I'm going in! Reel repair.

[Kodiak Kid]

My Allstar reels are getting pretty dirty inside and that's probably my problem with them. Getting a white light when depressing the tip against a foil lame. Changed body/ground cords. Changed weapons. Consistantly giving a white light. Sounds like a ground problem? I'm expecting to see a lot of aluminum dust from the worn cable guides and lots of plain old dirt.

I'm scared to death of opening these things up and not being able to put them back together.

How bout some helpful hints from the pros? Dave? Tim? I don't really want to take the time to ship them off for repair (although if I try to fix them I'll probably have to do that anyway...)

Help!

[DHCJr]

I'm going to first assume it is an old style and not a newer one with the Uhlmann insides and also that you have an original connector at the fencer end. As with any reel, go the easy route and don't open it up unless you have to. There are exceptions for periodic cleaning, but I will go into that later. Check out the wire and make sure that is not the problem first.

Pull out a couple of feet of the wire and put a slipknot into it so you can work on the connector. Have something to put the parts into, something to test each line separately, preferably an Ohmmeter, but you could use even a fencing machine and two working cables with banana plugs each end. Test each line individually A to A, B to B and C to C to find out which is the problem. If you have an Ohmmeter the maximum you want is 3 Ohms.

Note: The C line is grounded through the case, so the work on that will be slightly different in some aspects.

First take off the balen that holds the body cord and then take out the screws holding the connector together. Pull out the connector carefully and make sure all the wires are connected. If you find one or more disconnected, you will need to solder it back on. If this is the case, you may have solved your problem. Test again if each line is good.

If not you will need to turn it upside down and you will see screws in the bottom. Remove them. When you take off the cover make sure to hold the wire so it does not spin and damage the spring. Release the tension on the spring by grabbing the guide (it has a prong to keep it in place and let it unwrap slowly counterclockwise. You will see two wires go into a plastic piece in the center. This is the commutator and is supposed to be lightly oiled on a yearly basis.

Check at the where the wire goes in and test from each end to see on which end you have the problem. You will be testing the A and B lines only. There are screws that will release this. When you release it and pull it out check to see if the wire broke on one of the connectors. This does happen without lubrication. None of this will involve the spring. If this is the problem and you are very good at soldering you can reconnect the wire. The problem is it must be a good clean small solder joint as the reel spins around it.

If this does not do the trick, contact me at DHCJr@juno.com

[Kodiak Kid]

This is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks. I'm off to the workbench.

[neevel]

Don's given a good description of how to check for a wire problem. I've got a couple of the pre-Mercotac Allstars, so I'll start with what is the most likely source of the problem, namely that the contact post needs to be cleaned. Since that's by far the most likely issue, and also very simple to take care of, I usually try that first before checking for a wire break or something else. I find that I need to do this at least every four months, if not more frequently (the stickers from the factory inside mine advocate cleaning and lubricating monthly). The way the contact is positioned horizontally down the center of the drum, it tends to collect grit and dirt, which will cause the intermittency in the A and B lines that you're seeing.

Get a can of plastic-safe contact cleaner/lubricator (from Radio Shack, for example). Open up the top of the reels as Don described (hint: take the screws out of the bottom, then hold the cover on as you turn it back over and then lift the cover off). For a "routine" cleaning, there's no need to detension the spring or adjust freeplay of the post with the small screw that just sticks over the edge of the post. Attach the spray straw (if you have one) to your can of cleaner and spray one or two bursts down the center of the contact post (where the wires from the cable go down). Work the drum back and forth a few times, then wait a few minutes for the cleaner to dry. Test the A and B lines again with your meter (be sure to be pulling the cable in and out while testing, instead of just checking it stationary).

If you're still getting high resistance or intermittancy, then there are a couple of possibilities. One is a broken wire or solder joint, already discussed. The other is that moving contacts (be they the Allstars or a more conventional commutator-and-brush arrangement like the Leon Paul or Uhlmann upright reels) can eventually build up a thin layer of corrosion which, though not readily visible to the naked eye, can interfere with conductivity.

To deal with this, you'll need some emery paper (600 grit or so). For this operation, you'll probably want to detension the drum first. Take the contact post out by removing the travel screw (be sure not to lose it or the spring that fits beneath it). There may also be a little retaining bracket for the wired affixed to the top of the drum with hot-melt that you'll need to pry off. Lift the contact post up out from the center of the drum. Check for whether the solder joints are good. Then very gently abrade the metal contact surfaces with the emery paper. Apply a drop or two of oil and then replace the contact post and the travel screw. You'll need to be testing the lines as you adjust the screw in-- tighten the screw down just until you get a consitent, good reading on the meter and no more (there should be a little bit of play, as allowed by the semi-circular depression on the post that fits under the screw-head). Hot-melt or tape the bracket back on over the wires.

This can make a huge difference in the resistance. A couple of weeks ago I worked on a Leon Paul reel that was showing about 100 ohms on all three wires, no matter how much anyone tried to clean the brushes and commutator with contact cleaner. A gentle cleaning with emery paper restored it to under 2 ohms resistance per line.

Speaking of Allstar reels, I'm going to be stripping one down tonight to clean and lubricate a very raspy sounding main shaft bearing. If you're getting high C-line resistance on an Allstar or Uhlmann, a dirty/corroded bearing could be one cause, since it's part of the circuit from the case to the cable.

-Dave