Farfisa SuperSynthaccordion Not (fully) Working

[FarfisaSuper]

Hi all,
First time poster here. I have a Farfisa Super Syntaccordion with the Box Tone Generator G-SA-1. Its probably 30 years old. It turns on, some buttons work, but not all of them. The buttons that don't work, still light up, but no sound comes through.

Below is a picture of the buttons that work (circle in RED) and the ones that do not work (circled in GREEN):


I've checked the main fuse on the "Brain" or box tone generator, and it looks good.





Would be nice to get this to fully work. Any thoughts? I have a multimeter but wouldn't even know where to begin.

 

[JIM D.]

I owned just the same model you have here. It's a fifty year old accordion/organ model that at the time was superior to the then
Cordovox & Accorgan models on the market. Back then I played the unit on gigs weekly for 5 years before problems started.
The tone cabinet with age developed heat and the transistored components began to fail. The tone cabinet after repeated
replacement of cooked resistors & caps were
finally cooked to the point of practical repair & use. The problems you have are in the tone cabinet and not in the grill. I finally
converted a Titano to MiDi and with a Roland RA-90 expander performed with it until the advent of "V" accordions.
The Farfisa tone generator went to the landfill and I remodeled the accordion grill, removed the electronics, and sold the box
as an acoustic accordion. Not a bad box as the acoustic part of the accordion was made by Scandalli.

 

[FarfisaSuper]

Thanks for your reply. Sounds like you have fixed these before. I'm willing to try and fix it if it's simple enough. Do you have any tips?

 

[jozz]

I would:

1. try to find a diagram
2. try contact spray (non-residue type)
   1. if that works somewhat: reflow the solder on every single pin, or the area you suspect considering the specific buttons
3. if there are any transistors in there: they may fail because of age and sustained heat as well - somewhat easy to pinpoint with a multimeter

 

[JerryPH]

1. Start a hunt on the internet for the electrical plans. You likely won't find them unless you are very lucky. How good are your schematic reading and electrical skills?

2. Try safely to remove the areas you circled and try cleaning with electrical contact cleaner.

3. Start looking for local sources of good and cheap electricians that can help you out.

 

[JIM D.]

Before starting to attempt repairs on the tone cabinet, be aware of contacts shorted by the firing cable itself. Most owners of
these units have (including myself) have replaced the firing cable after a few years of use. The many mini cables in the firing
cable would break or short with repeated use and require replacement. These replacement firing cables have for the past 30
years an have been and are obsolete replacement part. Before attempting any repairs in the tone cabinet you will have to start
by (with an Ohm meter) search for shorts in the multiple mini cables in the firing cable. With years of use these many mini wires
wear and short or break.
You may find an old firing cable for replacement but be aware the plastic insulation of the many strands in the old cable will
be brittle with age and also break easily.

 

[JeffJetton]

At that age, I would start to suspect bad capacitors. So maybe look for leaks and/or bulging tops?

 

[jozz]

or obvious grounding pins or connections that are broken

considering the failures dont seem random but in these groups of buttons