Hammond Organ M- 101, power cord is snipped

[David Eugene]

So I found a Hammond organ left on my street in great condition. Great, right?

The downside is that the power cord is snipped right through. So I need to add a plug to the end of it if that works....can I just solder it, or how do you repair a snipped power cord?

[cminor9]

I was recently given an M3. It sounds amazing! Good find for you, I sure hope it works.

A few things for you to know if you don't already.

First, be VERY careful when moving it (although you probably already moved it). You can break the tone generator's springs very easily. I have a friend who moves pianos. He was given this organ and gave it to me (heh, he showed me his garage...he had like three of them and he just needed some space! Some guys just have it all). So it bounced around town in his van, then across town to my house, then to my garage as my brother and I lugged this stinking organ that weighs more than I do. It was then that I learned that you need to be careful with those things. Miraculously, it still works.

Second, get some oil for it. Get Hammond oil. It is VERY hard to find (I found a local place to buy it after quite a bit of searching). You can find it on eBay sometimes, too. But get it and oil the organ. You don't want to damage the tone generator.

Third, just open the amp in the back and replace the cord. It shouldn't be too hard at all. Make sure you drain the filter caps, it could mean your life. If you don't know what the heck I mean, learn! Google "tube amp drain filter cap" or something like that. YOU NEED TO DO THIS!

Clean it up, oil it up, learn how to turn it on (not as straightforward as one might assume), and be blown away. Those things sound just amazing. Push pull amp with with 2 6V6s, jensen alnico speaker...if you have original tubes in there, then even better. They don't make em like that anymore. Hope you never have to move it again.

[David Eugene]

hmm....

Thanks for the bonus information...I'll definitely look into the oiling and remember to drain the filter caps.....

but still, how do you replace a power cord?

[Brad1]

You replace it with a properly grounded cord by removing the old one inside the amp and soldering in a new one. DO NOT splice the thing together and wrap tape around it, etc.

If you don't know how to do that, then it's probably best to find someone who does.

And there are other considerations. It may need new components. Does it have all the tubes, and have they all checked good? WHY was the cord cut in the first place? Do you know what physical clues to look for? How do the caps look? If they look OK, that does mean they're good? Would you be able to recognize bad sounds that may indicate failure from good sounds after you powered it up? Do you know what a healthy one smells like compared to one that's about to take out the power grid, when you fire it up? Do you know how to turn on a Hammond, properly?

Seems like if you are not sure how to replace a power cord, then you may not be aware of all the other stuff involved in checking out old amps and organs.

Be careful with that thing. There may be a lot more involved than just replacing the cord and firing it up.

Brad1

[cminor9]

Thanks for the bonus information...I'll definitely look into the oiling and remember to drain the filter caps.....

but still, how do you replace a power cord?

Sorry, I guess I missed your whole point. I agree with the other guy who replied. If you don't know how to replace a power cord, I gotta ask...have you ever worked with electricity before? If not, I don't think this is the project to learn on. No sense in getting hurt.

But the oiling and moving tips still apply!

[Don Moose]

Here's an instructable that covers the basics of replacing the 2-wire power cord with a 3-wire one. It also covers draining the filter caps.

All of this is general information, but it applies well enough to any tube audio project. If you're not sure you understand what is meant by a step, stop there and get qualified help.

Now, there are a couple of rules I emphasize:

1) If you have the chassis open and the power cord plugged in, ALWAYS keep at least one hand in a pocket. I mean this in the most literal way. The voltages in there can kill you, and the easiest way for them to do that is to run from one hand to another, right through your heart.

2) A blown fuse is a SYMPTOM, not a problem. It means something went bad wrong in there - just slapping in another fuse doesn't fix anything. Slapping in a bigger fuse can make it catch fire.

Hope this helps!

[David Eugene]

Alright.....I just wasn't sure about if you can simply unplug the chord, or if you have to go inside and rewire things.....

Anyways, I was able to rewire and now have power, but I don't know much about diagnosing Hammond organ problems. I worked with an old Thomas organ, but I am new to Hammonds.

I believe I went about turning it on correctly, but when I let go of the start switch basically nothing happens, and even when it is engaged I'm not getting much of a belt spinning sound.....just very faintly.....I can also get buzzes of the same tone from the keyboard but only while the start switch is engaged. Is it just in need of some fresh oil or do I have a tube problem?

[cminor9]

glad you got it figured out!

Welcome to turning on a hammond. While holding the start button, turn the run switch to on. The start just gets it going, the run switch keeps it going.

Hope it works for you.

[6267]

Cords are usually cut to keep anyone from trying to plug it in, generally this means shot transformers and/or electrical danger of some kind. You may want to take this one to a tech, or check out all conductve surfaces with a volt meter to ground and one hand in your pocket. Treat everything like it has 500v AC on it, i.e. very lethal. On my m2, the motor will szh-szh-szh-cl-zh-cli-shhh and you throw the switch after you hear the motor click a bit. It's about 10-20 seconds of motor spinning. If you don't hear it, you probably have a shot generator motor, not a transformer. Unplug it and wait until tomorrow, then check to make sure there are no loose wires in the back. The wires to the motor are under a shield (generally) and near the power cord input. Make sure there are no loose or accidentally grounded wires here. Check the fuses. Also make sure that the tubes light up a dull red at the very top of most and a bit at the bottom of some. the large flat structures inside which are vertical should not be glowing, only a few small points inside the tube where you can see the heaters. Some tubes are encased in metal in a hammond, it will be hard to see if these are working or not. If the fuse is blown, replace it. If it blows again you have a pretty busted organ, but take it to a tech anyway. Hammonds are worth it, I had a broken one, and moved with it twice before I puzzled out the many problems and got it working again. It sounds amazing.

[Albert Kreuzer]

You may want to take this one to a tech.

Rather take the tech to the organ

Check the fuses.

It probably doesn't have any. There is none in the schematic and none in my M3.

It sounds amazing.

True.

Cheers,
Albert

[Enzo]

And organs often got "built in" to where they sat. The power cord may have been run through a hole in the baseboard and a plug put on it on the other side. WHen they went to remove the thing, they didn't bother to dewire it, they just cut. We used to have an organ guy operating from our shop. It's a different world from guitar amps.

[cminor9]

It sure is a different world from guitar amps. Am I the only one who gets a juvenile chuckle whenever I hear someone talking about moving his organ? Must be the same 13 year old boy inside that still laughs at Uranus jokes.

I am not kidney, it's just funny. If you don't get it, I can spleen it to you. Liver long enough, and you'll laugh too!

Man, what was in that beer I had last night, anyhow?