There was a tape stuck in it because the entire VCR appeared to be
dead, so I disconnected the loading motor and applied my own power to
eject it. No problems there. Now I was able to disassemble the thing.


The SMPS seems to be at the correct voltages printed on the PCB. I got
the carriage to lower as if a tape was being inserted. Sometimes the
display works, sometimes not. The VFD filament voltage is present.
The loading motor and reel motor just moves in little bursts every 0.5
second or so, then occasionally both run for about 1 second straight.
Then it goes back to short bursts. If I unplug it, it continues with
the erratic motor motion. The entire display will sometimes blink
along with the motor motion.

However, there is a 5.8V supply that drops by about 1 volt (very short
drop, a few milliseconds) every time the motors move. The odd thing
is, this periodic voltage sag still occurs even when the VCR appears to
be completely dead.

This VCR was working one hour, then quit working. No electrical storms
or anything unusual. Only I had access to it. I'm familiar with
electronics, but not a VCR expert. Any suggestions?