Beocord 3300 - play spindle not turning

6 replies
I realise I'm very much chancing my arm here, but just in case anyone else has had the same issue! I got my hands on a Beocord 3300 recently, which I thought I might gift to a friend who I know would make use of it.  It was cheap on eBay because it needed new belts, but is in fantastic cosmetic condition. I have replaced belts on many B&O tape decks before and always successfully so far, but I'm having trouble with this one.  The new belts seem to be fitted correctly, and everything is turning quietly and smoothly, but it's still having trouble playing tapes.  It will sometimes play, but only rarely.  Most of the time the pinch roller engages and turns, but the right spindle (the play spindle) does not.  With the cover off you can see the little white wheel that is connected to the paly spindle by a tiny belt is turning (I think that's something to do with the auto-stop mechanism?), but the spindle either does not turn at all, or tries to turn in jerky, noisy movements.  It's the same with FF - sometimes it works, sometimes it makes a racket and doesn't work. With no tape inserted, if I press Play or FF, everything seems to work smoothly and quietly, so it seems the tension of a tape inserted is causing it trouble. I notice there is a black plastic 'brake' mechanism above the spindles that lifts away from both spindles when you press Play, FF or RW, so I wondered if that wasn't lifting as far as it should. However, I can see (without a tape interested) it does seem to be clearing as it should.  It's hard to tell  if it is clearing as much as it should when a tape is inserted, of course. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Location: Liverpool

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoremote-Beo4.png Beoremote-Beo4.png
Beovox.png Beovox.png
Beovision-11.png Beovision-11.png
Beotime.png Beotime.png
Beosound.png Beosound.png
Beosound-Moment.png Beosound-Moment.png
Beosound-9000.png Beosound-9000.png
Beosound-5.png Beosound-5.png
Beosound-4.png Beosound-4.png
Beoremote-One.png Beoremote-One.png
Beoplay-Portal.png Beoplay-Portal.png
Beoplay-EX.png Beoplay-EX.png
Beoplay-Earset.png Beoplay-Earset.png
Beoplay-A2.png Beoplay-A2.png
Beogram-400x.png Beogram-400x.png
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...
Bad reel table spindle? See here: https://www.dksoundparts.com/product/reel-table-pulley-beocord-2000-3300-5000-beocenter-2200/ This part can decelop a crack down its hexagonal spine, causing the trident to lock in a low position, not gripping into the tape reel. Martin
I think you're right - I just took a look at the reel and the spring-loaded part did appear to lock in the down position, if pushed down.  The rewind reel doesn't do this. The description of the fault given on Danish Sound Parts also seems to match the problem I am having.  I have some other parts I need to order from Danish Sound Parts anyway, so I might as well order it and try it. Hopefully, disassembling and replacing it won't be too difficult! Thanks for the excellent advice, as always.

Location: Liverpool

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoremote-Beo4.png Beoremote-Beo4.png
Beovox.png Beovox.png
Beovision-11.png Beovision-11.png
Beotime.png Beotime.png
Beosound.png Beosound.png
Beosound-Moment.png Beosound-Moment.png
Beosound-9000.png Beosound-9000.png
Beosound-5.png Beosound-5.png
Beosound-4.png Beosound-4.png
Beoremote-One.png Beoremote-One.png
Beoplay-Portal.png Beoplay-Portal.png
Beoplay-EX.png Beoplay-EX.png
Beoplay-Earset.png Beoplay-Earset.png
Beoplay-A2.png Beoplay-A2.png
Beogram-400x.png Beogram-400x.png
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...
You were right about the play spindle

Location: Liverpool

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoremote-Beo4.png Beoremote-Beo4.png
Beovox.png Beovox.png
Beovision-11.png Beovision-11.png
Beotime.png Beotime.png
Beosound.png Beosound.png
Beosound-Moment.png Beosound-Moment.png
Beosound-9000.png Beosound-9000.png
Beosound-5.png Beosound-5.png
Beosound-4.png Beosound-4.png
Beoremote-One.png Beoremote-One.png
Beoplay-Portal.png Beoplay-Portal.png
Beoplay-EX.png Beoplay-EX.png
Beoplay-Earset.png Beoplay-Earset.png
Beoplay-A2.png Beoplay-A2.png
Beogram-400x.png Beogram-400x.png
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...
I figured it out.  I noticed there were two little metal things either side of the central tape head, and when I looked closely, one of them didn't seem to be lower than it should be.  The function of these metal things is to hold the tape down into position - they can however easily be bent out of place.  I bent it back into it was applying the right amount of pressure on the lower part of the cassette.  This means the cassette is now sat exactly where it should be, and plays fine.  The FF and RW also now work properly, and much faster, with less noise. I was only a fraction of a millimetre, but it made all the difference.  Picture added in case it's any help to anyone else with a similar issue.

Location: Liverpool

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoremote-Beo4.png Beoremote-Beo4.png
Beovox.png Beovox.png
Beovision-11.png Beovision-11.png
Beotime.png Beotime.png
Beosound.png Beosound.png
Beosound-Moment.png Beosound-Moment.png
Beosound-9000.png Beosound-9000.png
Beosound-5.png Beosound-5.png
Beosound-4.png Beosound-4.png
Beoremote-One.png Beoremote-One.png
Beoplay-Portal.png Beoplay-Portal.png
Beoplay-EX.png Beoplay-EX.png
Beoplay-Earset.png Beoplay-Earset.png
Beoplay-A2.png Beoplay-A2.png
Beogram-400x.png Beogram-400x.png
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...
 
 

Location: Liverpool

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoremote-Beo4.png Beoremote-Beo4.png
Beovox.png Beovox.png
Beovision-11.png Beovision-11.png
Beotime.png Beotime.png
Beosound.png Beosound.png
Beosound-Moment.png Beosound-Moment.png
Beosound-9000.png Beosound-9000.png
Beosound-5.png Beosound-5.png
Beosound-4.png Beosound-4.png
Beoremote-One.png Beoremote-One.png
Beoplay-Portal.png Beoplay-Portal.png
Beoplay-EX.png Beoplay-EX.png
Beoplay-Earset.png Beoplay-Earset.png
Beoplay-A2.png Beoplay-A2.png
Beogram-400x.png Beogram-400x.png
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...
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