Hello Beoworlders,

I have just bought a "New" Beogram 4004 turntable, Which has been unused for a decade. This resulted that the arm permanently is in "down" position. After taking the turntable apart, I saw that all grease has seized up. After applying some WD-40 to the hydraulic cylinder and solenoid, everything began to move fine, but the solenoid cannot move fast enough to raise the arm properly.

My father has the idea to spray some contact cleaner into the solenoid to dissolve seized up grease, use compressed air to remove residue and then apply some sewing machine oil. Am I on the right track? It is very difficult to get to the solenoid "piston", as you can't take it out of the solenoid.

Cheers and merry Christmas, Søren Hammer

Søren please...

WD40 contains acid in some form. It's good for (and meant for) losening rusty
bolts on a car. It has nothing to do inside stereo, let alone in your livingroom !

Contact cleaner is de-oxidizing. It's for - cleaning contacts, nothing else !

The piston is not inside the solenoid and the plunger inside the
solenoid can be removed but that's rarely needed, the problem is almost always
somewhere else.

A tangential Beogram is a fine piece of mechanics and electronics, please
consider having it serviced properly, trial and error won't get
a tangential working.
As a minimum, consult the service manual for lubrication charts and adjustments.

Martin

I have tried to persuade my father not to use WD-40 or contact cleaner, as i have the same opinion as you. I have looked in the service manual, I understand the mechanical workings of the the section, as well as the lubrication charts. The dampening cylinder is working fine, I had thought that it was the classic fault of a frozen dampening cylinder, but the problem lies in the solenoid. There is simply too much friction.

-Søren

Check the solenoid arms pivot points around the solenoid and also inside the carriage housing.

Martin

Check the arm bearings! I had a BG4000 where they were seized solid and had to be dismantled to get them working!

Another point to check might be the small spring that tensions the lifting arm (part no. 219 at least in 4002/6000 service manual). In my 4004, the other end of it was dislocated and the arm just wouldn't rise at a proper speed even after I had freed everything else.

But if you can see the actual solenoid piston not moving fast enough, this will not be the (only) problem.

I had lubricated every moving part, part no. 219 was moving fine, but I had found out that the problem was the bolt holding part no. 190. It had to be disassemblied and lubricated inside. After putting the thing together it began to work like new. Thanks for the help ^^

Nice - it's always a huge relief when it turns out to be nothing more than a bit of lubrication.

Chris.

Indeed. I thought that the pivot point of the arm (part #190) was a normal loose bearing like the parrallel arm, but it was some sort of chrome-washer. It was dirty and needed lubrication, and the circlip holding it was slightly bent. Apparently enough friction to slow down the whole mechanism.

-Søren