DC Motor turning continously in Cassette Deck

The transistor in the servo capstan motor is probably shorted- this happen now and then and you need a new Capstan motor. The question is most dual cassette decks are not worth the repair.
If the adjustment make no difference then that is likely the problem.

The mechanism needs to be taken apart sufficient to get to the flywheel and capstan motor- this usually entails taking the metal motor bracket off the back. It is not that difficult once you have done one. I may have replaced 50 to 100 of them at Teac in Chicago. Also oil the capstan bearing when changing a belt.

Look on the Marrs Comunications web site and order the kit for the unit.

The unit need servicing by a Technician that knows these units. It could be bad belts or decayed lubrication.

Without physically looking at the cassette deck myself, I cannot be 100% sure the tape is wrapped around the pinch roller and capstan. The capstan is the chrome rod which the rubber pinch roller pushes to regulate the speed of the tape moving across the head. However it is approximately a 90% chance the take up reel for the tape stopped working from a bad tape or a loose belt which drives the tape take up reel. The clicking sounds like it could be the auto reverse solenoid because it thinks the tape has reached the end of play. The fun part is to remove the tape which you may have to disassemble the front panel if you cannot gain access to the tape from the top or bottom. You will need to cut the tape and remove it from the capstan and pinch roller to open the cassette door. Sometimes you can remove the capstan to free the tape. Once you have cleaned all the tape out of the unit make sure the belt for the take-up is good. If it is glazed, cracked, loose or broken order a belt. Clean all the pulleys and capstan and replace the belt. Your unit should be functional after the above procedure.

It could be the take up spindle does not have enough torque causing the tape to bunch up after the capstan. If you open up the unit you will notice ether belts or rollers for the tape drive. If it has belts you can replace the belt after cleaning the pulleys. If it has rollers you may be able to clean them with a rubber cleaner (not alcohol which will dry the rubber and cause glazing). Make sure the capstan and the pinch roller is clean using a rubber revitalizing cleaner on the pinch roller. "Goof off" from a hardware store is great for the capstan if it has a lot of metal oxide on it.

This is a case of a failing reel motor. What happens i sthe brushes become aged and wear down and the motor has what they call a dead spot on the Commutator. The motor will work fine at high speeds as the inertia is working for it but when you use a slow speed as in play mode the motor hits the dead spot and stops. You will need a new reel motor in the most likely case- I can service the deck if you want at Skywave Tape Deck Repair Chicago area. I will most likely put a new motor into the deck.

Could be a worn out belt? The cassette loads it the drive down too much. Hence why it turns with no tape.

Hi.
Better quality cassette decks use this method as it puts less strain on the motor because it dosen't have to keep starting and stopping.

John w

The main flat belt you describe is probably the capstan belt. The "flywheel" you describe drives the capstan. I don't know the model number of your deck (it would help if you could say what it is), but I'm pretty sure that the flat belt should go around the big flywheel and then around a motor pulley that should be very close to the flywheel. The motor should spin the flywheel even if the play/FF/RW buttons are not engaged. This might sound funny, but the other "O" ring belts might be very important (control motor belts) or not that important at all (tape counter belts)--it depends on the model number of the deck. One more thing: Every healthy capstan belt I've ever seen is NOT sticky and does NOT glom onto itself. That belt sounds like it is very old and needs to be replaced.