Rockola 425 not picking up B-sides for row 2

It's a strange and awfully specific problem...

Used to be it simply wouldn't pick up the B-side of one record (the J2/K2), now it won't play any B-side in that row.

It plays every other record, both sides, just fine.

When selecting a B-side from row 2, usually the buttons will pop out and then nothing happens. Occasionally it will make the carousel rotate again and again until I press the skip-selection button on the back of the machine.

This is my first jukebox and I haven't done any repairs/maintenance besides lubrication so far (I've had the machine since early December) but I am willing to get my hands dirty and learn how to fix this thing.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Phil

Phil,
Your observations, or what you have written make no sense to me--
First, there was no "skip selection" button installed on the rear of the phonograph by the factory. There is a "Reject button" on the rear, that only should function after the needle lands on a selected record side. This button is not "in the circuit" until that point, so, in no way could it influence what the record basket is doing.
Do you have a Service Manual ? If so, look at the sequence of operation, and determine where it's failing. Using the part names called out in the manual, will help me, and others, attempt to understand the problem, and possibly help you.
I would suggest that you need to invest more time and effort into determining exactly what's happening---
Ron Rich

Ron,

Thanks for your reply. I've done some studying of the manual and the machine in operation. First of all yes I meant the reject button and I'm guessing it was just my timing that fooled me into thinking it had some effect on things.

Anyway these are my observations, and please feel free to correct my terminology if I've messed up again:

When the machine is at rest and I select a B-side from row 2 the selector lever for that song does not move, and the Write-In Carriage only travels a short way and then stops, never reaching the correct lever. The Read-Out Carriage doesn't move at all.

When the machine is playing a selection that works, and I select a B-side from row 2, sometimes the Write-In Carriage doesn't move at all, sometimes it travels (but never all the way to the selection). When the song is finished the Read-Out Carriage returns to the home position.

I can move the selector levers on the Read-Out side of the Selector Assembly by hand and the Read-Out Carriage comes around to them and the record plays.

What I described before where the carousel would not stop rotating did not happen again during these "experiments."

So obviously the problem lies on the Write-In side, but I don't understand why it's just those B-sides. Your thoughts?

Phil,
My thinking (which may or may not be correct), is that it is a "WI" problem, and that IF, it's only those selections giving problems, it must be a poor connection somewhere in the circuit between the keyboard and the "rivets" for those selections. IMHO, the most probable place is in the plugs. I would unplug all of them, check that none of the contacts are "bent" /"expanded" , "falling out of the plug", or had poor crimps on the wires. The schematic in your manual should pinpoint all of the wires in that circuit. Ron Rich

Ron,

By "plugs" I'm assuming you're talking about all the little connections underneath the letter/number buttons. Is this correct?

If this is what you mean, do I have to remove the entire pushbutton assembly from inside, or is there something less drastic I can do?

I dono what you are calling "all the little connections----" I am calling any plug in type housing with "pins", of any type in it a "Plug"--perhaps "connector housings" explains it better?

I'll try to describe it in better detail...

Underneath the buttons I can see that as you push down on each button, a metal "frame" slides down between several sets of small metal contacts. Each set of contacts is connected to a wire and all these wires are bunched together and lead to a big plug on the floor of the machine labeled "push buttons."

These contacts that are engaged when the buttons are pushed--are these the plugs you're referring to? I could see how if one of them became dirty or too loose/wide it could cause a selection problem. But it looks like I'd have to remove the whole pushbutton assembly to properly inspect everything.

Those are the plugs I am talking about--just remove them and re-install them. If that does not "change" your symptoms, clean them with "De-Ox-It" and see what happens--You did clean the disc as I stated earlier, using the "De-Ox-It"--didn't you? Ron Rich

Ron,

I pulled out the pushbutton assembly so I could look at those plugs. I don't know how I'm supposed to pull them out and put them back in as everything looked to be permanently affixed and/or soldered in. Using a small screwdriver I tightened them up a bit, then I put it all back together. Then...none of the buttons worked at all. I'm not sure what I could have possibly done but the buttons do not stay down when pushed and you can't make a selection. I'm beginning to think I should have called a pro in the first place...

I looked into my problem a little more using the manual...looks like the "lock bar solenoid" is no longer doing anything. Any clue?

Just an update...

I eventually found a blown fuse in my juke and replaced it for $1.50.

This brought the button assembly & lock bar solenoid back to life and enabled me to select songs using the buttons.

It now selects the b-sides for row 2 without any trouble, so what I was doing before the fuse blew (tightening & cleaning the connections) definitely worked.

Phil

Hi DoghouseRiley,

No 50 miles is not far for repairs on jukeboxes in the UK. I have done 300 miles plus on a busmans holiday repair and Len Beddow the roving repair man who lives in staffordshire goes up into Scotland to do repairs.

Regards
Alan Hood
ami-man
UK