TASCAM 246 tapeheads not engaging! Help Please.

senator skillet

New member
Took the face off of my Tascam Portastudio 246 today to address an external chunky noise on playback (thinking the idler tires based on some threads i read). Didn't replace them, because they didnt look too bad, but used the opportunity to deep clean the machine. During the clean a small spring 'popped out' and I don't know where it goes. I put the machine back together and it turned on fine, but the counter didn't turn on. After a moment of handling the machine the counter blinked on and off a few times. The record function LEDs are not turning on. In addition, tapes won't play/rew/ff and the tapeheads don't move.

Hoping I didn't totally F something up here. There's a lot going on here, but if anyone has any insight or moral support I will be eternally grateful. Thanks yall.
 
Crap. You gotta find where that spring goes.

Did cleaning remedy your 'clunky' noise? Or mabye, just maybe, whatever the spring attaches to was getting ready to self destruct causing your noise.

Either way it needs fixing.
I've seen on ebay some owners manuals and service manuals for sale. These are crucial if you're messing with your machine. Short of that, maybe an exploded veiw diagram can be found on line.

Good luck
:D
 
Tascam 246 Service Manual...
tascam_246_sch.pdf - Google Drive

It has some exploded views with parts lists that does show pretty good detail where springs might go (zoom in to see details).

The other problems you're having kinda sounds like cabling plug might have worked loose a bit and is intermittent.
 
Hello. Thanks for the replys yall.

The tapeheads won't engage so I dont know if it fixed the clunky sound problem! Gonna read through service manual and look for some answers!

Thank ya
 
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