VCR: Remove cover -- power goes dead?!?

Joe Brower

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Feb 7, 2003, 7:14:19 PM2/7/03

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Hello, everyone;

I have a Panasonic "OmniVision" VHS VCS, Model PV-4461. I bought it almost
ten years ago, and until a few days ago it has performed flawlessly.
However, last Wednesday it suddenly refused to fully accept a tape -- you
try to insert it, it goes in about 2/3 of the way, hangs up, and then the
VCR spits it back out.

OK, I figure, something is out of kilter in there, so I'll just remove the
cover and see what's going on. I'm no repairman, but suffice it to say that
over the years I've had the non-privilege of having to do similar work with
all sorts of electronics when they go haywire.

So I power it down and I pull the four screws that hold the cover on, remove
it, attempt to power it up, and -- nothing. Nada. It acts like it's not
even plugged in, which it is. I tested the socket and it still works fine,
just like it did a minute ago. I look for any switches, fuses, disconnected
wires, anything that might suddenly cause this inexplicable and up-to-now
never-before-seen behavior. Nothing. All appears well. But... no power at
all.

So now I am presented with a new problem that prohibits me from even getting
to where I can address the original difficulty.

Any ideas? I would sure appreciate any constructive advice.

Thanks,

Joe B.
joebr...@comcast.net

Sam Goldwasser

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Feb 7, 2003, 8:24:03 PM2/7/03

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Probably the power suply caps need replacing. Start with the ones on
the +5 supply (1000 or 500 uF I think) and the 1 uF, 50 V. But, they
should all be replaced.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Home Page: http://www.repairfaq.org/
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Peter Gottlieb

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Feb 7, 2003, 9:32:31 PM2/7/03

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Does it power on when you put the cover back on?

"Sam Goldwasser" <s...@saul.cis.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:6wptq3y...@saul.cis.upenn.edu...

Joe Brower

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Feb 7, 2003, 10:34:28 PM2/7/03

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"Peter Gottlieb" <n...@notdisclosed.com> wrote in message
news:3%Z0a.170348$HG.28...@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...

> Does it power on when you put the cover back on?

Good question. I meant to mention that in my original post -- no, it does
not. Unfortunately!

- Joe Brower

Joe Brower

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Feb 7, 2003, 10:38:25 PM2/7/03

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"Sam Goldwasser" <s...@saul.cis.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:6wptq3y...@saul.cis.upenn.edu...

> Probably the power suply caps need replacing. Start with the ones on
> the +5 supply (1000 or 500 uF I think) and the 1 uF, 50 V. But, they
> should all be replaced.

Hmmm... that could very well be. After my initial post, I examined the VCR
further and did actually find a small fuse on the power supply board, which
is still intact. I pulled the board and noticed that, when I plug it in, a
faint "click" issues from one of the components, and when I unplug the cord
from the wall, I detect a whine that fades after a couple of seconds. So it
is getting power, but the power never makes it to the rest of the device.

I was hoping not to have to chip chase this thing. I still find it
interesting that these components would go sour by the (seemingly unrelated)
act of removing the cover.

- Joe B.

PJ

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Feb 7, 2003, 10:50:43 PM2/7/03

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"Joe Brower" <joebr...@comcast.net> wrote in message
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Joe: Sam gives good advice. If you don't have an esr cap meter,
then replace all the ps electrolytic caps. If you keep messing with
it, you will have to replace active parts....Paul

Uns Lider

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Feb 7, 2003, 11:34:11 PM2/7/03

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On Fri, 7 Feb 2003 22:38:25 -0500, Joe Brower <joebr...@comcast.net> wrote:
>"Sam Goldwasser" <s...@saul.cis.upenn.edu> wrote in message
>news:6wptq3y...@saul.cis.upenn.edu...
>> Probably the power suply caps need replacing. Start with the ones on
>> the +5 supply (1000 or 500 uF I think) and the 1 uF, 50 V. But, they
>> should all be replaced.

>I was hoping not to have to chip chase this thing. I still find it
>interesting that these components would go sour by the (seemingly unrelated)
>act of removing the cover.

During the act of removing the cover, did you unplug it? It's possible that
the power supply had a startup problem for months, but the problem wasn't
triggered because it never had to go through a power-up cycle.

-- uns

Peter Gottlieb

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Feb 7, 2003, 11:42:49 PM2/7/03

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Like someone else mentioned, most likely a power supply problem. Time to
start tracking it down, starting where the line cord comes in.

At least it's not some sort of subtle or intermittent trouble...

"Joe Brower" <joebr...@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:_NOdnc417IW...@comcast.com...

Sam Goldwasser

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Feb 8, 2003, 8:21:15 AM2/8/03

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"Joe Brower" <joebr...@comcast.net> writes:

> "Sam Goldwasser" <s...@saul.cis.upenn.edu> wrote in message
> news:6wptq3y...@saul.cis.upenn.edu...
> > Probably the power suply caps need replacing. Start with the ones on
> > the +5 supply (1000 or 500 uF I think) and the 1 uF, 50 V. But, they
> > should all be replaced.
>
> Hmmm... that could very well be. After my initial post, I examined the VCR
> further and did actually find a small fuse on the power supply board, which
> is still intact. I pulled the board and noticed that, when I plug it in, a
> faint "click" issues from one of the components, and when I unplug the cord
> from the wall, I detect a whine that fades after a couple of seconds. So it
> is getting power, but the power never makes it to the rest of the device.

Cheapest easiest way is to get a cap repair kit for your model.

They are available from service parts places.

See: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/vcrfaq.htm#vcrqtipsmps

Andrew Rossmann

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Feb 8, 2003, 12:10:45 PM2/8/03

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[This followup was posted to sci.electronics.repair and a copy was sent to
the cited author.]

In article <P0idnXnGRJG...@comcast.com>, joebr...@comcast.net
says...

I assume that in order to remove the cover, you had to move the VCR
around? Check for any loose part or screws that might have shorted. The
fact that it didn't accept a tape might mean something broke, and could be
shorting something out. It's also possible the power supply went bad, and
didn't have enough power to run the transport motors. When you cut the
power, then tried to turn it back on, it couldn't even get the proper
voltage up and may be shutting down.

--
If there is a no_junk in my address, please REMOVE it before replying!
All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law!!
http://home.att.net/~andyross

RB

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Feb 8, 2003, 8:58:16 PM2/8/03

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Joe
Put down the VCR slowly back away and call a repair shop......

"Andrew Rossmann" <andyross@no_junk.att.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.18aef613c...@netnews.att.net...

Sam Goldwasser

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Feb 8, 2003, 10:31:51 PM2/8/03

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"RB" <hd...@hotmail.com> writes:

> Joe
> Put down the VCR slowly back away and call a repair shop......

What kind of helpful reply is this? :(

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Home Page: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Site Info: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

> "Andrew Rossmann" <andyross@no_junk.att.net> wrote in message

Peter Gottlieb

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Feb 8, 2003, 10:59:48 PM2/8/03

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Nice answer. I suppose then there's no need for this newsgroup?

"RB" <hd...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Damir

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Feb 9, 2003, 7:49:30 AM2/9/03

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Do as Sam said.