Phonoland

Seeburg DS160 I have read the net and tried everything i know how to get this problem solved and i cant find the problem . During mech scan i hear a ticking sound out the speakers . When it hits end each side when the reverse switch moves it makes an even louder pop noise . The ticking is louder sometimes and only one direction sometimes , both directions sometimes .

I have removed the tormat and cleaned the contacts and ground strip . I removed and cleaned the detent contacts behind the motor . I have cleaned & checked the best i know how all of contacts on the mech .
I have tested with an ohm meter the mute contact system down to the amp and tested the detent contacts and all the wiring associated with them and all these contacts are working along with the contacts on the reverse switch .

I can pull the cartridge input plug from the amp and that dont work . I checked all the wiring in the amp at the mute socket . I pulled out the 2 lower amp input side tubes and it still pops . During scan using the service switch i noticed the poping ticking is almost gone if i leave the service switch in the middle .

I have adjusted the detent screw during scan . At some point all the ticking noise goes away but then the mech wont pick up any records at all . I put the detent adjustement back and tried sliding the whole tormat side to side . It changes the ticking sound from loud to not so loud . Otherwise it works and sounds just fine .

Ken,
From what you have written, I am assuming that you have a poor ground (or two) somewhere--
The trick will be to determine where--
I would start with the Tormat RCA plug--clean/tighten it-check "soldering job"--then the large Tormat to TES plug. Then the Mechanism plug. and the inter-connect plug between the Amp, and TSU.
Next, I would look at the contact pins that ride the Tormat--they MUST be flat, AND, have silver left on them. Also, the grounding bar must have silver left on it, and the screws holding it, must be tight. The Tormat must be "adjusted" as per the service manual. The Detent switch must also be "correct" in that the long blade must "stick-out straight", the air gap must be correct, the contact points themselves must not be burned/pitted, and have silver left on them. Also the wires going to this switch must be dressed as shown in the manual, and the adjustment made as shown --
I would also look at all "arc suppression" caps, including the one that should be on the scan control contacts (.01/14kv--often has fallen off).
You could also have a problem in the TPA-- is the mounting screw installed, and tight--the 12AX-7 good ?
That's all I can think of at the moment--HTH--Ron Rich

Thanks Ron ... there are a few things you mentioned i need to check . I dont think there is any silver left on the tormat . It looks like a gravel road , no way to fix it without sanding it down . The detent contacts are worn down 75% . I cleaned the stuff though .

It sounds like i will need to find a place to install a relay that shuts the speakers off during scan .

Thanks !!

Ken,
There is an "easy fix" for the missing silver on the grounding bar (ONE TIME)--
Pins need silver --and detent switch, long blade, must be straight---
I sure do not advise adding a relay to cut-off speakers--risk of amp damage--
Ron Rich

None of the stuff mentioned worked . These chassis were sent out to some 'company' to be serviced a few years ago and the work was sloppy and not complete . I can only figure they left something out or miswired .
A relay to shut off the speakers when there is no record in play fixed it . I installed dummy loads on the relay to keep the outputs loaded while the speakers are off .

Ken,
You need to do ALL of the "stuff" above--including the "grounding bar" (Just "flip it over"--you will need to re-drill the mounting holes).
"Arc suppression caps" are almost all of the "disc" caps in the TSU.
Running the amp with the speakers off, is risking damage to the out-put transformers--they "do not like" that--It can cause "spikes" that will destroy them--
Ron Rich