Pinch Roller Not Engaging Capstan

[Flobbley]

Hey guys,

So I picked up a Technics M14 tape deck from Goodwill yesterday and it was working perfectly except for some hisses and clicks in the recording volume knob. So i gave it a shot of deoxit and while I was at it I cleaned the play head, pinch roller, and capstan with alcohol. Apparently that was a mistake because it doesn't play now, the pinch roller is not raising high enough to engage the capstan. I'm guessing the fix to this is just to stretch out the spring a bit that raises the pinch roller, but i figured I'd check here to see if anyone has a different solution or a way to do that without having to take apart the mechanism.

Thanks

 

[oldvinyldude]

Don't stretch springs!

Pinch rollers failing to move fully into position is nearly always caused by old lubricants making parts bind. Very fiddly work on a cassette deck, to remove and replace lubrication, but that's where I would concentrate on.

You might get lucky and discover a wire or similar, blocking movement of the mechanism. Since you had it opened up, there's always a chance of this.

 

[kfalls]

Check that your head azimuth isn't out of alignment. Extreme azimuth misalignment would cause the head to tilt and rub the inside of the cassette. This is not something you would normally see on home units. I see it all the time during media archiving where we have to adjust azimuth to each tape we digitize. I've seen where azimuth is adjusted during playback, plays the tape, but won't disengage because the head rubs.

 

[Flobbley]

Don't stretch springs!

Pinch rollers failing to move fully into position is nearly always caused by old lubricants making parts bind. Very fiddly work on a cassette deck, to remove and replace lubrication, but that's where I would concentrate on.

You might get lucky and discover a wire or similar, blocking movement of the mechanism. Since you had it opened up, there's always a chance of this.

I just wanted to let you guys know that I am the dumbest person in the world. Apparently I had accidentally pressed the pause button and didn't notice. How it took me ~1 hour of working with it to realize makes me want to jump off a cliff to spare humanity my stupidity.

 

[Trekkie4]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I am the dumbest person in the world. Apparently I had accidentally pressed the pause button and didn't notice. How it took me ~1 hour of working with it to realize makes me want to jump off a cliff to spare humanity my stupidity.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Exactly the same thing happened to me, while servicing Aiwa AD-F550. Was replacing pinch for a new one & just couldn't understand why it only lifts up half the way, even though everything's looking fine & nothing seems to be broken. These things happen

 

[kfalls]

If I had a nickel for every time I made a stupid mistake....

 

[LeeVing]

Bumping this as this is the issue I currently have with my new-to-me Technics M63.

video below...turn on sound

https://i.imgur.com/7XCxj0v.mp4


I have no real experience in fixing anything like this, so I'm mostly going in blind, but I have been watching a lot of various Youtube repair videos.

 

[oldvinyldude]

Its not clear what the video is showing-but I gather you are only able to get audio by pushing up on the pinch roller, on the tape itself, or on the headblock carriage to get audio?

I suggest you start a new thread with your model, and describe what you are observing, what you are pushing on, etc.

 

[LeeVing]

Its not clear what the video is showing-but I gather you are only able to get audio by pushing up on the pinch roller, on the tape itself, or on the headblock carriage to get audio?

I suggest you start a new thread with your model, and describe what you are observing, what you are pushing on, etc.

I will once I get some time, but yes, I'm only able to get the correct audio when lifting the pinch roller mechanism up to the tape. Otherwise it is all distorted audio.