I have a Sanyo DVD/VCR combo that worked perfectly until a few days ago. Now it won’t turn on at all. It’s plugged into an extension chord that’s plugged into a surge protector that’s plugged into the wall. The other appliances are working fine, I’ve tested the extension chord and it’s working fine, and I’ve tried the DVD/VCR in another live plug but it still gets absolutely no power- it’s strictly as if it’s not plugged in (which is doubly bad because I have both a tape and a DVD in it that I need out).
Since the unit would only cost about $100 to replace I don’t want to pay an $80 repair bill, though I’d rather not have to replace it either. Does anybody have any idea what will cause an appliance to do this and is it reparable? (There was a bad lightning storm the day it stopped working but I didn’t think it would be in danger since it’s plugged into a surge protector.)
Surge suppressors, especially inexpensive ones, are notoriously unreliable in the face of lightning-induced surges and voltage spikes. Such events can overwhelm the MOVs to the point of failure. Check the little light on the protector that says “Protected When Lit”. If it’s not lit, the MOVs have failed and the unit must be replaced. My rule of thumb regarding thunderstorms: If you can’t afford to fix or replace it if it dies, then unplug it as soon as you hear thunder.
As for your DVD/VCR unit, I can only recommend unplugging it, and removing the cover to inspect the fuse(s). You’ll find them on the power supply board, normally at or near the point of entry for the power cord. If they are blown, then with any luck, replacement will fix things. If they are not blown, however (and even if they are), there could be other damage to power supply components that aren’t repairable for someone with little or no electronics experience.
Is the VCR cord hard wired to the VCR or is it a separate cord that plugs into the back of the unit? If the latter, check to make sure it’s firmly plugged into the unit and try again. Otherwise, as QED says.
I’ve thought of one additional longshot you can try. If you haven’t done so already, leave the unit unplugged for several hours, then try plugging it back in again. Sometimes power spikes can “scramble” the logic circuitry in devices like this and the memory-backup circuit will keep it in this scrambled mode, even if the power is interrupted for a short period of time.
I would add to this that most electronics don’t like moisture. The manuals usually say that if the unit doesn’t function, to leave it unplugged for several hours and try again. If it’s been unusually humid, perhaps this is a problem, since it sounds like an inexpensive piece of gear.
Thanks majorly for the advice. Leaving it unplugged overnight did the trick, and simple as it was I wouldn’t have thought of it.
I live in central Georgia where humidity has been constantly around 100% lately and there have been several electrical storms, so perhaps it was a combo.
