Late 1960s Zenith Microtouch 2G turntable issues
 

Hello everyone, a while back I was given a 1967 Zenith Model Y940 Console stereo (fully transistorized unit, no tubes) that the turntable on it when I got it had lots of issues with it including but not limited to, changer not activating at the end of the record, changer not activating when the reject switch was activated, the turntable hanging up mid-cycle in the 45, 33 and 16 speeds, etc. which I had attributed the turntable hang-up mid-cycle issue to gummy grease on the changer mechanism (its a Zenith rebadged V-M 1297 changer) and so I had completely taken apart the changer and cleaned off the old grease and put on new lube and put it back together and tried it out and sure enough the darn thing was still hanging up mid cycle on the 45, 33 and 16 RPM settings (I had figured out that the reason why the reject switch wasn't activating the changer and why the changer wasn't activating at the end of the record was because the trip lever was bent out of whack so I bent it back into shape and now its working fine again) but to my consternation and I figured this out on my Motorola 3 channel suitcase record player which uses the same exact record player except an earlier version of it (from 1962) that I had in my earlier overhaulings of these two record players neglected to removed the cam gear and clean the old gummy grease off of it and relube it with new grease which in my Motorola taking out the cam gear and cleaning it and relubing it fixed the hanging up in mid cycle issue but not on the Zenith the Zenith for some reason or another still wants to hang up mid cycle in 33 and 16 rpm speeds (45 and 78 work fine) and I'm wondering what could still be causing my Zenith record player to still hang up in mid cycle even though it was completely overhauled (including the cam gear).

Any tips or ideas or advice would be welcome, as this issue has me stumped. :sigh:


EDIT: Never mind, just figured out that it was the idler tire causing the problem, its hardened to the point of being almost plastic like, and because of that its not gripping the turntable platter which is why its slipping and not allowing the changer mechanism to operate properly.

Yes, the idler wheels on these changers and the other post 1962 VM 1200 family changers often have this exact issue and are why this is doing what it does. Gary Stork at www.thevoiceofmusic.com offers rebuilt idlers on an exchange basis. Around $35 or so, will restore the Micro-Touch back to normal operation.

Yes, When I get paid from the work I did on the old Fender Deluxe Reverb Guitar Amp that I fixed then I will I think use that towards getting a new idler tire for my Zenith Microtouch.

Depending on how bad it is you can give the idler a
cleaning with lighter fluid. They also used to make
some commercial cleaners. Dont forget the motor
shaft & the inside rim of the platter & be sure the platter
spins freely when not engaged.

73 Zeno:smoke:

The platter spins quite freely, in fact I spun it with my hand and clocked it out at about three and a half minutes before it finally stopped spinning (which is about how long my old Dual turntable took to spin down, and it has a heavier cast aluminum platter as opposed to a standard aluminum platter like the Zenith has.) Anyways I think it just needs a new idler tire because the one that's on there right now is as hard as a rock so to speak, it feels like plastic in some ways consistency wise, whereas my old Motorola which has the same 1297 changer but from the early 1960s works fine (it actually has a different type of idler tire in it all together.)