19" Emerson (Funai) TV/VCR/DVD combination

[radiotvnut]

A few weeks ago, I was at a rummage sale and saw this 19" Emerson TV/VCR/DVD combination for $15, but I didn't buy it. Today, I was at the privately-owned thrift store that has been giving me broken flat-screen TVs and I saw the Emerson there. She said I could have it, but I gave her $5 for it.

When I got it home, the DVD tray would not open because the open/close tact switch was acting like a volume control. Replacement of the tact switch cured that problem and the DVD player seems to work.

The VCR will accept a tape, but then the set would shut off. If I pressed play, FF, or Rew, the command would appear on the screen, but no action from the mechanism and the set would shut off. When I turned the set back on, it would eject the tape and stay on.

I figured it was a dirty mode switch, so I took everything apart, cleaned it, and put the set back together. Unfortunately, that didn't fix it. I now need to take it back apart and watch the internal movement of the mechanism. As it stands now, it will take the tape, it sounds like it's pulling the tape up around the head drum as normal, and then it shuts off. I can still press a command button and the command will appear on screen, but nothing happens and the whole thing shuts off. If I turn it back on, it still ejects the tape on it's on and the TV stays on.