Help with Capacitor

[Schanz]

Working on a 1929 RCA Victor R32. Ran into a something new for me. A metal capacitor box under the chassis that appears to be two caps in parallel. There's one in the amp section and one in the tuner section. Am I reading that correct? Could I replace with one cap, twice the value? If I stay with separate caps, do I need to tie together both ends? The terminals are conductive across so they are apparently connected.

[Gregb]

The can in your picture has three caps inside, the two top connections are C7, .25uf and the single bottom one is C5 .001uf. All three are connected to ground inside the can.

Gregb

[Schanz]

Thank you! I honestly completely missed the third terminal. So that's C5. Are you already familiar with this part because I don't see the terminal on the pic. Someone has snipped the wire going to it. My next step was going to find out where that snipped wire was on the schematic. Now I know. So, can I replace with three caps independently to ground?

[Gregb]

Yes I am familiar with these, I have repaired a number of them. I usually just re-stuff the can but if the third terminal is cut off there maybe no point. Sure you can replace them independently but make sure you disconnect the old ones.

Gregb

[Schanz]

Hope you don't mind some more questions but I am still wondering about the capacitor on the left with the blue dot. If I'm reading this right that's in c5's spot. I can't find another c5 on the schemat

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[Gregb]

My mistake, it is a third .25uf cap designated as C7. I should know better than to go from memory, I just checked the schematic.

Gregb

[Schanz]

Aha! That explains what looks like a replacement .25 cap. Someone bypassed that cap in the very distant past.

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[Gregb]

I did notice in your last picture that the third terminal is still there if you wanted to re-stuff the original can and keep it looking original. It is really easy to do, most times they just slide out but sometimes a little heat is needed. Drilling out the rivets is the hardest part!

Gregb

[Schanz]

I finished restuffing the triple on the tuner. I may go back and do the double in the amp. The speaker will need some work. I may need some advice on replacing the surround.


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[Schanz]

I think I'm getting about there but I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the transformer. One of my new caps was shorted (continuity) and may have fried my transformer. At least the sizzling sound wasn't good. I located the offending cap and removed it. I now read 40V coming from that winding which was zero when it was shorted. The sizzling was actually due to a little moisture trapped in the transformer from when I wiped it down. I gave it several days but I guess that wasn't enough.

Anyway, while waiting for new caps to come in the mail, I took a good look the speaker. The leather cone was very rotted so I have replaced it with new chamois. The cone still appears to be nicely centered. I then noticed that the center of the cone was torn around the washer that bolts it to the middle. I've repaired this with a paper washer but now I'm wondering if it's too stiff. The speaker cone doesn't have much movement forward and back. Is my surround too tight or should it be fairly rigid?