How To Clean A Car Cassette Tape Player

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If the deck is just eating your tape and you can't rewind or fast forward, cleaning the deck as follows may help the tape start playing smoothly again.

Steps Download Article

1. 1

   Remove the tape from the deck.

2. 2

   Open up the tape compartment.

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3. 3

   Gather Isopropyl alcohol (70-80%)Q-tips and a lens cleaning cloth.

4. 4

   Soak the Q-tip in the alcohol.

5. 5

   Clean the heads. Press fast forward and rewind so that the heads move. This will allow you to clean the heads more evenly.

6. 6

   Clean the pinch roller. Press play so the roller is moving when you clean it. This part tends to be very grimy.

7. 7

   Clean the capstan. This will also move when you press play. The capstan is the thin metal roller to the left of the pinch roller.

8. 8

   Using the lens cloth, wipe out any other areas that appear dusty or dirty.

9. 9

   Insert your tape.

10. 10

    Rewind the tape to the start, then fast forward to the end. This will smooth out the tape and any wrinkles that occurred when the tape came out should go away. Rewind and fast forward until the tape plays smoothly.

11. 11

    Enjoy your music!

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Add New Question

• Question

  What is a suitable cleaning alcohol?

  

  You can use rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol, which can be found at your local drugstore.

• Question

  What's wrong when I put a cassette in the deck and it won't close?

  

  Logan Adams

  Community Answer

  It may be in the wrong way. Check if there is something to hold the cassette.

• Question

  I have a tape deck in my car that spits the tape back out. If cleaning doesn't work, does anyone have any other suggestions?

  

  You might have to check the condition of the injector/ejector mechanism, or the control servo may have become damaged or misaligned. If you can't fix it yourself, it might be just as cheap to find another tape player from eBay, or a local junkyard.

• Question

  What could be the cause for my cassette playing too fast in my Hi-Fi?

  

  Your belt inside your cassette player may be on the verge of giving up. I suggest having your machine serviced.

• Question

  How do I properly insert batteries into a cassette player converter unit?

  

  if you're using a headphone-cassette adapter, they do not use batteries. If you are using a cassette tape to Bluetooth converter, it should be using an internal rechargeable battery. If your device is in fact using replaceable single-use batteries, enter the model number into Google and look for an instruction manual or a video of someone replacing it themselves.

• Question

  How can I find out why my Hi-Fi device is not playing cassettes?

  

  Your cassette player may not have a preamp (mostly used by phono turntables). You can buy one online for around 30 or 40 dollars.

• Question

  When I press play on my Sharp 9191 stereo, the take up side stops and hence the feed side keeps going, causing the tape to wrap around. What do I do?

  

  George Gashonia

  Community Answer

  Look to see if your take up reel hub is spinning. If not, you need a new belt.

• Question

  Do head cleaner cassettes damage the head?

  

  Cleaner cassettes do not inherently damage the heads, but with the heads age and relative rarity, it would be better doing it by hand, and can also be more effective.

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Video

• Manually rewind the tape several times. This will work out any kinks.

• If nothing else works, you may need to invest in a demagnetizer. This will help the cassette to play smoothly.

• Check the actual tape first. If it is torn, stretched, or broken, you will need to repair that.

• If cleaning the deck doesn't work, try moving the tape to another case.

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

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• Never put magnets near your tape. This can erase it.

• NEVER FORCE ANYTHING! This can damage both deck and tape.

• Don't be too rough with the tape. This can permanently damage it.

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How To Clean A Car Cassette Tape Player

Source: https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-a-Cassette-Deck

Posted by: gordonworear.blogspot.com

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