I adopted a WurliTzer Funmaker organ (the price was right...just pick it up and take it home) that has a coupla minor problems...like about half of the switches on the switch bank to the left of the manuals don't work. For example, there's only one switch that works for the lower manual: Tibia 8'. None of the others allow any sound from the lower manual.

I'm fairly handy with electronic and mechanical things (I otta be, I was an electronics tech from 1966 to about 1985 when I switched to software) and I'd venture that many problems of this sort can be dealt with my correcting corroded contacts, either in the switches themselves or in the cables that lead from them to...wherever they end up.

I've pulled the back off it and also removed the screws that hold the fascia panel between the manuals. That allowed the switch bank to move freely, but there isn't enough clearance to remove it or even get access to the bottom where the I could use some circuit cleaner on the switches.

So. Anybody familiar with these things who can tell me what I'm overlooking in order to disassemble it enough to clean contacts?

Thanks,

On many electronic organs the bolts or screws that secure things such as keyblocks, stop panels , and keyboards run up from underneath the keybed. These may be fairly lengthy. A lot of these develop problems with the connections in the molex plugs. Sources for some technical manuals can be found at Music Instrument Technicians ***'n. mitatechs.

You probably want a manual from MITA like RatMan says. Being that none of them work it might be something simple like a common ground being loose.

On many organs the switches are not like conventional switches. Depending on the organ and the vintage, the switches might be springs actuated by the (button/lever/rocker/tab). On the older ones the spring was an actual metal spring and these are pretty reliable and simple to service. On some from the mid 80's and early 90's the springs are replaced by something I can only describe as a long skinny piece of rubber or plastic with a piece of wire wrapped around it and actuated the same way as the older switches.

Trouble is that these are less reliable. The wires break, usually around the base. The good news is that if you heat the solder on the circuit board you can often press it deeper in the board and it fixes the trouble.

Sorry for the lengthy answer but wanted to let you know what you might have to deal with.

Ken
MITA Member