Another M3 question

[plainspicker]

Apologies if this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find any mention of it. I have one harmonic (71) on the M3 that I'm working on that sounds very gritty and distorted. I've confirmed that the tone wheel isn't stuck; the tone plays, just not very well. The wax capacitor for that tone has some wax that appears to have melted and run out the side. Would a bad capacitor cause something like this? If not, what should I be looking for? My other theory/fear is that the magnet has moved and is rubbing the wheel. Since the magnet is on the front side of the generator though, I thought I'd try to eliminate the easier fixes before investigating that.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[tiredoldgeezer]

As a capacitor ages, it tends to turn into a resistor and pass through DC. Trouble is, there is no DC in this circuit. As a result, horribly rotted caps still function, although not at optimum output.
Gritty and distorted means the tonewheel is moving or there would be zero tone.
Mechanical interference I've found to be almost like a stutter in the tone, although I'm sure it could be manifest as distortion, too. One magnet moving all by itself with no other delinquencies is rare (in my experience). Usually a bunch of them or a 'zone' of them, which could be caused by impact.
Foreign material possibly.
Heck, it could be something as benign as a cold solder joint making poor connection.

[Sweet Pete]

Reinstalled the generator on this M3; after replacing a pickup.Tone #79 was fuzzy and distorted.I resoldered the connections at the filter,including the manual wire,and it cleared up.
tiredoldgeezer has given you good advice plainspicker. Start by confirming good solder connections. Let us know if it clears up.Compressed air will remove unseen foreign material.
Be careful with the capillary threads if you use compressed air.
Magnet point not aligned will never sound as smooth,the pole piece must move free and easy side to side about 1/32" amount to get the 90 degrees to wheel alignment needed.
Light and visual magnification are your friends,I use a laser sight.
If you twist it suddenly sideways you will need a new pickup like I did....they break easy.
Distance to wheel is also critical,but don't forget to check alignment of the tip to the wheel 90 degrees.

Liquid Wrench and heat will free up a stuck pole piece.Hit it with heat on day 2....bingo,nice and easy.

[plainspicker]

I've been working overtime at work, so I just had a chance to check the solder joints today. After resoldering the joints in question, the noise cleared right up. Thanks for the help. It really is a life saver to have a forum like this with people who have done this before when working on these old organs. This M3 as actually my second Hammond, but it's definitely had more issues than my A-102 did.