Panasonic boombox issues

On my RX-5030, there is no sound from the cassette deck. All the switches work (PLAY, FF, REW, etc.), and I can see the tape turning. However, no sound comes out. The LED meter doesn't register anything, as if the tape was blank. This problem only affects TAPE. The RADIO and LINE IN modes work fine.

On my RX-5090, only the right channel works in LINE IN mode. The sound from the left channel is very weak (almost no sound at all). The RADIO and TAPE modes work fine.

Please let me know what steps I should take to repair these machines.

You could start by cleaning your Tape/Radio/Line In switch with De-oxit or similar contact cleaner, crud and corrosion on this switch will need to be dislodged. Also try toggling the switch back and forth lots (try a hundred times to start). Switches on these boomboxes often show symptoms like this, it's a simple fix.

From memory you should be able to spray contact cleaner in the front of the switch, but if that doesn't fix it you will need to attack from the inside. Still a pretty simple fix even if you are not terribly electronically minded. BE SAFE if you are going to do this.

Read the forum about disassembling boomboxes!

The RX-5030 is remarkably clean for its age, but I used contact cleaner anyway on the LINE IN/RADIO/TAPE switch. Spraying it and flipping the switch many times had no effect. Still no sound from TAPE mode. While in TAPE mode, I noticed when I turned up the volume that there is a noticeable hum. Any other suggestions?

broken head ground wire. Or the record bar needs cleaning.

Superduper said:

broken head ground wire. Or the record bar needs cleaning.

Click to expand...

Superduper said:

broken head ground wire. Or the record bar needs cleaning.

Click to expand...

Where can I find information on how to fix these things?