Beogram 4002 Type 5513: Return to the workbench for a new phono cartridge mount - Conclusion

The new Beolover replacement phono cartridge mount is installed now in this Beogram 4002 Type 5513 turntable.

This type of restoration is always fun. My very first collaboration with Beolover was on one of my Beogram 4000 turntables where we decided there needed to be a replacement phono connector so the repair didn't have to use a donor Beogram. Since Beolover created this phono connector part it has saved many a Beogram turntable I am sure.

Certainly this Beogram 4002 Type 5513.

Here are the components again -

I like to replace the phono wires on this type of repair. I use color coded 36 awg wires.

Preparation for the repair means tinning the leads of the new wires and the connector assembly contacts.

I start with the two inside wires and finish with the outside wires.

Note that the bottom part of the Beogram phono connector assembly reuses the original connector part.

Before I join the two halves of the phono connector I use a some Aleene's Tacky glue to hold the wires in place and act as kind of a strain relief while I work on the repair.

This is why you keep old MMC phono cartridges...even if the the cantilever and stylus are gone.
They are perfect for this repair in making sure the phono cartridge assembly is put together correctly and inserted just right into the tone arm. Aleene's Tacky glue is used again on the joining of the two phono connector halves.

I also use a little more of the Aleene's Tacky glue inside the tonearm when I reinsert the phono connector assembly.  That insures the phono connector is secure but it could still be taken out again in the future. You don't want to use something permanent like epoxy here.

Now I just had to connect the phono wires to the signal transfer board and this repair will be done.

That concludes the Beogram 4002 Type 5513 phono cartridge connector repair.

Because this repair required so much handling of the tonearm I will have to go through all of the service manual tonearm adjustments again to make sure this Beogram is ready for use again.

Hopefully most of the components will still be adjusted correctly but they still have to be checked.

Beogram 4002 Type 5513: Return to the workbench for a new phono cartridge mount

With the third Beogram 4002 Type 5513 delivered to Houston the number two Beogram came back to my workshop. It is suffering from a broken phono cartridge connector on the tonearm.

This type of problem is common on the Beogram 4000 turntables (as they are the oldest in the series) but is not unheard of in the Beogram 4002 Type 5513.  I ran into a faulty phono cartridge connector on a Beogram 4002 Type 5513 back in 2017.

This problem would be a huge problem for an owner and require stealing a good connector off another Beogram turntable if it weren't for Beolover having a replacement part for it.

I will use the Beolover replacement part to repair this Beogram 4002 turntable.

First off I need to prepare the Beogram for the new phono connector.

That means removing the tonearm by unscrewing the two mounting screws that attach it to the tonearm base assembly.

The aluminum tonearm tube pulls out to expose the phono wires and a small transfer board. The transfer board is where the color coded wires from the phono connector connect to the very thin wires that take the signal through the tonearm base.

I am using a small mirror in the two photos below to show the top and bottom sides of the wiring transfer board.

After desoldering the phono wires from the board the tonearm assembly can be removed.

I performed the usual boiling water to ice water trick to loosen the glue that holds the tonearm cartridge connector inside the aluminum tube.  That let me push the connector out of the tube so it can be repaired.

Unfortunately I don't have the Beolover replacement phono connector in my stock of Beogram parts so I quickly ordered one.

In the meantime....continuing the repair preparation, I turned the tangential arm assembly over so I can easily get to the wiring board.  When the replacement phono cartridge connector arrives I will install new phono wires from the new connector to the transfer board.

It shouldn't take long to reattach the wires and this Beogram will be ready to go again.

Beogram 4002 Type 5513: Changing out the tonearm phono cartridge connector

This Beogram 4002 project has been on hold since the end of June in order to get a fresh shipment of Beolover replacement parts for the Beogram 400x tonearm cartridge mounts. Now that they are available I snagged one to install in this Beogram.

This Beogram 4002 unit has a defect in one of the cartridge connector contacts. I don't know if the defect came that way from the factory or deteriorated with use. The owner has had some problems with cartridge mounting so we felt it warrants changing out the connector on this one.

It is unusual to replace the cartridge mount in the Beogram 4002. It is the Beogram 4000 that quite often has broken (or near broken) cartridge mounts that require a replacement. In any case we hate to steal a working cartridge mount from another Beogram because that still means a Beogram is left without a working tonearm. So having a replacement part such as the Beolover connector is a wonderful solution.

I begin the procedure on the right side of the Beogram so I can loosen the two mounting screws for the tonearm.

There is a small board in the tonearm that transfers the phono signal from the very thin wire in the tonearm base to the color coded wire that travels down to the cartridge connector. This allows the tonearm to be de-soldered and removed at small board and we can use the color coding to put things back correctly.

I un-solder the red and white wires from the top of the board with the tonearm in its normal position.
Then I flip the tangential arm assembly over to get to the underside of the board for the blue, green and gray wires. The tangential arm assembly rails and drive screw have to be removed to allow this maneuver. It is worth it though as you don't want to make a mistake here.

With the tonearm completely removed I dip the end with the connector into some boiling water for a minute then into ice water. A push on the connector through the back end of the tonearm should break the connector loose so it can be removed.

This one came out on the first attempt. Sometimes it takes more.

If you have to re-use the tonearm wires then take care in this operation. I always like to install new wires that are a little smaller (36 gauge).

Here is the original cartridge connector removed and opened up. It comes in two halves (an upper and lower). This repair keeps the lower half and replaces the upper part of the connector.
As you can see in the pictures, the red highlighted areas show this connector has a broken or worn area of one of the contacts (left channel low signal).

Here is the Beolover replacement part for the upper section of the connector. I tinned the four contacts in preparation for the new phono wires.

I replaced all five original wires in the tonearm with the same color 36 gauge wire except for the ground wire which I changed from gray to black (just a personal preference).

To keep the wires down in the channel before gluing the connector halves together I use some Aleene's Tacky Glue. It is a handy glue that is removable if necessary. I don't want permanent epoxy here.

Once the glue is dry I put the wires right at the connector end into a small bundle so it will be easier to remove this connector again in the future. When I glue the two connector halves back together I use Aleene's glue again for that and I attach a cartridge so I make sure I have the connector pieces aligned properly.

When I re-insert the connector and wires back into the tonearm tube I place a little more Aleene's glue on the sides of the tube (on the inside). That way no glue will get on the end of the connector or the cartridge.

The above photo shows the cartridge removed but when I inserted the connector for real I always have a cartridge attached to insure a proper installation of the connector.

The cutting, stripping, tinning and soldering of wires onto the transfer board takes some patience. I did the red and white wires on the top first again, then flipped the transport over for the remaining three.

The transport is then flipped back over to its proper position and the tonearm is carefully re-attached.
You have to be very gentle tucking the phono wires back into the tube as you re-install the tonearm to the tonearm mounting hardware.

After the tangential arm assembly is put back together I did have to recheck the following alignment adjustments: the stylus tracking path, the tracking force weight and the tangential arm tracking sensor operation.

Back to an audio system for record play testing... both channels play beautifully through the new cartridge connector.