Used C-1 performance/repair issues to be aware of?

I picked up a used C-1 recently. It looked very nice when I received it so I opened it up to see what it looked like inside. Very clean, no dust, etc. So I sprayed down the pots with CRC Cleaner, rotated everything back and forth a number of times, put the covers back on, and set it up in the system. I quickly noticed that the left channel of the phono section wasn't working, but upon rotating the Function switch (not the Balance control) back and forth everything came back to life and it sounds really good.

I've now had it set up in the system for the past couple of weeks and all seems to be good with it. However, every now and then the left channel drops out upon switching the function control, but comes back when I rotate the switch back and forth a couple of times. I've been rotating the knob back and forth every chance I get in an effort to try and "clear it up", but it seems to reoccur randomly. There's no static that comes through while any function or knob is turned.

My thought is that the contacts just need to be cleaned again, but at the same time I'm wondering if there is anything else that could be suspect due to age or past damage that I should be looking for? The SH works fine, and there really only appears to be a couple of PCBs inside...no caps or such as in Amplifiers (AFAICT).

Is there anything else that I should be looking out for? I've thought about taking it up to Rita, but if it's just to clean a few contacts I can do that myself. On the other hand, if there is some potentially significant issue that needs addressing it would be nice to be aware of so that I can have it taken care of.

Other than this "minor" issue the C-1 performs very well, at least to my ears, and I'm really pleased with it. A much more broad and noticable SH circuit (still) than my CT-Seven, among other things.

Anybody have any thoughts or insights to share with me? I suppose one option would be to just call Rita to see about having a preventative maintenance check done on it...

Thanks for any advice.

IIRC one of the shops listed in the repair section implied that they would sell parts to owners, maybe try a new switch altogether ? PS. Yeah, it was AVL in Washington. Good luck !!

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One of my C-1's occasionally drops the left channel too. Have no clue why. Let me know what you discover please.

My C-4000 did that too, and it was a switch problem. Just keep working those with some good cleaner, and it will fix itself.

Thanks, all.

I suspect I'll just keep working the knobs, spraying them down for awhile longer to see if that solves the problem. At this point it's more of a nuisance than anything else.

In fact, it happens so seldom that I'm sometimes convinced that it's the source material . The other day I put on Steppenwolf's 20 minute version of "The Pusher" (it was John Kays Birthday) and kept wondering if they were just so high while recording it that they meant for it to sound like it was coming from directly to my right (hey, it could've happened that way) .

I'm really hoping to get it resolved soon so I can put the CT-Seven back in and get back to some real lazy listenin'!

Speaking of John Kay, did you see Steppenwolf perform on American Bandstand the first (and only?) time many years ago? After playing, Dick Clark stepped over to John Kay to conduct his typical mini-interview of the day. At one point, taking note that John was wearing dark glasses, even though they were inside, Dick asked John, "John, how come you're wearing dark glasses?" To which Kay replied, "'Cos the light hurts my eyes!" In reality, his eyes were likely so bloodshot and he was probably so stoned that he had to 'hide' behind the glasses to face the cameras. Oh well, those days are long gone...

Yeah...my dads C-1 has dropped the left channel a few times and it gets kinda crackly once in a while. Mostly on the 2nd Aux.

I'm wondering about the CRC you are using? I have used this working on my auto > I do like it better than WD-40. Not sure of the ingredients? I'm sure there is some sort of solvent, but being oil based does it leave a oil behind? I have used DeoxIT on my stereo connections and it really worked good.

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.188/.f

Just not sure if the CRC could actually be causing problems? Don't really know.

Deoxit works well for that type of problem associated with age. They also have a "Gold" formula that works very well.

I used CRC back in my days around boats, they make a BUNCH of diff. formulations so be careful, and make sure of which one you use !

I have both DeOxit ProGold and CRC QD Electronic Cleaner. So far I've only used the CRC, briefly, so it sounds as though a shot of DeOxit is called for, with a bit of dwell time before operating the switches.

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to do this before leaving for the weekend, but will do so upon my return.

Thanks for the tips.

Well, I popped the covers and applied the DeOxit to all of the rotary switches, with an especially thorough dose on the function switch contacts.

It's been a couple of days now and there have been no repeats of the channel dropping syndrome.

I'll monitor things for a few more days, but all appears to be back to normal.

Congrats on the good fortune.