Hammond Organ Problem

[B3Organist_007]

I have a Hammond B3 organ at my church (and a 122a leslie speaker).  I was playing it yesterday and it (the sound) basically faded out.  I tried to start it up and it would not come one.  After trying for about 30 minutes, it eventually came on, but faded back out a few minutes later.  I have not been able to get it back on since.  I spoke with another organist.  He said it may be the motor.  Does anybody know what the problem may be?  The leslie speaker is fairly new (less that 10 years), so I would not think it would be the leslie.

[BimmerFan99]

When it fades, do all the knows gradually go flat until everything just stops?  Or, is it the volume that fades until everything is quiet?

If all the notes are going flat, then I think it's the motor.  If it's the volume fading out, then it could be a tube.  Hopefully, it's a tube - much easier to replace than fixing or replacing the motor.

[under13]

Does the organ run at all? Like can you feel it  hum, or is it just dead? Same thing happened to our C3 last year, and I think it was the starter that went bad. Tech should know what to do.

[BimmerFan99]

When it fades, do all the notes gradually go flat until everything just stops?  Or, is it the volume that fades until everything is quiet?

If all the notes are going flat, then I think it's the motor.  If it's the volume fading out, then it could be a tube.  Hopefully, it's a tube - much easier to replace than fixing or replacing the motor.

Bad typo...

[B3Organist_007]

When it fades, do all the knows gradually go flat until everything just stops?  Or, is it the volume that fades until everything is quiet?

If all the notes are going flat, then I think it's the motor.  If it's the volume fading out, then it could be a tube.  Hopefully, it's a tube - much easier to replace than fixing or replacing the motor.

If I'm not mistaken, it was the volume; it didnt notice the notes going flat, just the volume decreasing.


under13,

When I hold the start switch for a few seconds, I can hear the the sound that it makes, but after hit the run switch I cant hear anything.

[BimmerFan99]

If you want, you can test the motors yourself.

1)  There are two motors - the start motor and the run motor.  They are both connected to a drive shaft that turns the tonewheels.

2)  Take the back off the organ, and while standing behind it and looking inside, start it up like normal.  When you hit the start switch, you should hear the starter motor whir into gear.  You should also see the drive shaft spin.  If that doesn't happen, your start motor is bad or possibly the wiring to it is faulty.

3)  If the start motor is running, go ahead and hit the run switch while holding the start switch like normal.  After you hit the run switch, you should hear the run motor whir up and notice a slight change in the speed of the drive shaft as the start motor synchronizes with the run motor.

When you let the start switch go, as you normally do, the drive shaft should continue to spin as normal.  If it stops, your run motor is bad or the wiring to it may be faulty.

If the drive shaft continues to run and all the gears are spinning after a normal start up, then it could be a tube.  Or, it could still be a short in the wiring that causes it to fault unpredictably.

Sometimes the start/run switches get old and faulty causing them not to turn on the motors like they should.

[B3Organist_007]

If you want, you can test the motors yourself.

1)  There are two motors - the start motor and the run motor.  They are both connected to a drive shaft that turns the tonewheels.

2)  Take the back off the organ, and while standing behind it and looking inside, start it up like normal.  When you hit the start switch, you should hear the starter motor whir into gear.  You should also see the drive shaft spin.  If that doesn't happen, your start motor is bad or possibly the wiring to it is faulty.

3)  If the start motor is running, go ahead and hit the run switch while holding the start switch like normal.  After you hit the run switch, you should hear the run motor whir up and notice a slight change in the speed of the drive shaft as the start motor synchronizes with the run motor.

When you let the start switch go, as you normally do, the drive shaft should continue to spin as normal.  If it stops, your run motor is bad or the wiring to it may be faulty.

If the drive shaft continues to run and all the gears are spinning after a normal start up, then it could be a tube.  Or, it could still be a short in the wiring that causes it to fault unpredictably.

Sometimes the start/run switches get old and faulty causing them not to turn on the motors like they should.

Thanks, I'll definitely try this!

[trking]

When was the last time you oiled the thing?

[trking]

It could be the oil. The motor will run for a minute or two, then stop. Perhaps because no oil and friction is building up, thus the motors stop.

Maybe.... Speculating, of course. Good luck ... You'll get it fixed ... no worries.

[under13]

It could be the oil. The motor will run for a minute or two, then stop. Perhaps because no oil and friction is building up, thus the motors stop.

Maybe.... Speculating, of course. Good luck ... You'll get it fixed ... no worries.

Why didnt I think of that? Yeah, thats the first thing you should do if you have a problem. Remember it can take days or weeks for the oil to reach every part of he organ

[B3Organist_007]

It could be the oil. The motor will run for a minute or two, then stop. Perhaps because no oil and friction is building up, thus the motors stop.

Maybe.... Speculating, of course. Good luck ... You'll get it fixed ... no worries.

Its probably been about a year or so since we've had it serviced.

[under13]

Its probably been about a year or so since we've had it serviced.

Then the oil probably isnt the problem.