Rewind Issue on Elmo 16-CL Deluxe Model - too slow and weak!

[James Peterson]

Hi,
I searched on "Elmo Rewind" and couldn't find what I was looking for.

I have a Kodak Pageant model that I use a lot but also an Elmo 16-CL Deluxe (the Deluxe model only means that it has feather touch logic pushbuttons for the 4 functions (rewind, stop, forward, forward w/lamp). Since I've owned it, it never has rewound properly like my regular Elmo 16-CL. When I rewind, say, an 800ft or higher reel, it starts rewinds very slow and eventually crawls to a stop the last couple hundred feet.

In reading the service manual for the 16-CL the rewind is supposed to start at lower torque and then shifts to higher voltage (higher torque). On my basic 16-CL, once I put it into rewind, it starts low torque and then, after a couple of seconds, it shifts to a powerful rewind. But, my 16-CL Deluxe never makes that shift to high torque.

Is there any component known to fail that would cause that condition on any Elmo 16-CL model? I see a relay in there, but it seems to be working. There is a small motor (rewind motor?) in there as well--looks to be DC.

Thanks!

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

That small motor-looking thing is (if my memory is correct) the clutch mechanism. That should kick in within a few second to attain full-torque rewind. So this might be the cause of this underpowered rewind you're experiencing with.

[James Peterson]

Thank you Nantawat! That makes sense that it is an electromagnet. I’m going to pierce the small leads to see if it is getting voltage. If so then I have another one I can try from my other 16cl.

[James Peterson]

Well, the good news is I can see the delay circuit shift from 13v to 40.5v at the magnet. But the magnet doesn’t react to the change. I’m going to see how hard it is to swap the magnet maybe this weekend

[James Peterson]

Well, I'm embarrassed to write this, but maybe it helps someone else. I fixed it!

So I switched the magnetic clutches on my newer 16-CL Deluxe and 16-CL and the older 16-CL continued to rewind properly and the 16-CL Deluxe still had no torque in rewind.

I refocused my attention on the clutch friction plate assembly attached to the backside base of the feed reel arm (I never could get the adjustment to this part right even with the service manual). I decided to remove the cotter pin and disassemble the clutch friction plate down to the spindle and shaft that it rides on. I then noticed that the snap ring all the way at the back of the assembly had popped off and was just flopping around on the shaft. I used snap ring pliers to place the snap ring back on the spindle and put the clutch, spring seats, spring, nut and locking nut back onto the spindle as one piece and placed the spindle assembled back on the shaft. The snap ring (holds the clutch and spring seat in place) and the cotter pin (locks the spindle to the shaft so it all spins) are key parts and the system doesn't work properly with out them.

Rewind torque was back and I adjusted the nut and locking nut to get the rewind torque just right.

So there you have it! The hardest part seemed to be holding the spindle still with a wrench to remove both nuts.

[Janice Glesser]

Thanks James for the detailed fix. It just may help someone in the future with a similar problem. Glad you are back in business.

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

There's an old proverb in my language that reads "เส้นผมบังภูเขา" - which roughly translates to: some people cannot see the wood for the trees.

That is very, very true - a tiny overlooked thing will almost always cause a pretty big issue. Take days to be discovered, but minutes to fix.