Bell and Howell TQI Motor not spinning (something stuck?)

[Clark Teddles]

Hi, Hope you're all well.

I have a Bell and Howell TQI 16mm projector and when I flip the switch to forward or backwards, all I can hear is a buzzing sound, and the handle to the motor (which you can hand-spin to advance the film) starts to get warm, and eventually hot. After flipping the switch from off to forward about 30 times, it seems some sort of cog (or the motor) falls into place and the projector will start running correctly. But when I flip to off and want to go backwards, the same problem occurs and it takes me ages to finally get it to go in reverse.

I have tried to "Kick start" the projector by using the advancing knob and turning the projector on but no luck, I feel it's something to do with a cog having great trouble connecting with another, and this causes the motor simply not able to physically spin.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Kindest regards,
Clark

[Clark Teddles]

Below I've attached a video that shows the problem. As explaining this is rather difficult.

Youtube Link:
Bell and Howell TQ1 motor problem (unlisted) - YouTube

[John Burgess]

G'day Clark
It looks as though you have a motor capacitor issue, the symptoms are typical of what's happening with your machine. I would locate the cap,it sits on top of the motor, check values and order a new one. It's a fairly simple job to replace . I assume the worm gear is ok , these can often fail on these machines. Hope this helps and good luck !
John

[Alan Paterson]

Hi Clark, It looks to me like the worm gear has a crack in it. This stops the projector from running in forward direction. Sometimes it will allow it to run in reverse but yours seems to be well and truly stuck. The worm gear is the white nylon plastic gear buried in the centre of the projector, that lies in a horizontal position. I could only very briefly see it in your video as you were moving the camera around near the motor.

There's a video on Youtube that shows the replacement of the worm gear on a TQ3 Worm Gear Removal and Installation 1580 Bell and Howell 16mm Projector - YouTube

Hopefully this will help you identify the gear on your TQ1 as they look similar.

There used to be a guy called Gordon Ogbourne who had stock of the worm gears. He lived in Ruislip. Not sure if he's still around these days.

Good luck

Alan

[Lindsay Morris]

If the worm gear is cracked and jamming the mechanism it will be quite difficult to actually "inch" the projector forward or in reverse. As suggested have a close look at that worm gear as the white ones were VERY prone to cracking.
By the look of that video your machine might have the Still Frame function fitted and if that is the case getting a replacement worm gear to be able to retain the Still Frame function is now nigh on impossible.
Replacing the worm gear is NOT easy and does require some good mechanical skills and some experience working on the B&H machines.
There was a guy in Sydney or NSW who had a projector repair service and I cannot locate his details but if you contact Ross Adams in Lithgow who produces a VG magazine for film people titled "Dress Circle" Ross MIGHT be able to point you to someone locally who can help.

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

Assume that there's no other mechanical flaw such as crack worm gear as mentioned, I really suspect the bad capacitor motor.

That is very similar to what happened to TWO of my projectors. They occurred in almost exact same way - it suddenly started running slow for no apparent reason then stalled. No mechanical issue found, but very burnt/swollen capacitors inside. After replacing them everything is back to normal again.

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

Ah, double post.😣