Belt-drive turntable with a perished belt or worn stylus
If the motor runs but the platter stays still, a perished or missing belt is a plausible cause, and on many belt-drive decks the owner can replace it. The same goes for a stylus. The exact model matters.
Potentially straightforward if this fault is confirmed
- Work required
- Repair of a confirmed fault
- Skill
- Basic
- Diagnosis time
- Minutes
- Repair time
- Under an hour
- Tools
- Household items
Replace the drive belt or stylus · Low safety relevance
Confirm the fault first
- It is a belt-drive model — not direct-drive or idler-drive.
- The motor spindle turns when switched on.
- The old belt is visibly slack, sticky, broken or absent.
- The correct belt, and the stylus that matches the fitted cartridge, are identified.
Limits
- Speed-control, motor, electrical and tonearm problems are different faults.
- A generic belt of roughly the right size can run at the wrong speed.
Cheap part, easy job? Not the same thing
A belt costs little and fits in minutes on decks where the platter lifts off. A stylus is specific to the cartridge model, not to the turntable.
Checks after the work
- Speed checked at 33 and 45 with a strobe disc or app.
- Both channels play; no hum.
- Tracking force and anti-skate set for the cartridge.
Tell the buyer
- New belt or stylus and which one.
- What was not checked: motor noise, cueing damping, auto-return.
Sources: iFixit: AT-LP60X Belt Installation · Pro-Ject Audio Systems: Instructions for use: Pro-Ject T1
