[John123]

I had a similar problem with my second-hand Sony PS-6750 that came fitted with an Empire 2000/EII cartridge - both date back to the late seventies. Initially, I had the same problem - no sound in one channel.

Removing the cartridge entirely and then touching the cartridge leads produced the all-familiar (and rather reassuring) buzz in each ear of the headphones (volume way down, of course!), so thinking the cartridge was shot anyway (no pun intended), I removed the stylus and gave it a few light taps on the side of a table - hey presto! A working cartridge!

And it's worked fine ever since! I wonder, given the age of the cartridge, if there were tin whiskers forming inside its metal body? Or perhaps the simple act of moving things about cleared dirt off the contacts etc. Your guess is as good as mine..