JVC HR-S9600U head drum not spinning?

[ethos8]

When I insert a tape, it gets spooled around the drum properly, but the drum never spins. I was advised to check for +12V on pin 1 of the connector on the top stator assembly. I only got around 1.5 volts across this pin, which I believe is just electrical noise. After this, I read elsewhere that a fuse labelled "CP4001 ICP-N15" might be the culprit. Sure enough, it was blown. However, after replacing it, the head drum still won't move.

It's also worth mentioning that the plastic pin guide on one end of the ribbon cable connecting the stator board to the mainboard fell off on one end. I glued a new makeshift plastic backing onto it as a temporary last-ditch effort to save it, and I don't know if this actually worked.

I had also previously bought a replacement stator board and tried that one out, but to no avail. After attempting to bring an old and fragile cable back to life, replacing a fuse, and even replacing the entire stator board, I've run out of leads.

Does anyone know where I can find a replacement cable? (A DigiKey part number maybe? ) Or better yet, has anyone else had this issue before and managed to fix it?

[hodgey]

Did you connect the cable with the correct side towards the contacts? I did that mistake once, and was worried until I figured it out. Also check the voltage again if you didn't already, and that the fuse has voltage and has continuity.

You could probably salvage a cable and connectors from a lower-end JVC VCR from the same or next few years. (The older S9500 and related had a slightly different mech, and the very late ones ones have a different one again or are LG-made.) They shared many parts including the base mechanism between the models in a lineup.

I haven't looked into part numbers, but digikey does have a gazillion different variants of flex cable so maybe there is something that would fit there as you note if it's just the cable.

[ethos8]

Previously, I had just clipped the old one off and left the old leads in, then I soldered the new one to those leads. I did a poor job and the new one snapped off when I was probing it. So, I decided to consult the service manual and disassemble the while VCR and solder the fuse in from the back of the motherboard, and lo and behold, it's working again! I guess my soldering job first time around was worse than I had expected. That's what I get for being lazy.