Faulty tape loading mechanism
 

I recently purchased a used Panasonic PV-4551 (1995 model) and it seems
to have a problem accepting tapes. When I try to put a tape into the
machine, it'll go in about half way, then eject itself. After numerous
tries, I was able to get a tape inside and it played fine. However, I
continue to have trouble loading them.

It's frustrating, because this seems to be a good VCR...if I could only
get a tape inside without trying over and over again!

Can anyone diagnose this issue and recommend a solution? It would be
much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

mam

mam wrote:
I recently purchased a used Panasonic PV-4551 (1995 model) and it
seems
to have a problem accepting tapes. When I try to put a tape into the
machine, it'll go in about half way, then eject itself. After
numerous
tries, I was able to get a tape inside and it played fine. However,
I
continue to have trouble loading them.

It's frustrating, because this seems to be a good VCR...if I could
only
get a tape inside without trying over and over again!

Can anyone diagnose this issue and recommend a solution? It would be
much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

mam

Sounds like the carrage is out of time with the deck. Either that or
the mode switch (the switch that senses the location of all the gears
on the deck) is in need of an internal cleaning. When the contact pads
on the mode switch get a little corroded it will confuse the
microprocessor that controls loading and it will not know where the
gears really are. Good luck.