clutch yoke pin. I had the mech out and give it a good clean (or so I thought...) Sounds like I need your mech guide. New PM.

Any suggestions on the best service guide for the rest of the machine. I still have to look at the rotating display and lighting for most of the machine?

Thx,

Jack

Hi Jack,
You are confusing yourself--You have (at least) two different problems--
1. The Autospeed is not functioning-- this is shown in the first vid, where the mech just "hangs"--
2. When it rejects the record (second vid), prior to playing, it has a mechanical problem in the clutch yoke pin.
Re-production Seeburg Service Manuals are available from the vendors listed above, in the "Announcements section---where to find---" above this post-- Ron Rich