Kenwood KD-5100 Automatic Operation

R

RichK1

Active Member
I bought this used Kenwood KD-5100 turntable in about 1989. It sounds great, but the automatic operation does not function. It has been like this as long as I can remember. This is what happens.

Press the power button. Speed indicator for "33" comes on (default speed).

Press the record size selector button: 17, 25 or 30 (diameter in cm). Corresponding indicator light comes on.

Press the PLAY/CUT button. The PLAY indicator lights up and the platter starts to turn. The tone arm should shift to the start position, but it does not move. The platter stops turning after about 1 rotation; the PLAY indicator turns off.​
Manual operation works except the automatic return at the end of the record.

Press the power button. Speed indicator for "33" comes on (default speed).

Press the record size selector button: 17, 25 or 30 (diameter in cm). Corresponding indicator light comes on.

Shift the tonearm to the start of the record and set it down. As soon as you move the tonearm from its rest the platter starts to turn. The record plays normally. At the end of the record, the tonearm lifts, but it does not return to its rest as it should. It just stays there. The platter continues to turn. When you manually place the tone arm in its rest, the platter stops.​
If you want to stop playing before the record is over, pressPLAY/CUT. The tonearm lifs off the record, but it just stays where it is; it does not automatically return to the rest like it should.

The "Quartz Lock" light does not light. I do not know if it is burned out, or if it is because correct speed is not achieved. Speed sounds correct and steady to my ears.

Does anyone have any experience servicing this turntable? or any idea of what the problem(s) might be? I ordered the service manual, but it has not arrived.

Another thing. The dust cover hinge spings have broken through the plastic. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Thanks!
 

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You might have some gummed up parts of the mechanism. I'm not familiar with that model but most auto returns work by tone arm position or velocity, both of which usually require a little cam to move. Else, you have an optical trip and the lamp may be out.

One way to fix the hinge is to move it to a different location. Another is to attach a new piece of polystyrene to the cover and remount the hinge. That will be in a different spot so you will need to do it to both hinges.
 
I think Bob may have misunderstood the hinge situation. The black hinge is actually made of plastic with a metal spring embedded. The finger of the spring broke through the hinge body. The dust cover is not involved. I had this tt for a short time and the hinge had exactly the same problem! IIRC I managed to force the finger back in and was able to jam in a piece of rigid plastic to keep it locked in place. Then I used black marker to color it.

I never opened mine when I had it, so I'm not familiar with the mechanics, but it's worth a look just to see if there's anything gummed up, as Bob suggested.
 
hakaplan,
That is what I am talking about! I like your suggestion about jamming something into the hinge to keep the finger of the hinge in the hinge body. I was thinking of using a piece of metal shim stock. How thick was the piece of plastic you used? How long has your solution lasted?
Thanks!
 
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Bob91343,
Thanks for your suggestions. I guess I am going to have to pull it apart when I get the service manual. Without it, I have no idea where to start. I hope it is something simple like dust on an optical component.
Thanks!
 
RichK1 said:
hakaplan,
That is what I am talking about! I like you suggestion about jamming something into the hinge to keep the finger of the hinge in the hinge body. I was thinking of using a piece of metal shim stock. How thick was the piece of plastic you used? How long has your solution lasted?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Rich, I only had it a few months, but given it took 30 years to occur, I'd suspect a decent repair would last several years. The metal shim stock sounds fine.
 
this is a pretty common problem with the Kenwood dust cover hinges. Great springs, I suppose!

I've seen some interesting solutions with thin steel...basically enough to fabricate a new back for the hinge body.Not too pretty, but it works!

As for your KD-5100 auto problem, there's a small motor with a belt that moves the tonearm out onto the record to play and back to the rest at the end of the side. You most likely don't have anything more serious than a broken belt.
 
Replaced the Belt

I finaly got around to replacing the belt today. That fixed all the automatic operations problems. I happened to have a spare belt from my KX-1030 cassette deck. That did the trick.

Here is the old belt.

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Here is the new belt installed.

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Here are the old and new belts. The old one is on the left.

attachment.php
 

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<Dredging this thread up from the deep past...>

Thank you for taking the time to post your story and the pictures. I recently got a KD-5100 and, you guessed it, no automatic function. And now I know what to look for!

Man, I love AK!:thmbsp:

Anybody have a source for TT belts?
 
Tom, I just used a rubber band that was slightly smaller than the old one I removed from my KD-5100. I bought a bag at the local drug store for around $1 and have already fixed three other turntables and a couple of tape decks. I know that's not the "professional" way to do it, but it has worked every day for the last 7 months with no problems.
 
I asked turntable needles .com if they had one in stock because I bought one for my Technics SL-QL1. They responded no, but if you sent the measurements (diameter) of the belt they can supply you one that will fit. I still haven't got around to fixing mine (I have the KD-5100 as well).
 
Rothna said:
Tom, I just used a rubber band that was slightly smaller than the old one I removed from my KD-5100. I bought a bag at the local drug store for around $1 and have already fixed three other turntables and a couple of tape decks. I know that's not the "professional" way to do it, but it has worked every day for the last 7 months with no problems.
Click to expand...

Brilliant!!!! :banana:
 
Rubber bands will most likely not last as long as they tend to dry out fast, but if easy to get to and replace again, a nice cheap fix.
 
cgutz - I absolutely agree, they probably won't last as long, but for the interim they will work while one of us actually finds a source for better grade belts.
 
If it is easy to replace then it may even be a long term solution. However the rubber bands I use to hold the wings on my RC planes seem to last about a year out of the package.
Glad you got working. I love Kenwood TT's.
 
Like I said in my post just above - take the measurements and send them to turntable needles .com and they will fix you up with a belt.
 
I had all of the above problems with my newly acquired KD-5100 plus one more, the automatic functions were fixed with a rubber band on the motor pulley, broken hinges that I fixed permanately by drilling a small hole on either side of the cover for the large part of the spring and then held the spring in place and shoved a tiny allen wrench through the first hole, over the large part of the spring and out the other hole. Cut off the ends with a dremel and taa daa, fixed probably forever, the quartz lock lite didn't work so took it apart and found the wire on the lamp broken, used a tiny lamp removed from a Sansui 5000x and soldered it in! Finally the repeat funtion didn't work so I took out the board and deoxited it and it started working again. All funtions returned to normal. Hope this helps and thanks for the tips. Pretty nice turntable too!
 
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What cart are you going to use on the KD-5100?

I haven't used mine since I got the Technics TT's (1200mk2 & sl-ql1).
 
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