Sharp VZ-2000, no sound from right woofer? Help! 😂

[TheDood723]

Hi again guys, so as some of you may know I've been cleaning up my VZ, contacted cleaned all switches and sliders, cleaned almost everything up it seems. There was no sound from the right woofer when I got it, so I cleaned the sliders twice, the volume knob, and all the buttons, still nothing. Just a very, very, almost nothing, hiss from the right woofer. All tweeters work, left woofer sounds perfect.

I've read all the related topics in the tech and resto threads, and I've checked the balance slider somewhat, slid it back and forth, looked down inside with a flashlight and nothing seems out of place. I read in some instances where desoldering and disassembling the slider is necessary but to be honest I have not the slightest clue about those things....

Anyone out there thats had this problem? Sound from three speakers, but one woofer is just a low, almost silent, hiss?

Any help, guidance, info, etc. is greatly appreciated as always, especially with this box. I feel like I'm so close to having it finished, after this i just need belts for the cassette/table and see where that gets me. Thank you in advance!



Edit: also, forgot to mention I swapped the left and right woofers in an attempt to single out a blown woofer possibility, both woofers work fine when plugged into the left side of the unit.

 

[floyd]

I can tell you from owning 5 of these boxes you have to check the function switches, these are almost impossible to clean or lubricate because they are the push button type.
The best indicator that they are dirty is just static when you select between buttons.
Also check the internal /external speaker jack.

 

[TheDood723]

How do I go about completely cleaning function switches of this type? I thought i got em but I'll give it another go 😁

 

[TheDood723]

Another update: I sprayed the ext./int. Switch and have faint sound out of the right side now. At full volume the sound is very low, but at least it's something!

 

[floyd]

You might want to spray it then move the switch to the other position and spray it again then work the switch a few times.

 

[TheDood723]

Did the spraying again, and got it all taken out if the case so the case can be cleaned. Sprayed a few odds and ends I couldn't reach before, about to plug it in to see what I get.

From thr pics, is there anything else that looks wrong/out of place/like it might be the culprit? I don't have any meters handy to do any electrical tests like I've heard some people having to do to narrow down issues.







Checked the bridge connecting the two boards in the main chassis, they look fine

Cleaned the record bar while I had access as well

Cleaned connector pins on the white clasp things (similar to the connectors for the speakers) the name for these escapes me at the moment.



Thanks again to Floyd for taking the time to guide me on things, and to anyone else who may hopefully jump in to help a novice (at best) learn more about this process 😁

Also, might be worth noting (forgot to mention in my original post) it's seems as though someone may have spilled a dark beverage (like cola) in it or something, because there was dark brown syrup goo on the inside of the plexiglass tuner cover, as well as on a few other things inside.

Also, just discovered this:



Another update: just tested the VZ through ext. Speakers and it's the same story. Left one sounds good, right is very faint

 

[TheDood723]

And, when I push the balance slider right (the side with faint sound) all sound goes out in the right woofer. When I push the balance all the way left however, it doesn't effect the right woofer how it should, the volume just stays the same.

I'm not getting a VU rating for the right side either

 

[TheDood723]

Well, was just inspecting the PCB that has the record bar and stuff on it, and found these. These look really outta place to me, is this like a burn in the solder or something or do they just get dirty?




Pic #1: Numbers eight, nine, ten, and eleven look brown and just stuck out like a sore thumb.

Pic #2: I can't tell if these look burnt or the board is just dirty with the aforementioned syrup like residue from when someone spilled something on/in the box

 

[Fatdog]

I have not seen this mentioned yet, so I'll ask. Have you tried testing headphones yet? Also, a dirty headphone jack can sometimes cause things to go crazy.

 

[TheDood723]

Haven't tested them no, but I cleaned them out with an adapter plug I have that size, no change 🙁

 

[Fatdog]

Still definitely test headphones. It's rare, but some members will have issues with speakers, but headphones work perfectly.

 

[TheDood723]

Alrighty will do as soon as I have the chance 😁 thanks for the suggestion!

 

[TheDood723]

I've managed to find the issue, the brush (small metal tab) had fallen off, like I've read happened to others. It appeared outta nowhere, just pushed to the end of the slider. When I push it back to make contact with the metal track, loud, clear sound comes out of the right channel. So now I just have to figure out how to desolder, disassemble, repair, reassemble and solder it back in place.


After that, the only issue then is finding out why I'm not getting any VU activity. It works perfect when I press the Tune/Battery button but I'm not getting anything to them when playing music...

 

[BoomboxLover48]

I've managed to find the issue, the brush (small metal tab) had fallen off, like I've read happened to others. It appeared outta nowhere, just pushed to the end of the slider. When I push it back to make contact with the metal track, loud, clear sound comes out of the right channel. So now I just have to figure out how to desolder, disassemble, repair, reassemble and solder it back in place.


After that, the only issue then is finding out why I'm not getting any VU activity. It works perfect when I press the Tune/Battery button but I'm not getting anything to them when playing music...

In most cases the VU issues can be solved with a good Deoxit cleaning of that tape section long record bar switch. I can see lots of debris and dirt on top of that record switch. Use suction to remove dirt and then squirt Deoxit inside through those top holes and move that switch back and forth a min 25 times. Good luck!

 

[baddboybill]

VU on sharp vz only works when playing deck.

 

[TheDood723]

Is that true Bill? I never knew that, I was so puzzled as to why I was getting nothing at all 😂

Still a little anxious about desoldering/repairing that slider. I have a soldering iron, but I've never used it before 🤔

 

[Fatdog]

Still a little anxious about desoldering/repairing that slider. I have a soldering iron, but I've never used it before

I would suggest watching a few videos on YouTube about soldering basics. Find some old, non-functioning PCBs to practice on, or find a RadioShack in your area and get the small, generic PCBs they sell and some other electronics and practice.

Here are a couple of threads where members had to disassemble sliders:

https://boomboxery.com/forum/index.php/topic/23644-gf-9090-sliders/

https://boomboxery.com/forum/index.php/topic/16247-m70-good-and-bad/

 

[baddboybill]

Is that true Bill? I never knew that, I was so puzzled as to why I was getting nothing at all 😂

Still a little anxious about desoldering/repairing that slider. I have a soldering iron, but I've never used it before 🤔

Yes it’s true. I recommend getting a desoldering iron with suction built in as it’s much easier to get solder off. I have repaired the sliders as well on my vz2000. I actually used jb weld on the broken feelers and it’s worked great. It’s a pretty simple repair. Just be cautious as the feelers are tiny and very weak and can bend easily.

 

[TheDood723]

Problem solved! My grandfather and I were able to open up the slider case using Floyd's mentioned method, and I used in weld to fix the feeler back in place. Dabbed some across both feelers so I wouldn't have to worry. Put it all back together inside the case, and it plays wonderfully through both sides 😁 thanks everybody! Now to order belts and rebelt this thing. 😂