VCR in TV/VCR combo causing issues
 

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I am needing some help with a little VCR/TV combo made by Emerson. A buddy of mine really wanted one of these for his kids, and after months of searching I found this one at the local landfill.

The TV part is fine, but the VCR is going nuts. I put a tape in, it goes in, but not down. So I push down on the tape and it goes into place as it should. No biggie. The tape plays for about 5 seconds and the Tv shuts off. When powering the set back up the tape ejects.

What is likley the issue with the power? I was thinking a bad sensor but even if that was the case I would not know where to start or how to tell.

I know very little about TV/VCR combos. However, I do know that if anything is wrong with the VCR or with the videocassette you are trying to play (especially if the tape jams), the television will shut off. Why yours causes the cassette to eject upon power up, however, is beyond me. Does your TV power on again once the videocassette ejects? As I said, I have absolutely no idea why the VCR is interlocked with the TV in these combo units. I would think the TV should work without issues whether or not the VCR works. :scratch2: I would check the sensor unit, on general principles. If the sensor is bad, it can cause the issue you are describing. To eliminate or confirm that the sensor is indeed causing your issue, I would bypass it and try to load a tape again. If the TV stays on and the VCR works with the sensor out of the circuit, the latter is defective. If the issue remains, the problem lies elsewhere. If you found this combo at a landfill, the VCR problem may very well be why the thing wound up there; the owner didn't want to put any money into repairing it, especially if it is a few years old. Don't let the "Emerson" label fool you. This may very well have been manufactured by some offshore company no one ever heard of, with the Emerson badge slapped on as an afterthought. This was and still is a common practice, especially with flat-screen televisions and other cheap electronics manufactured offshore.