The Beogram 7000 was working fine two months ago.  Today, I turned it on and the outer arm lit up with the 33 RPM reading.  The two arm assembly did not move towards the record.  Rather, the tone arm simply lowered the cartridge onto the aluminum surface of the deck.  The control buttons to move the two arm assembly left or right did not work.  I could manually move the assembly without any resistance.  Even moving the assembly to the correct location by hand and then pressing the button to lower the tone arm results in the cartridge being lowered onto the record but with a scraping sound, as if the whole cartridge was sitting on top of the record rather than just the tip.

Is there a quick and/or simple fix for this problem; or, will it be an expensive fix by B&O Service?

Thanks.

Sounds like the connection to the wire drive is broken - you will need to have a little look inside.

Agree with Peter. Sounds like the drive string has parted company from the carriage. It is a fair bet that B&O service will condemn it as "parts no longer available".

Remove the platter and move the carriage manually towards the centre. Look into the area at the back of the sub platter, you may see the white string laying limp in the workings.

Thanks, Peter and Graham.  I will have a look and report back later.

Cheers!

OK, I have had a look.  There is a white string at the back as Graham says.  This string does not appear broken; however, it does appear to be disconnected.  There is a "noose" or "loop" at the end of the string [the end closest to the two arm assembly] that is currently not connected to anything.  Also, the string is a bit stiff as if it had been starched rather than limp.  Finally, this string seems to be loosely wrapped around the metal cylindrical thing.  

What is the next step?  Is it an easy task to hook up the string again?

Not quite that easy, as there probably is no place where to hook it up anymore - it's broken off. You'll need to fabricate something.

Here's my old case.

Thanks, Mika.  The task sounds a bit daunting as I am not too adept at these types of repairs.  I might try to dissassemble the Beogram next week for a look.  Then, being totally intimidated, I will waste my money calling B&O only to be frustrated by B&O saying "We no longer have the part".

Don't be disheartened yet (although you've probably guessed what the dealer will say). You'll just need to be extra careful, think before doing, and familiarize yourself with the service manual already before opening the deck. And, we don't know yet for sure if it is this particular plastic part that is broken, although it is very likely.

It would of course be best to take it to someone who does this kind of work on a regular basis, but I can guess from your location that it won't be quite that easy either.

Actually I think if a spare part was available, replacing it would be a lot more work than doing this small bolt & nut fix!

Thanks, Mika.

I will need to download all the manuals so that I will know how to remove the perplex lid, how to remove the aluminim deck, etc.  I am not very mechanically inclined.  The only thing I can do in terms of B&O is remove a record and replace a plug-in cartridge.  :)  Anything more complicated, I would prefer to leave to the trained repair technicians.

One option is to send the Beogram to B&O Service with your and Chris' solution but I suspect B&O will not perform non-authorized repairs/replacements.  Another option is to ship the unit to someone in Georgia, USA, Denmark or Israel but the shipping costs would be great as would the risk of damaged during transit.

This may turn out to be a long term project.  :(

Hi Wings

You are in Hong Kong, thats the mekka for copying and fixing anything, if you can't find someone  to fix your deck there, you won't find it anywhere. Find a good radio/television technician, with the manual and a bit of good will, together with this amazing site, your deck will be be as new.

I've been to HK a couple of times, one time for a one night stayover, I arrived to the hotel 10:00 PM with a broken suitcase handle.

As I had to catch a flight for the mainland next morning, I went looking for a suitcase repairshop and at 02:00 AM I was back at the hotel, suitcase repaired for HK$ 10,00. (no reciept)

So, go shopping for a tech.

Thanks for the encouragement, Soren. 

I guess my hope for a quick fix won't be realized but I have not given up hope on repairing the Beogram.

Hi Wings,

This is what it should look like, all assembled.

Plastic bits do break off once in a while, and it is not difficult to remanufacture from other bits, and epoxy.

I would also give a bit of thought as to why that bit broke off in the first place. My first guess would be excessive strain due to the grease on the 2 axles having hardened, and creating excessive resistance, so I would definitely clean off all the old grease and liberally spread new lithium grease there.

I would also spray silicon spray on the white assembly, especially where it contacts the axles - yes, even though you put new grease on the axles.

Be careful not to get any silicon spray near electrical contacts - it corrodes after a time.

Menahem

Dear All,

After procrastinating for many, many months, I have gathered enough courage to attempt to open the Beogram 7000, a most frustrating experience without the proper tools, coordination and knowledge.  ;)  Several points/queries:

1.  I have removed the black plastic cover at the rear of the BG 7000, along with the cartridge, platter and sub-platter.

