Beogram 4000 malfuction after shipment

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T4000 Posted: Wed, Nov 11 2020 4:50 PM

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Hi all you Beogram gurus out there!

My very first post here and I start with a novel. Sorry for that.

In short: I would kindly ask for some advice on a malfunctioning Beogram 4000.

I recently got myself a well-maintained Rosewood Beogram 4000 (My first. I’m so proud. Or was…). Even though I knew the risk, I had it shipped. I instructed the seller to pack it according to Beolover’s instruction video. Even so, the shipment from seller to me was rough. Very rough. The box looked like a train wreck when arriving. When I unpacked I found:

• The Slide was loose and tilted.
• The Detection arm was relocated towards the Tone arm.
• Pulley [124] (in this Beogram replaced by a metal version) came loose during transport and has been rattling around freely inside the Beogram. The loose Pulley resulted in the fee moving Slide.
• The Slide threaded rod (Spindle [224]) was hanging loose, also an effect of the loose Pulley.
• One of the Slide Contact pins and its plastic holder (Switch E, SO - Switch off/Home position) were knocked off

I moved the Slide back to its rails, assembled the loose parts, and unscrewed the Detection arm to straighten it up. Then went on doing functional tests, and found the following phenomenon:

1. When playing a record, the arm lowers, but after 1s the servomotor starts and the arm moves quickly across the record for about 0.5-1cm (my poor Pink Floyd album). This also happened when placing the Tone arm in the middle of the record. Wrong record to do trials on, I painfully realized...
   
   
2. Tone arm lowering even if no record is present. Intermittent problem. Happened both on 7" and 12" position. The detector arm bulb is lit up, but something is wrong in the sensor circuits. Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot these?
   
   
3. Another intermittent problem: sometimes the detection arm function works when scanning an empty platter, but then when the Slide are reaching end position, the servo motor continues to push the Slide to the center. OFF has to be pressed to return home.
   
   
4. The Slide stopped over the 12" position, then slowly moving towards the center, then returning back home. This occurred both with and without record. Don’t know if this is a normal operation, but it happens intermittently.
   
   
5. After that I started (in pure frustration) to adjust bits and pieces according to the service manual. When I came to the step of Tracking force adjustment, I started by pressing ON, then pressed Reverse (>) to move the tone arm away from the platter. When I did this, the Slide decided to automatically return to home position. I pressed ON again to repeat the procedure, but the Slide moved 1-2 cm, then returning home again. Tried a couple of times, but always the same. Also tried to manually push the Slide Contacts, but no reaction. (So finally(?), a failure that is not intermittent!). I then started to smell burned electronics, probably for the main PCBA. Did not see any smoke, though.

Then I gave up and realized I need help. Any input would be appreciated.

/Per

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sonavor replied on Wed, Nov 11 2020 5:43 PM

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Hi,

The parts you describe that the shipping shook loose are things that really need to be reviewed and reset per the service manual. Those alignments are crucial for the functions to operate and would cause the issues you are experiencing. 

It is also possible that some parts shifted where metal is contacting something it should not. Something electrical could be shorting. I would suggest not using it until someone familiar with that Beogram can look at it.

-sonavor 

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sonavor replied on Wed, Nov 11 2020 5:54 PM

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I should also add that if the fixed arm had come loose then your Beogram 4000 had to have really experienced some shock. For that reason alone I would get it professionally looked at. Luckily those turntables are built like a tank so any problems can be resolved. They just can't always be resolved easily and quickly. 

Sorry for the trouble you are having with your turntable but be patient and do things right...then you will be rewarded with a nice, working Beogram 4000.

-sonavor

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T4000 replied on Tue, Nov 17 2020 4:45 PM

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Hi sonavor,

Thanks a lot for taking your time on this. You gave the answer I expected, but didn’t want. I fully understand the complexity. I have electronic background and wanted to give it a try, but did what you recommended and contacted 2 authorized B&O service centers here in Sweden. They said that they do not want to take this one in. They suggested me to sell it as spare parts.

Devastating news. I paid quite a lot for it and will not be able to buy a “new” one. So, I guess my B&O dream ends here.

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sonavor replied on Tue, Nov 17 2020 5:54 PM

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Don't give up yet.

Just because the authorized dealer appears incapable (or unwilling) to work on such a classic, vintage machine is no reason to sell it for parts.
I am sure it can be restored.

If you have an electronic background then you have a good start. The restoration will take some mechanical skills but if I could learn them then I am sure you could.

My recommendation then is to start a new thread here on the Beoworld Workbench Forum.

Begin by taking some good photos of the Beogram 4000 so helpful Beoworld members on the workbench can see what you are up against.  You will get a lot of help I am sure. If you are willing to make the effort then with the Beoworld Workbench Forum and the Beolover Blog information I think you will be able to restore your Beogram 4000. 

-sonavor

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Craig replied on Wed, Nov 18 2020 12:48 PM

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Yes...I agree with sonavor, get a thread started and post some pictures and lets see what we can do ;¬)

Craig

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T4000 replied on Fri, Nov 20 2020 12:40 PM

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Hi sonavor and Craig,

Thanks for the encouragement. Let’s give it a try! I will add some of the text above and add some videos and pictures.
See you there!

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sonavor replied on Fri, Nov 20 2020 3:40 PM

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Sounds good.

FYI - The best way to include photos in the Beoworld post is using the little filmstrip icon just above where you type.
In order to use images from there however...you must have previously uploaded photos to your Beoworld profile.
To do that you go to your Beoworld user page (by clicking on your user name in the upper right of the page - T4000 in your case).
On the resulting user screen you will see a section on the lower right side called "My Files".  Click on the "view all files" link there and you will come to the screen for uploading and saving image files to your files area. Note that there are file size limits.
You can also only add one file at a time. In other words you can't select and upload a bunch of photos in one step. A little bit of a pain but it is worth it to have the photos uploaded to your user area.

Using the film strip icon to add photos to your forum post lets you put multiple photos on your message. Again, you have to add them one at a time but you will get the hang of it.

Let us know if you have any questions.

-sonavor