I'm in need of thoughts regarding my JVC HR-S3800U SVHS VCR that I'd like to revive. I bought it brand new in late 2006 or early 2007, used it a relative handful of times, then left it connected to my TV and entertainment center (but unused) for the better part of a decade, plugged into a surge protector alongside several other electronic systems (all of which still work).
I recently started putting together a project where I need to view RF/coax video signal live and lag free (and have several CRT TVs to assist with this) but also record the video via RCA/composite at the same time. My old JVC HR-S3800U had all of the connections necessary and should have done the job handily, but when I went to check on it, the unit was completely dead and unresponsive.
I used to do board level cell phone repairs, so I'm fairly well versed in solder work and basic troubleshooting with a multimeter but haven't done anything other than basic soldering and reflow work in years. The fuse on the unit is still good, but it won't power on via the front power button or the remote. When left unplugged for a short while (I haven't timed it specifically but can if needed) then connected back to power, the head will briefly begin to spin up and then fail. Immediately following this, a relatively quiet clicking noise will start up from the area in/around the power circuit. I haven't torn the unit down yet, so I haven't been able to isolate specifically which component(s) the clicking is coming from.
Based on what I can see from taking the cover off, none of the capacitors have bulged or leaked, there are no burn or scorch marks anywhere on the board and outside of a little dust, nearly everything inside looks clean. The one exception is a fairly large ~68k ohm resistor (that appears to be part of the power circuit) which has some light browning on its surface; I believe this to be from dust & dirt coming in through the vents and "baking" on due to the heat of the circuit.
Does anyone have any ideas of what the issue could be? Mechanically the unit appears to be in beautiful shape and still has lube everywhere that I can see that it would need it. As I really only need this unit for the aforementioned project, I don't want to invest a lot into the repair, so sending it off to an outside shop for ~$100 + s/h is out of the question. I obtained a copy of the service manual from this site (the reason I originally signed up, in fact) but can't find this issue listed in any of the limited troubleshooting areas within. Any thoughts/assistance with this would be greatly appreciated, as most any electrical component I would need to replace should amount to pocket change and only take me a couple of minutes at most to swap out--I just need help in tracking down why this unit suddenly died out and what I can do to get it up and running again.
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