Question Help! Ariston Turntable won’t start

[fpdoc]

Hi there,

I have an ariston q deck turntable that has intermittent starting issues. It was my dad’s in the 80s and now I’ve been getting into vinyl myself!

It functions so when the tone arm moves, the turntable starts spinning and vice versa.

Sometimes it doesn’t start spinning at all, or there’s a delay in it starting spinning for 15 seconds.
Sometimes if I spin it manually, it then starts spinning. I can’t find anywhere the cause of this issue, perhaps a microswitch. I’ve used multiple power adapters and the issue persists. Thanks in advance

 

[Revolutions]

That’s strange.

Normally they go on & on.

 

[Gray]

I can’t find anywhere the cause of this issue, perhaps a microswitch.

Perhaps...if it's making intermittent / inadequate contact.
You need to rule it out first.
You could try electrically bypassing it, so as to take it out of the equation.
With the power off, follow 2 wires out of it, to where you can link them.
Then apply power externally and see if you've got a normal rotation.

This article might help you. There's talk there of drilling out switch rivets to open it up and clean the contacts, which seems a bit drastic.
If you bypass the switch and you've still got the issue - then the switch is probably ok (I say probably, because if you're very unlucky it could be a joint part of the problem).

You can see the (Matsushita) switch when you scroll down here:

https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=130061

 

[Al ears]

I'd also be replacing the drive belt, in case it is slipping intermittently, and cleaning out the old bearing oil....

 

[fpdoc]

Perhaps...if it's making intermittent / inadequate contact.
You need to rule it out first.
You could try electrically bypassing it, so as to take it out of the equation.
With the power off, follow 2 wires out of it, to where you can link them.
Then apply power externally and see if you've got a normal rotation.

This article might help you. There's talk there of drilling out switch rivets to open it up and clean the contacts, which seems a bit drastic.
If you bypass the switch and you've still got the issue - then the switch is probably ok (I say probably, because if you're very unlucky it could be a joint part of the problem).

You can see the (Matsushita) switch when you scroll down here:

https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=130061

Fantastic, thank you for your help. I’ll have a look. That thread seems to be the same issue as me

 

[Rui]

That’s strange.

Normally they go on & on.

well the turntables purchased in the 80´s by me, not one works so i´m hearing music on my 70´s turntables that seem to refuse to stop working,

mainly Thorens, Pioneer, Technics, Garrard, and a Dual that belonged to my grandmother a 1224 that i adapted a shure cartridge as i saw it being done in a Dual mid 70´s catalog, what amazes me is it´s quality of sound being released in late 60´s,

but i have more turntables from technics and still using two wich are great, don´t know how much one has to spend today to match it´s sound quality using the same cartridge,

well a friend of mine tried to match it´s usual type of sound in a new pro-ject turntable,

it was the top of the line model , 5 years ago and the cartridge made it cost 14.500€, but sounds like a turntable he´s got from a known turntable builder ,

that also made models for well known brands only not with the quality he projected them, the reason why he produced a number not that much of it´s own turntables

 

[good_enough]

Suspects are power supply and motor for me. see https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/ariston-q-deck-motor.296500/.

My Linn Axis did the same and it was a classic fault for that deck (no, NOT similar to Q-deck, just saying...) - the PSU caps drying out which I fixed with a replacement Hercules II.

On yours, that thread I linked to suggests some tests to carry out. Reading that, it could be the motor, and there might be a cheap replacement.

 

[Al ears]

In my experience motors either work or they don't, they are rarely intermittent.
On a deck of this age I would be checking for anything slipping, like a worn belt or slipping pulley, or anything preventing spinning such as poor bearing lubrication.
The fact it is semi-automatic only complicates the issue.
Even if this is found not to be the main cause it needs doing as a matter of course.

 

[fpdoc]

Thanks for the replies all. The general consensus is a failed capacitor is most likely, then the microswitch, and then potentially the motor itself.

I'll break out the multimeter and soldering iron this weekend and see what I can find. I'll lubricate the motor and main bearing while I'm in there as also suggested. I've ruled out the belt as I have taken off the platter and can see when the motor is/ isn't spinning and speed is consistent when it does work