VCR dead - fuse blown?
 

There was a partial black out tonight. The lights got very dim for
about an hour. The VCR was recording when it happened and it stayed on
at the reduced energy level. Then when the electricity came back to
full power, the VCR died. It has no power at all. Do you think it blew
a fuse?

Helpful info:

Brand, model, age of the unit.

A blown fuse should be readily visible to the naked eye.

Unplug it before changing, and only use the same value fuse.

Mark Z.


wrote in message
ups.com...
There was a partial black out tonight. The lights got very dim for
about an hour. The VCR was recording when it happened and it stayed on
at the reduced energy level. Then when the electricity came back to
full power, the VCR died. It has no power at all. Do you think it blew
a fuse?

" bravely wrote to "All" (04 Apr 05 00:34:53)
--- on the heady topic of "VCR dead - fuse blown?"

You must always include the brand and model number in a help request!
Typically the powersupply gets fried by the surge when power returns.

A*s*i*m*o*v


wi From:
wi Xref: aeinews sci.electronics.repair:44907

wi There was a partial black out tonight. The lights got very dim for
wi about an hour. The VCR was recording when it happened and it stayed on
wi at the reduced energy level. Then when the electricity came back to
wi full power, the VCR died. It has no power at all. Do you think it blew
wi a fuse?

.... The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts.

I got a pack of 4 fuses for $2.50 from Radio Shack. I replaced the fuse
and the VCR is working perfectly now. It's a Panasonic VCR and it's the
best one I ever had. Never gives me problems.

You dodged a bullet here.. In most cases, the fuse will blow because some
other downstream part in the power supply has failed.
Sometimes... as you had the good fortune to find out, the fuse will "pop"
before the other parts, or the fuse will just fatigue with age and blow for
no other reason than it was time for it to fail.
Certainly replacing the fuse is a good "novice" troubleshooting first
step..... however I have had stuff brought into my shop where the original 1
or 2 amp fuse was replace with a much higher amp rating or even tin foil or
a bolt in place of the proper fuse. Not only is this a real FIRE and SAFETY
hazard but also much, much more expensive damage can be easily done to the
equipment. I have even had so-called technical types tell me that this is
a good troubleshooting method because they look for the smoke to find the
problem..... LOL but true.
--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


wrote in message
ups.com...
I got a pack of 4 fuses for $2.50 from Radio Shack. I replaced the fuse
and the VCR is working perfectly now. It's a Panasonic VCR and it's the
best one I ever had. Never gives me problems.

wrote:
I got a pack of 4 fuses for $2.50 from Radio Shack. I replaced the
fuse
and the VCR is working perfectly now. It's a Panasonic VCR and it's
the
best one I ever had. Never gives me problems.


in this situation it is critical to observe the condition of the fuse
which has gone. If it is blackened, then that would often indicate a
short further down the line inside the machine's psu and it should not
be powered up again without extensive testing of the parts.

If the fuse is simply open or broken, you may be lucky and replacing it
might be all.
Reemember: in electronics troubleshooting don't look for the fire, look
for the kid with the matches. replacing fuses means you are only
looking at the symptoms ,not the root cause of the failure.

-Ben

"b" wrote in message
oups.com...

wrote:
I got a pack of 4 fuses for $2.50 from Radio Shack. I replaced the
fuse
and the VCR is working perfectly now. It's a Panasonic VCR and it's
the
best one I ever had. Never gives me problems.


in this situation it is critical to observe the condition of the fuse
which has gone. If it is blackened, then that would often indicate a
short further down the line inside the machine's psu and it should not
be powered up again without extensive testing of the parts.

If the fuse is simply open or broken, you may be lucky and replacing it
might be all.
Reemember: in electronics troubleshooting don't look for the fire, look
for the kid with the matches. replacing fuses means you are only
looking at the symptoms ,not the root cause of the failure.

-Ben


Good advice, seems lately I've encountered more fuses where the element
simply broke mechanically rather than blowing. The only thing I've ever seen
occasionally blow fuses with no other problem are microwave ovens, all it
takes is for a door interlock switch to stick momentarily.

On 5 Apr 2005 18:19:31 -0700, "b" wrote:


wrote:
I got a pack of 4 fuses for $2.50 from Radio Shack. I replaced the
fuse
and the VCR is working perfectly now. It's a Panasonic VCR and it's
the
best one I ever had. Never gives me problems.


in this situation it is critical to observe the condition of the fuse
which has gone. If it is blackened, then that would often indicate a
short further down the line inside the machine's psu and it should not
be powered up again without extensive testing of the parts.

If the fuse is simply open or broken, you may be lucky and replacing it
might be all.
Reemember: in electronics troubleshooting don't look for the fire, look
for the kid with the matches. replacing fuses means you are only
looking at the symptoms ,not the root cause of the failure.

-Ben

I remember some kids coming up to the counter with a toasted output
amp board from some stereo. The printed circuit board was burned
clear through under the remains of a big one watt carbon resistor.

They wanted to buy a resistor ;)

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 12:44:52 -0700, been there wrote:

On 5 Apr 2005 18:19:31 -0700, "b" wrote:


wrote:
I got a pack of 4 fuses for $2.50 from Radio Shack. I replaced the
fuse
and the VCR is working perfectly now. It's a Panasonic VCR and it's
the
best one I ever had. Never gives me problems.


in this situation it is critical to observe the condition of the fuse
which has gone. If it is blackened, then that would often indicate a
short further down the line inside the machine's psu and it should not
be powered up again without extensive testing of the parts.

If the fuse is simply open or broken, you may be lucky and replacing it
might be all.
Reemember: in electronics troubleshooting don't look for the fire, look
for the kid with the matches. replacing fuses means you are only
looking at the symptoms ,not the root cause of the failure.

-Ben

I remember some kids coming up to the counter with a toasted output
amp board from some stereo. The printed circuit board was burned
clear through under the remains of a big one watt carbon resistor.

They wanted to buy a resistor ;)



My favorite repair set was a power amp that a fellow brought in and
claimed it wouldn't shut off unless you unplugged it. Sure enough
when you plugged it in, it lit up even if you didn't throw the power
switch. There was a resistor by the front panel that burst into
flames whenever the set was plugged into the wall.