Sony tape player that plays no tapes repaired. Model: CFM 155S
A manager of an organization for the blind brought this tape player to my shop and said when they push play button on this player, it does not play tapes. This tape player belongs to an old blind lady who is in that organization.
From experience, there are two to three reasosn why a tape player does not play tapes.
1- Broken motor belt
2- Bad motor
3- No power reaching the motor to make it spin.
Let the repair begin.
Few screws off and I was able to see what inside the tape player. It was a very simple machine and it should be a simple fix.
As you can see in the photo, the motor belt seems to be in good working condition. The moment I pushed the play button, the motor did not spin until I gave it a push. It worked for a few seconds then it stopped moving again. This is an indication of bad motor. When I checked the voltage reading at the motor terminals, I could read only 3 DC volts. This motor is 6 DC volts and I should be reading that but for some reason, I was not.
It is also a CCW motor. That means, Counter, Clock Wise. Make sure you replace it with the same specifications otherwise it will not work. There are motors that are marked with CW only. That does not work on this machine.
It is a good idea once you replace a motor to replace also the belts. Once I replaced both the motor and the belts and played the tape, it was moving but in a very slow speed causing the song recorded on that taped to sound really funny.
Usually, when buying a new motor to be installed on any tape player, you need to adjust the speed of that motor. To do that, you pick a song that is very familiar to you and then play it on that tape player.
Put a small flat screw driver in that hole and start to adjust the speed of the motor till you get the sound right. It takes time but it is fun and very easy to do.
It was easy and fun repair task to do. The blind lady was happy to hear her songs on that tape once again. Mission Accomplished
This article was prepared for you by Waleed Rishmawi, one of our ‘Master Authors’ and currently working in the Bethlehem area of Palestine repairing electrical and electronic equipment. Please give a support by clicking on the social buttons below. Your feedback on the post is welcome. Please leave it in the comments.
By the way if you have any good repair article that you want me to publish in this blog please do contact me HERE.
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Robert
September 23, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Thanks for the article, Waleed. That's good info to know.
Waleed Rishmawi
September 24, 2013 at 2:02 pm
you are welcome Robert. glad you enjoyed it
Robert
December 4, 2013 at 11:36 pm
Hello again, Waleed. I was wondering - are those motors universal among manufacturers, or are they all different and difficult to
locate?
hassan hassan
September 24, 2013 at 2:23 pm
Thanks we want stronger faults
Parasuraman S
September 11, 2018 at 7:30 pm
Saw it only now, when Jestine Yong gave a link. Good fool proof service!