Rockola animation motors;1422/1426

I had a situation happen over the last two days regarding a Rockola
1426 jukebox out of town. I had recently delivered a fully restored
Wurlitzer 4008 speaker and a refurbished 1426 to Indianapolis, a three
hour drive. I went back Monday to tie up some loose ends with a plastic
in the 4008 that cracked, and to add animation motors to the 1426 juke
to "spiff it up a bit", as they say.
When I put the new animation motors in I had recently ordered, they
worked for about a half hour, and then stopped turning. I spun the
color cylinders by hand, and they seemed to spin freely. I could find
no "binds" anywhere, although this being the first 1426 I have worked
on, I did notice they sort of hung at a slight angle (as opposed to a
perpendicular "up and down" I've experienced on a Wurlitzer 800 or two
I've done in the past) from the only possible place at the top of the
pilaster that the cylinder could have been suspended from......the
thumbscrew at the top.
My basic question is....could the motors have burned out that quickly,
in just a half hour?
I know they're not heavy duty, but they should've kept rotating for
more than 30 minutes.
When I got back from Indianapolis, I asked my Father, a retired coin
machine operator who started his business after World War II with 8 to
10 1422s, what the deal was. He told me, even when new, they (the
operators) had trouble keeping them working.
If this is true, how do restorers get around this problem, and keep
them operating as they should? I hate finding out this stuff after the
fact; I know it's not rocket science. I had no choice but to give the
back his $40.00 he had invested in them (the new animation motors).
While we both admitted it was the right thing to do, he would rather
have had them continue working as they should have.
I don't believe the motors were defective, as they were working for
awhile. PLEASE, I welcome any comments/insights to this. Rob
p.s. I made a post a week to ten days ago asking for information about
how to put a 1426 on free play. A friend told me the day before I left
to clip the contact blades together in the accumulator with an
alligator-type clip lead. Guess what......it worked! (Thank you,
Bill!). For anyone that needs to know how to do it (free play), there's
the answer. No one knew, as I didn't recieve any replies to that post,
as of a few days ago. Hope this helps others. Thanks, Rob

Assuming the motors are BOTH okay, I would have checked the AC to see if the
receptacle or plug may have had problems.

Al

wrote in message
oups.com...
I had a situation happen over the last two days regarding a Rockola
1426 jukebox out of town. I had recently delivered a fully restored
Wurlitzer 4008 speaker and a refurbished 1426 to Indianapolis, a three
hour drive. I went back Monday to tie up some loose ends with a plastic
in the 4008 that cracked, and to add animation motors to the 1426 juke
to "spiff it up a bit", as they say.
When I put the new animation motors in I had recently ordered, they
worked for about a half hour, and then stopped turning. I spun the
color cylinders by hand, and they seemed to spin freely. I could find
no "binds" anywhere, although this being the first 1426 I have worked
on, I did notice they sort of hung at a slight angle (as opposed to a
perpendicular "up and down" I've experienced on a Wurlitzer 800 or two
I've done in the past) from the only possible place at the top of the
pilaster that the cylinder could have been suspended from......the
thumbscrew at the top.
My basic question is....could the motors have burned out that quickly,
in just a half hour?
I know they're not heavy duty, but they should've kept rotating for
more than 30 minutes.
When I got back from Indianapolis, I asked my Father, a retired coin
machine operator who started his business after World War II with 8 to
10 1422s, what the deal was. He told me, even when new, they (the
operators) had trouble keeping them working.
If this is true, how do restorers get around this problem, and keep
them operating as they should? I hate finding out this stuff after the
fact; I know it's not rocket science. I had no choice but to give the
back his $40.00 he had invested in them (the new animation motors).
While we both admitted it was the right thing to do, he would rather
have had them continue working as they should have.
I don't believe the motors were defective, as they were working for
awhile. PLEASE, I welcome any comments/insights to this. Rob
p.s. I made a post a week to ten days ago asking for information about
how to put a 1426 on free play. A friend told me the day before I left
to clip the contact blades together in the accumulator with an
alligator-type clip lead. Guess what......it worked! (Thank you,
Bill!). For anyone that needs to know how to do it (free play), there's
the answer. No one knew, as I didn't recieve any replies to that post,
as of a few days ago. Hope this helps others. Thanks, Rob

