My Electra 220 Smith Corona typewriter has been working really well for over four years, but ever since I used it last in November, it turns on, but none of the keys work.
I can press them all, but nothing happens. The only keys that work are the half space, and the return key, as well as the shift key. Not even the power return key works, and none of the number keys work. They don't do anything when I press them, and I don't know why. How do I fix this?
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You can start off looking at the ribbon and replacing this. Next, you should clean and oil the carriage return of the machine. Add a few drops of oil to this. If none of this helps then it has to be an issue with the print head.
Sounds like the belt has either dried up and snapped which is making the connection between motor and keys incomplete or the belt slipped off. But do to the age, probably snapped. I have a brother electric that this happened to. Even throwing a rubber band on it after removing the frame made the keys respond. I bet you that is your issue. Hope you've figured it out!
You might need a new print head. Its going to be hard to find parts and/or someone to fix this.
I have the same issue! Did some testing and found that the problem is with the belts around the clutch and motor. In my case, the belts were pretty worn out, so the mechanism didn't have the right tension to function. After turning the belts a little, I was able to get the keys working again, but unfortunately the belt snapped shortly after :'(
Did some research and found that you can replace the belts with o-rings, so I'll be ordering some to make the switch :)
Hope this helps!
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