#9 Drawbar not working on F# on both manuals of B2

[Dave-o]

Hey guys! So I finally got that SSP-3A in my 1953 B2 and it's up and running beautifully. The only issue I'm having is neither of the #9 drawbars will sound on the top 2 F# keys on either manual. Every other key works with every other drawbar. This organ is super clean and barely played, whatever difference that makes. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary on the preset panels. Any thoughts? Thanks so much guys!!

~Dave

[enor]

Hmm. Are you 100% sure that that same frequency 91 isn't also missing from the topmost B on drawbar 5, the topmost F# on drawbar 6, Topmost D on 7 and the two topmost Bs on 8?

[UncleClark]

Tone 91 is paired with Tone 48 - they run on the same shaft.

Pull out ONLY drawbar #8 and check
Lowest E - this is tone 48
Highest two B - these are tone 91

If all those are missing you have stuck tonewheels.

(pretty much same thing enor said)

[enor]

Aye. Except I think you have a broken wire between the tone generator terminal for freq 91 and the manuals - I don't think the wheels are stuck. But alas, kinda the same thought nevertheless.

[UncleClark]

Aye. Except I think you have a broken wire between the tone generator terminal for freq 91 and the manuals - I don't think the wheels are stuck. But alas, kinda the same thought nevertheless.

You can easily test this by connecting a wire to one of the bars on the preset panel, let's say bar #4 (numbers on the left end). Then touch the other end to each terminal on the generator. This will play each note. If you get a tone on the 91 terminal, but it's not working on the manuals then you know it's a broken wire between the generator and the manuals. If there's no tone on the generator then that's the problem. Keep your expression pedal low for this until you see what the volume level is.

You will need to determine what style generator you have by consulting the Service Manual - it has charts showing what tones are on what terminals.

[Hamman]

Couldn't it also be a bad filter/cap for that tone?

[Dave-o]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Meant to edit this last night. Upon closer inspection you were right, Enor. Those other tones were missing as well - must've been moving a little too quick when diagnosing it.

The tone wheel is spinning. I can't find a broken wire though. I used the chart to find the tone generator terminal for freq 91 and everything looks to be intact. Then I went over all leads leading to the manuals and nothing seems to be broken or loose. Anything else I should be looking for?

Thanks again guys! This forum is invaluable for keeping that Hammond legacy alive!!

- - - Updated - - -

You can easily test this by connecting a wire to one of the bars on the preset panel, let's say bar #4 (numbers on the left end). Then touch the other end to each terminal on the generator. This will play each note. If you get a tone on the 91 terminal, but it's not working on the manuals then you know it's a broken wire between the generator and the manuals. If there's no tone on the generator then that's the problem.

Thanks! I'll try this next to try and narrow it down...

[JoeyB3]

The tone wheel is spinning. I can't find a broken wire though. I used the chart to find the tone generator terminal for freq 91 and everything looks to be intact. Then I went over all leads leading to the manuals and nothing seems to be broken or loose. Anything else I should be looking for?

Although I think this is the rare exception, I can tell you what happened to me a few weeks ago....

I had one dead tone I just couldn't solve. Traced all connections. Fine. Checked the tone wheel. Fine. Finally, after I was ready to throw the organ into the nearest large body of water, I found the problem....the pickup was too far away from the wheel. Don't know how it got there (it was tight), but there you have it. Loosened up the screw...moved the pickup in towards the tone wheel...matched (by ear) some adjacent tone volumes....DONE!

[Dave-o]

So I did the wire test - it isn't giving me a tone on the generator. It does make some noise very low, which I noticed get louder when I would play the missing notes on the manuals simultaneously. So it's my (primitive) understanding that all the wires and connections are good. So I take it the issue lies in the generator. Any thoughts on how to proceed? Thanks!

[David Anderson]

You can attach a clip-wire to one of the preset busbars and find the connections on top of the tone generator to tone 91. By touching that wire to the filter circuit terminals, you can hear if you're getting the unfiltered signal from the pickup coil. Sometimes the little hair-thin wires of the filter inductors get broken off the terminals and have to be reconnected. More unusual, but possible, is the filter's capacitor going open, as Hamman suggested above. It's pretty rare, but I've seen them where you move the capacitor lead and the tone comes back on.

[UncleClark]

So I did the wire test - it isn't giving me a tone on the generator. It does make some noise very low, which I noticed get louder when I would play the missing notes on the manuals simultaneously. So it's my (primitive) understanding that all the wires and connections are good. So I take it the issue lies in the generator. Any thoughts on how to proceed? Thanks!

I would double check tone #48 as it runs on the same shaft as 91. IF both tones are missing then you probably have stuck tonewheels. If you get tone on #48, then there's a problem specific to tone #91 inside the generator.

[UncleClark]

Another thing you could do is put your ohmmeter on low ohms (or buzz). Turn off the organ. Connect one end to the generator ground over on the right side. Touch the other end to the terminal for tone 91 and see if you have continuity. No continuity = a problem. You could have continuity and still have a problem on the primary side of the little transformers like David Anderson described.

Fixing any of these issues means digging deep into the organ to get access to the generator.

[Tim_at_Jonas]

I've cured a bad connection atop the generator (dunno which one - it was an accidental fix). I've had a wire under the bottom of the manuals that wasn't soldered at the factory. I've had a pickup that was out too far. I've had gooey foam disease. Hopefully you do not have the latter.