Harman/Kardon HK400XM...will not play...any ideas?

[nolan]

I have a Harman/Kardon hk400xm that does not play. The tape advances/rewinds just fine. The issue seems to be that the heads and rubber wheel(idler?) do not rise up to make contact when I hit play. I have no clue where to start,any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Hokieman]

First, open the door and use your finger to hold up the two switches located at the top edge of the cassette location. Just feel around and you'll find them. Then push the play button down to confirm that the heads rise, capstan drive wheel turns, and motors work. If the play head rises but the capstan drive and rubber wheels don't turn, then I'd suspect you have a broken belt or possibly a defective microswitch contact.

Nice deck -worth fixing.

 

[Scorpion8]

Is this a new problem, or new-to-you deck? Could be lubrication on the pinch roller arm or behind the head plate. The SM is available online from HK.

 

[nolan]

First, open the door and use your finger to hold up the two switches located at the top edge of the cassette location. Just feel around and you'll find them. Then push the play button down to confirm that the heads rise, capstan drive wheel turns, and motors work. If the play head rises but the capstan drive and rubber wheels don't turn, then I'd suspect you have a broken belt or possibly a defective microswitch contact.

Nice deck -worth fixing.

I tried all that,no luck. The heads do not rise,motor works.The tape moves just fine, back/forth.

This deck is new to me. It has been stored for 20 years,looks mint. The previous owner pampered it for sure.

What a bummer,I was looking forward to listening to my long lost cassette collection.

 

[Jon_Logan]

Look for a mode motor that cams up the transport. These are Sankyo based transports, no?