Stiff slider on cassette deck locks up mechanism.

[VictorRCA]

On my humble 2-head Mitsubishi DT-12 cassette deck, there's a slider which engages when recording. This isn't like a fader, it's either engaged or not. This slider bypasses cassette audio and plays the Audio In. The issue is that the cassette mechanism needs to pull the slider to record, however the slider is so stiff that it jams the mechanism (or causes the flywheel belt to slip off) unless I physically slide it while engaging record.

While I am certain that the slider is the issue and that physically moving the slider allows me to engage record mode, I would enjoy not having to crack the lid open any time I want to make a mixtape or radio recording. Is lubricating this slider a bad idea? This part is labeled as an "L432D001H01" in the manual, which returns no actual parts...

Attached are images of the slider.

Let me know if there's anything else which may help with troubleshooting and thanks for reading :^)

 

[jd3rdcoast]

Those slide switches are common points of problems in cassette decks and do require contact cleaning and a bit of lube to get them back operating again.

 

[VictorRCA]

Thanks for the reply! I'll check out what past posts have said - I did some searching but didn't find much.

Any favorite/recommended grease or will white lithium work?

 

[jd3rdcoast]

A small dab if you can find any friction points. You may not need any once it's cleaned out good with contact cleaner. I usually spray just a bit of electronics lube like CRC 2-26 lube or Deoxit Fader F5 into the ends where it slides. Want to attract as little dust as possible.

 

[VictorRCA]

So I went with Deoxit, however now I'm having the opposite issue - the slider switches when I press play, bypassing the audio at all times. I can manually slide it back, but the mechanism isn't too happy with it...

What a headache

 

[elnaldo]

In those switchs, usually the solution is to clean and lube them. If you are now having problems pressing just Play and not the Rec button, I'd double check the assembly of that part of the transport. Usually that switch moves only when the Rec tab is present on a cassete, pushing some other lever to unlock it. I'd take a 2nd look at that part of the mechanism.