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.
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 news:1112658414.491444.85240@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.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. >
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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.
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.
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