HITACHI vcr DOES NOT LOAD TAPE

I think that the head drum for your VCR went bad and quit working and should be replaced.

That is exactly what a typical M-Load mechanism is supposed to do. Once the VHS tape cassette is inserted, cassette housing cover will be flipped up and two arms will pull tape out of cassette housing to wrap tape around cylindrical spinning head housing that contains video heads and, if VHS HI-FI, audio heads as well. When stop or eject button is pressed, arms will retract and tape will wind back into cassette housing. What type of problem are you experiencing with unit? It may have nothing to do with M-load engaging tape around head cylinder.

Unplug the power supply for thirty seconds and plug back in, this will reset the processor and might eject the tape. If this fails the next step is remove the top of the combo unit this will give access to the vcr tape, if the tape is spewed in the machine and wrapped around the video head and other mechanical parts use scissors to cut the tape and carefully removing the particles, press power to eject the tape for normal operation. However! if the vcr tape is okay, there may be a loading problem, broken drive belt, bad idler assembly to name a few, this is where a technician will be needed but may not justify cost.

a common problem is rental videos that have been damaged in the first few feet of the tape by some other vcr's defective drive mechanism that "eats"the tape..What happens is the particles of the damaged tape clog the video heads in your machine,which have gaps in the millionths of an inch.Put a brand new tape in the machine and let it play for a half hour or so and it will usually clear itself.If that does not do it,insert a head clening tape and a couple drops of cleaning fluid and run it through.The newer machines will show a blue screen if there is no video information present.However,if you put it on forward search,it overrides that feature and you will see a snowy picture from a good tape,if one video head is clogged and the other is working.There are 2 video heads on a rotating head.it spins at 1800rpm and that is the whirring sound you hear when play is pressed.If both heads are clogged,you will see a snowy screen and no picture at all.A 4 head machine has 2 heads for slp or 2 hour speed and the other 2 heads are used for lp and slp.A hifi vcr has 2 more heads,which are used for the hifi audio,a total of 6 heads.The stationary playback head has a control signal for tape speed,and regular audio,mono or stereo.

most likely problem is defective loading motor. p/n VEM0427.

The tape mechanism is not loading and/or driving the VCR tape properly. Most people don't realize that the tape is physically pulled out of the VCR cassette and wrapped around the video heads in a semi-circle configuration. Your VCR guides are pulling the tape out but not retracting it into the cassette shell when you press eject. Causes: mode switch, mechanical failure, video head speed/drive problems. All these problems are somewhat complex for a novice repair person and don't forget that new VCR's are selling for $30 at the big box stores....Glen.

could be that you're looking at a blown cartridge for that vcr tape. You may need to cut the tape, to extract that from the unit.

The play head would usually retract when the cartridge is removed, BUT could be compromised by some tape getting into the play head mechanism, and jamming.

be particularly careful with anything pointy or sharp, as the tape head does NOT like those objects near the read surface.

the end-of-tape optical sensor is at fault. either it is very dirty, has failed or something else is detecting end of tape. many VCR's now will auto-eject the tape upon end of tape detect

This is a problem with the process called 'tape loading' - pulling the tape loop out of the cassette and wrapping it around the spinning video drum, engaging the capstan and pinch roller and reel rotation. If you're NOT still under warrantee you should at least open the VCR and Check all the belts above and below the deck. Belts can appear to be firm but if they do not return immediately to their relaxed length when you stretch them 25%, they will need to be replaced. With the cover off, observe the behavior when you hit play. (You may need to put a piece of cardboard over the cassette to block external light from interfering with the start/end tape sensors). Assuming this is a basic VCR (no instant start features), you should see: 1. The video head drum begins to spin. 2. the roller guides move smoothly on the tracks, wind the tape around the drum, and stop snuggly pressed against the 'V-stopper' at the end of the tracks. 3. The pinch roller moves into position and presses the tape against the capstan. 4. The tape begins to move and is wound up by the takeup reel. 5. The picture and sound appear on the TV. With a 'rapid or quick start' (or it may be called something else) transport, the tape moves to a half-loaded position when the cassette is inserted. This is at an intermediate position partially pulled out of the cassette but not wrapped around the drum. On VCRs with a real-time counter and/or index search capabilities, the tape will be in contact with the control head. With an 'instant start' transport, the tape will fully load around the spinning drum when the cassette is inserted but the capstan will not engage and no tension will be applied to the tape until you press PLAY or REC. (After about 5 minutes, the drum will stop and it may unload to the half loaded or unloaded position.) Note that for VCRs with a real-time counter and/or index search capabilities, the tape must be in contact with the control head (but not the video heads) for all relevant modes. These VCRs (which include many modern units) must therefore pull the tape at least partly out of the cassette. In all cases, the completion of the sequence results in approximately the same mechanical configuration during PLAY.

This is a problem with the process called 'tape loading' - pulling the tape loop out of the cassette and wrapping it around the spinning video drum, engaging the capstan and pinch roller and reel rotation. With the cover off, observe the behavior when you hit play. (You may need to put a piece of cardboard over the cassette to block external light from interfering with the start/end tape sensors). Assuming this is a basic VCR (no instant start features), you should see: 1. The video head drum begins to spin. 2. the roller guides move smoothly on the tracks, wind the tape around the drum, and stop snuggly pressed against the 'V-stopper' at the end of the tracks. 3. The pinch roller moves into position and presses the tape against the capstan. 4. The tape begins to move and is wound up by the takeup reel. 5. The picture and sound appear on the TV. With a 'rapid or quick start' (or it may be called something else) transport, the tape moves to a half-loaded position when the cassette is inserted. This is at an intermediate position partially pulled out of the cassette but not wrapped around the drum. On VCRs with a real-time counter and/or index search capabilities, the tape will be in contact with the control head. With an 'instant start' transport, the tape will fully load around the spinning drum when the cassette is inserted but the capstan will not engage and no tension will be applied to the tape until you press PLAY or REC. (After about 5 minutes, the drum will stop and it may unload to the half loaded or unloaded position.) Note that for VCRs with a real-time counter and/or index search capabilities, the tape must be in contact with the control head (but not the video heads) for all relevant modes. These VCRs (which include many modern units) must therefore pull the tape at least partly out of the cassette. In all cases, the completion of the sequence results in approximately the same mechanical configuration during PLAY. Several likely possibilities when it shuts down: 1. Everything occurs as above, picture and sound appear for a few seconds, but then the VCR unloads the tape, ejects the cassette, goes into REW mode, stops, or shuts off. Two common causes: The takeup reel does not turn and tape spills into the machine. This is sensed by the microcontroller which aborts record or play and attempts to save your valuable cassette. Most likely cause: old/dirty idler tire. As a test, turn the idler tire inside-out. The fresh surface will now work well enough to confirm this diagnosis and will continue working long enough for your replacement idler tire to arrive. See the section: "General guide to VCR cleaning and rubber parts replacement". The takeup reel is turning properly but one of the reel The takeup reel is turning properly but one of the reel rotation sensors or its electronics is defective. As a test, check to see if the tape counter is changing at any time during the loading and