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Rega 3 motor upgrade

A

Alan roche

Member
Hi, my first post
I have a Rega 3, done the following
1: rewired tone arm the s shaped one by vinyl source
2: cleaned and relubed the platter bearing
3: replaced belt and motor support band
4: replaced the capacitor
5: lubed motor shaft
Question is, the deck is very slow to start in 33rpm mode and wont start in 45 rpm mode even without a record or mat on the glass platter, unless you manually get it going, then its running at 31rpm and 41rpm once it gets going
Does the 24v upgrade have more torque than the original?
Many thanks
Alan
 
Maybe you've put too much oil in the bearing. It's not supposed to be full. Did you use the correct type of oil? Did you buy a genuine Rega belt?

It's normal to push the platter at start-up, and a good practice, but the fact it's running slow means something is wrong. if anything, they usually run fast.

The 24V kit doesn't make any difference to the start-up but it does sound better. Would I do it? Nope. I'd put the money towards a better deck. A friend of mine is about to sell an Ariston RD11 with a Rega arm on it for about £400 and that will kill a Planar3 no matter what you do to the Rega.
 
Is the motor oil the correct spec? Hypoid 80, 2 drops is correct. It can affect speed. Also, when you cleaned the bearing, was there a significant dot in the mirror finish of the bearing well bottom surface? If so, the bearing needs replacing. If it’s an original it’s very old now and that’s a sign of significant wear. I would double check that first. They’re cheap to replace

It’s possible the motor is worn out, but is the position correctly set? There are 2 plastic screws either side of the pulley. Loosen them, then push the motor down and back and whilst holding the motor at the furthest point it can be from the platter spindle, re-tighten the screws, taking care not to strip them. They’re plastic so that they strip rather than the motor if you’re heavy-handed. Whatever, if you get that bit wrong you’ll need a replacement motor anyway.

Even then, it’s still possible it simply needs a new motor but once done, it should be good for another 40 years!
 
pocketkitchen said:
Is the motor oil the correct spec? Hypoid 80, 2 drops is correct. It can affect speed. Also, when you cleaned the bearing, was there a significant dot in the mirror finish of the bearing well bottom surface? If so, the bearing needs replacing. If it’s an original it’s very old now and that’s a sign of significant wear. I would double check that first. They’re cheap to replace

It’s possible the motor is worn out, but is the position correctly set? There are 2 plastic screws either side of the pulley. Loosen them, then push the motor down and back and whilst holding the motor at the furthest point it can be from the platter spindle, re-tighten the screws, taking care not to strip them. They’re plastic so that they strip rather than the motor if you’re heavy-handed. Whatever, if you get that bit wrong you’ll need a replacement motor anyway.

Even then, it’s still possible it simply needs a new motor but once done, it should be good for another 40 years!
Click to expand...
Thank you, Yes, correct oil and very little wear, invisible, it took hours for the spindle to drop in fully, and its not over filled, just over 2 drops hypoid 90,
When set at 45rpm the motor sits there knocking away unable to get the platter turning, even without a mat or record on the platter.
 
Mr Pig said:
Maybe you've put too much oil in the bearing. It's not supposed to be full. Did you use the correct type of oil? Did you buy a genuine Rega belt?

It's normal to push the platter at start-up, and a good practice, but the fact it's running slow means something is wrong. if anything, they usually run fast.

The 24V kit doesn't make any difference to the start-up but it does sound better. Would I do it? Nope. I'd put the money towards a better deck. A friend of mine is about to sell an Ariston RD11 with a Rega arm on it for about £400 and that will kill a Planar3 no matter what you do to the Rega.
Click to expand...
I have had the r200 arm rewired and a new at95ml cartridge stylus, so not wanting to replace the whole deck if a £150 motor will solve the issue.
The belt and cradle belt are the silicone upgrade ones from Malvern hills audio, and the oil just over 2 drops hypoid 80 not over filled
 
Alan roche said:
Hi, my first post
I have a Rega 3, done the following
1: rewired tone arm the s shaped one by vinyl source
2: cleaned and relubed the platter bearing
3: replaced belt and motor support band
4: replaced the capacitor
5: lubed motor shaft
Question is, the deck is very slow to start in 33rpm mode and wont start in 45 rpm mode even without a record or mat on the glass platter, unless you manually get it going, then its running at 31rpm and 41rpm once it gets going
Does the 24v upgrade have more torque than the original?
Many thanks
Alan
Click to expand...
Suggest replacing the original 15KOhm carbon resistor with a metal oxide type of 12KOhm (UK, vs. 10KOhm for Europe). This was an official factory spec change post R200 equipped Planars. Regardless, the original carbon is unlikely to be performing to spec, and, if not burnt through, likely to be discoloured round the center band area, a sure sign that its days are numbered. A metal oxide will see you out.

The knocking upon start will be down to motor misalignment. Follow @pocketkitchen's realignment steps to rectify this. I'd only add that you need to push the pulley down quite a bit further and angled away from the drive hub than you might think before snugging up the two fasteners. IOW, the motor should come to rest listing away from the drive hub, with the subsequent tension of the drive belt drawing the motor shaft it into parallel alignment with the platter spindle.
 
Alan roche said:
No slow and poor start up so I did all tge posible service items.
bought it late 90’s been in storage for 20 years, played about 20 hours on it to see if it settled in after all the servicing items
Click to expand...
Worth asking a rega dealer if the motor upgrade would solve the problem.

I’ve had the upgrade done (on a mid 80s rega 3) and it definitely starts better than it used to. Also. Once you’ve done the motor upgrade, you can also buy one of the external Power Supply Units (and you see loads of these cheap second hand), which allows you to do speed change by button press rather than lifting the platter and changing the belt.

Whether the Motor upgrade (and power supply) are economic (relative to trade-in and buying a better TT) is up to you. I did it as my original p3 had sentimental value, so was worth it to me as did not want to lose the original deck. Very glad I did it
 
Hi, has there been any previous work on the PCB? It sounds like something is a miss, either a component on the PCB or the motor itself. I ran my Planar 3 for thirty years on the old motor before changing it to the 24v last year. It always needed a push to get up to speed, but i think that was mainly the belt which was ancient. Huge difference when i fitted a new belt. The rigid mounting of the new motor results in a much faster start up and I'm sure I read that it is a higher torque motor, but I can't find that so I may have imagined it! The new motor results in noticeably better pitch stability compared to the old one but I'm not sure speed accuracy was ever a strength on rega's old decks, but others may disagree.
 
I think with no sentimental issues. Trading in and buying new or S/H Rega P6 makes more financial sense (as that comes bundled with the Neo PSU). But if attached to the P3, then the motor upgrade is the way to go (all assuming you want to stay with Rega)
 
It might be more economical to flog the deck & look for a P3-24 that already has the motor. Then to swap the subplatter for a metal one. You’ll have a fantastic TT afterwards 🎶
 
Mr Pig said:
A friend of mine is about to sell an Ariston RD11 with a Rega arm on it for about £400 and that will kill a Planar3 no matter what you do to the Rega.
Click to expand...
A metal subplatter transforms a Rega. I’d suggest then that rather than the Ariston being a “better” deck, it’d be merely different.
 
Is this the one with the really primative speed setup one capacitor and one wirewound resistor. If it is the resistor can often change value.
I am sure somewhere I have a new capacitor and resistor I intended in fitting in my P3 many years ago and as one does never got around to doing so. If yours is this type, easily seen by taking the plastic cover off I will try to find it and you can have it.
 
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