Hi Al,
Thanks for replying....I had just about given up on anyone replying. I
appreciate it much.
These motors didn't have a plug; they were hard-wired into the lamp
sockets. I used those small grey wire-nuts, and they worked for about
40 to 45 minutes. The continuity was there (from wire to wire, on
either side of the wire nut). I watched them turn for 15 minutes or so,
then went to type up title strips for the 78 records on the juke. I
couldn't find a bind in the color cylinders, although there isn't much
room at the top between the arch and that stainless steel piece that
reflects the lighting back toward the middle of the front door.
Have you worked on these before? Is what my Dad told me true.....that
even when they were new in the (late) 40s, the operators had trouble
keeping them going. I ordered the motors a year ago for my 1426 (which
I'm now just beginning to restore), so I used them on his and figured I
could always get another pair for my 1426. The parts supplier won't
take them back as defective, as it's been a year since I bought them
for mine. I don't really care about the $40....I just don't want the
same thing to happen to the next pair I put into the guy's juke. I'm
still puzzled as to why they worked, and then abruptly stopped after 40
minutes or so. I realize no one out there was "there" with me....I'm
just looking for some kind of anexplanation. I still don't know what to
tell the owner of the juke, other than that I'll replace them and try a
second pair to see if they last longer. He's one of those guys that
won't take no for an answer. Thanks for replying Al. Rob




Assuming the motors are BOTH okay, I would have checked the AC to see if the
receptacle or plug may have had problems.

Al

wrote in message
oups.com...
I had a situation happen over the last two days regarding a Rockola
1426 jukebox out of town. I had recently delivered a fully restored
Wurlitzer 4008 speaker and a refurbished 1426 to Indianapolis, a three
hour drive. I went back Monday to tie up some loose ends with a plastic
in the 4008 that cracked, and to add animation motors to the 1426 juke
to "spiff it up a bit", as they say.
When I put the new animation motors in I had recently ordered, they
worked for about a half hour, and then stopped turning. I spun the
color cylinders by hand, and they seemed to spin freely. I could find
no "binds" anywhere, although this being the first 1426 I have worked
on, I did notice they sort of hung at a slight angle (as opposed to a
perpendicular "up and down" I've experienced on a Wurlitzer 800 or two
I've done in the past) from the only possible place at the top of the
pilaster that the cylinder could have been suspended from......the
thumbscrew at the top.
My basic question is....could the motors have burned out that quickly,
in just a half hour?
I know they're not heavy duty, but they should've kept rotating for
more than 30 minutes.
When I got back from Indianapolis, I asked my Father, a retired coin
machine operator who started his business after World War II with 8 to
10 1422s, what the deal was. He told me, even when new, they (the
operators) had trouble keeping them working.
If this is true, how do restorers get around this problem, and keep
them operating as they should? I hate finding out this stuff after the
fact; I know it's not rocket science. I had no choice but to give the
back his $40.00 he had invested in them (the new animation motors).
While we both admitted it was the right thing to do, he would rather
have had them continue working as they should have.
I don't believe the motors were defective, as they were working for
awhile. PLEASE, I welcome any comments/insights to this. Rob
p.s. I made a post a week to ten days ago asking for information about
how to put a 1426 on free play. A friend told me the day before I left
to clip the contact blades together in the accumulator with an
alligator-type clip lead. Guess what......it worked! (Thank you,
Bill!). For anyone that needs to know how to do it (free play), there's
the answer. No one knew, as I didn't recieve any replies to that post,
as of a few days ago. Hope this helps others. Thanks, Rob