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Repair guides and support for videocassette recorders including Betamax and VHS (Video Home System) players.

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Emerson EWC19T5: What should my next troubleshooting/repair step be?

I've acquired a partially-working Emerson EWC19T5 combination DVD/VCR CRT that I'm trying to get fully working.

It powers on, but the only button that does anything is the DVD eject button. It will accept a VHS tape, but after making some noises, it powers off. This happens the same way whether it's still on VHS input or whether it's been switched to DVD input by ejecting and then closing the DVD tray. Upon powering back up, it will eject the VHS immediately.

I've opened up the cabinet and cleaned as many parts as I could think to clean, but I'm not experienced with this. I did research how to safely discharge the CRT anode cap before working on the board (though every time I've done it, there's not been anything to discharge so it seems to be bleeding everything correctly after it gets unplugged). I identified a ceramic capacitor and an electrolytic capacitor that appeared to have been damaged or leaking in some way, and replaced them, but it still behaves exactly the same way.

I'm not sure how to proceed or what I should be looking for next. Happy to share any and all information that might help. I know this is fairly broad and vague, I'm crossing my fingers for someone willing and interested to walk me through this. I'm decently handy and techy but not specifically knowledgeable or experienced in this kind of diagnosis and repair.

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I thought I'd uploaded a couple photos, but they don't seem to be here. I have pics and video I can try to share if it would be helpful.

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@robertheadrick use this guide Adding images to an existing question to add images to your question. Images can only be added to questions and answers.

Ok, you do know the dangers with CRT's so be cautious when poking around. Those voltages pack a punch :-)

Anyhow, see if the Emerson Sylvania EWC19T5 6719df Sm can get you started. Since you've already found some bad capacitors, I would look a little closer at the power supply for this (page38). Consider doing a complete recap

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Thank you for that guide! Turns out I had uploaded them but didn't realize they needed to be selected again from the bin once they were uploaded.

I'm hoping to not have to completely recap it because there are quite a few, and I'm not very good at soldering. I'll take another look at the power supply though.

One thing I'd like to do is turn it on and stick a tape in with the chassis open so I can visually see if anything is stuck or damaged. I've been hesitant though, because of all the hype about CRT voltage. If I'm careful to avoid the flyback transformer and the anode cap, would that be considered safe to do?

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@robertheadrick yes, you can, just keep your hands off the boards :-)

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@oldturkey03 copy that!

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Okay, so I've made some progress but also run into a new problem.

Long story short, I tried cleaning some parts inside the VCR mechanism again, and this time when I put a tape in afterward, it didn't shut down the unit! But pressing play, rewind, or fast-forward did nothing. However, when I hit the input switch button... it started playing! But then I couldn't get it to stop with the stop button. It eventually did stop on its own, but then the buttons were non-responsive and it shut down again.

So far that's all great news for me, because it's doing more than it was before! Unfortunately though, it's no longer spitting the tape back out when I power on again. So now I've got a tape stuck inside the VCR and I'm not sure how to go about removing it.

Side note, I discharged the anode cap right after I powered down to clean the roller head, and because I didn't let it sit for very long, it actually did audibly discharge. I'm glad I actually know what that's like now, it's way less terrifying.

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Update: I jiggled and wiggled and poked at a few things, then wired it all back up and turned it on again. It played! And buttons did things! To be clear, they didn't do the *right* things, and not always the *same* things, and not all of them did anything at all. But, through somewhat random button mashing, I was able to get it to play, stop, rewind, and eventually eject the tape.

Now I'm left wondering if this indicates dirty components or broken ones, or something else entirely.

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