2.  Do I need to remove the dust cover to continue with repairs?   If so, the screws securing the cover to the aluminum deck seems difficult to access as are the two pairs of screws securing the dust cover to the hinges.

3. Do I need to remove the aluminum deck to continue with repairs?

I have some photos of what I have done and will try to upload them via the assistance of one of the moderators.

It has not been a good time for my B&O collection:  Beosound 2 is dead and still has not been returned to me from B&O Service [Sorry, Elephant and Spiros]; BG 7000 ain't working; Beolink 7000 seems to be acting up; Beolab 4500 speaker on the left remains silent unless I crank up the volume really, really loud until something literally goes "click" in that speaker before it produces any sound.  At least my two B&O TVs are still working as is my speakerless Beocenter 2500.

You can put the rear cover back on again, no need to remove the dustcover.

Put the Beogram on a table so that it's right edge is just 3-4 cm out over the table edge.
Remove two screws from below along the right side.
Push the Beogram back onto the table, lift off the platter and push the carriage as far to the
left as it will go.
The top part of the Beogram is hinged to the bottom part along the left side so you can now lift up the right side
and in most Beograms you will find a shiny metal stand inside the cast rear top chassis that will fit into a hole in
the bottom plate for ease of access.

The top part moves very close to the carriage when you open and close, often brushing it, so keep an eye there.

Martin

Dear Dillen,

Got it, did it.  Thanks very much for the advice.  Now, I can see "Wheel G" referred to in the manual.

It looks like the plastic piece that the spring hooks onto is broken as members have mentioned in the above replies -- see Yachadm's photo where the spring is attached to the white plastic of the tone arm carrier.  Will post my own photos once I have figured out how to post photos.

Wings

That is quite common.
You can fit a short 3mm screw from below, through the hole in the carriage plate and put a tiny washer and a nut
on the upper side. The string/spring can then hold on to the excess screw threading.

Martin

Dear All,

I am nearly there.  I have inserted the 3 mm screw in place and I am ready to re-wind the string.  However, while working on the screw, I noticed that one of the plastic clips is broken.  This is the plastic clip that holds the thicker of the two metal rods on which the tone arm carriage moves.  Both the thinner and the thicker metal rods clip on to plastic holders at either end of each rod.  While I have the Beogram opened, what remedial action should I take?

Thanks.

Wings

Unless somebody else has better ideas, I think I would just try a small blob of hot glue over the rod & clip, as the joint doesn't need to handle any particular forces while the deck is in operation. Easy to remove later if needed. Be careful not to use so much that the glue will interfere with any moving parts.

Well done so far.

Those plastic holders forms part of a large plastic structure, cast in place into the metal subchassis.
You cannot replace one holder (and not the whole plastic structure either for that matter) so the only
chance of a repair is cleaning and glueing. To keep things strong, the glueing should preferably not be at the
holders arms (I suppose that's where it broke, and it would break again easily) but rather a new holder glued to the chassis.
I may be able to remove a holder from a scrap deck if you need, you will then have to glue it into the chassis.
It sits in a square hole in the metal plate so is pretty much self-aligned when the remains of the broken holder is removed.

Martin

Wings:

However, while working on the screw, I noticed that one of the plastic clips is broken. 

A picture might help trying to solve your problem!

Thanks all. 

I haven't located the piece that has broken off so gluing that back on might not be possible.  I will look again for the broken piece just in case I overlooked it the first time. 

My camera is in the office so I will need to bring that back home tomorrow to take some photos for you all.

Hi, all.

Photos follow.  These show the two metal rods along which the plastic carriage rides.  In one of the photos, it is possible to see the jury-rigged screw and nut around which the spring of the white camwheel wire will be hooked.

Hmmm, I guess not.  Here is another attempt to attach the photos:

OK, no luck.  I get a pop-up window with the heading:  "Beoworld Forum, Media Gallery and Blogs are currently unavailable."

I'll try again tomorrow. 

Success at last -- at posting my photos, thanks to help from Keith. 

Sorry about the size.  However, if you click on the photo, a new window opens in which the photo is much more manageable.

This photo shows the 3 mm screw which Dillon suggested I use to replace the broken plastic piece on the white tone arm carriage.  This photo also shows the broken plastic clip used to hold one end of the larger diameter metal rod along which the tone arm carriage travels. 

Second photo to follow. 

Here is the second photo.

Dillen,

Any possiblity of finding a replacement piece from a scrap deck?  If not, I might try Mika's suggestion.

Thanks.