Tape door will not open on AIWA stereo?

answer to where to get belts
decktech on ebay

Alan
October 2022

I believe the belts are too stretched out and is not enough to make the pulleys turn. I have a Aiwa CX-NDS8U with the same problem. After opening the case of the stero system, I turned the pulley manually, the door opened. The only problem is now where do I buy the belts??? A electronic shop told me they are hard to find and the belts I have are called SBS belts and I have to measure the size and get a new one a bit smaller, considering the wear.

Robert
October 2011

As a retired mechanic with the same Aiwa tape player problem,(Mine is a Z-L720 duel tape system) I took the side access plates off to have a look at the mechanism.
On mine I get the same clicking, where the mechanism is trying to start. The electric motor turns (and seems in good working condition) but there is some reason a disfunction signal which causes the motor to shut down?? In mine both the drive belts are in place and are working ( though they are not as tight as I would have expected, but they are very thin and still pliable?? It occurs to me that due to the belts perhaps 'slightly' slipping? and thus thus may not be keeping both both cassettes players in sincro ( they are both constantly driven by the SAME motor, so if one belt slips a bit could it be that this might just cause the system to malfunctionas?? I also note there is an electronic counting arrangement on both cassette players so this might be the fly in the ointment??. NB iAlso if you force the machine to recognise Tape 1, by holding the small plastic lever open, which is normally opened by the top of the actual cassett case the syetem really tries to work but still eventually (after about 5 seconds) kicks out the motor again..heh Ho!! Does anyone know if changing the belts will likely solve things here???.

Keith Baigrie
January 2010

the belts are broken.if you open your player you can see the broken belts.change it with the same measure belts.

kabeer
August 2009

I just picked up a nice, gently used Aiwa CX-NAJ20 tonight from Craigslist and had the same problem you folks had. I tried every suggestion offered on this page but nothing resolved the problem(s). But when I got to this page http://www.howtomendit.com/answers.php?id=30629, the proverbial wheels started to turn.

With tsgunnell's information in mind, I took the side panels off (easy enough) and the belts were intact so I applied some rubber rejuvenator (I got it at a local VCR repair shop years ago - don't know if such exist today) to the inside of the belts with a cotton swab as I turned the belt pulley and all of a sudden, the doors functioned properly, the tapes didn't get stuck, and no more clicking.

So with the unit on, I ran a tape fast forward while holding the soaked swab along the inside of the belt then the outside and then did the same to the other deck's belt.

I just Googled the rejuvenator, "PRB Rubber Cleaner Revitalizer" and found it here for $6.
https://estore.fox-international.com/productdetail.asp?id=14216

I don't know how long it'll last but replacing the belts looks a wee bit complicated. I hope this helps.

Best regards,

Paul

Paul
February 2009

I have an AIWA cassette player with the same problem. The drive belt had broken probably due to age. Don't know where to get more belts.

Ken Hinrichs
April 2008

I have an old AIWA twin tape deck with sincro on it, some years ago the the left hand deck would not open so i stoped using it. Scince then i had bought an AIWA seperate single tape deck when the same thing happend to this i took the single tape deck appart. On inspection all i could see was that the meck had sliped it's drive belt. in my devine stupidity i thought that this could not be the cause of the problem, i continued to tinker untill i broke part of the meck & then threw it out. I went to have a look at my twin tape deck meck shortley after only to discover the same that it had broken two small drive belts, & by reversing the drive on the deck that the door wouldent open it released the meck so the door release button would work. I am off to get two new drive belts now. it would seem this is a common problem !!!

Z-Head
February 2008

Had same problem unplug stereo for 10 mins to reset then plug back in thus resetting door mechanism and releasing tape. Seems to be tightly wound tapes that cause this fault.

Stuart
December 2007

Had same problem unplug stereo for 10 mins to reset then plug back in thus resetting door mechanism and releasing tape. Seems to be tightly wound tapes that cause this fault.

Stuart
December 2007

This happens to me once in awhile. What I do is.
1. Open the second tape deck.
2. Forcefully open the stuck tape deck.
3. Get the tape out. (It needs to be rolled up.)
4. Push down the tape reading mechanism.

It should work like new.

Aiwa Owner
December 2007

Clearly this is an issue with the Aiwa system. I don't have an answer but pushing the door in a little harder is not the answer either. Door is jammed shut, tape is stuck, clicking will not stop. Thus, once the service department is able to get the tape out of deck 2, I am no longer able to use this deck due to the fact that I can't trust this won't happen again. Some of us do not need elaborate stero systems but we would like quality.

terri
December 2007

I have the same problem with my Aiwa stereo. Didn't realize the cam that moves the cassette deck's record/playback head into the cassette was driven by a belt. Are both decks set up the same way? I have a similar problem on the playback deck, only there the sound is muffled and the tape sounds for all the world as if it is playing in reverse, although the tape seems to be moving forward in the cassette itself.

I wish I had found this site a lot sooner than I did (I just found it tonight after doing a Google search using the model number of my stereo). My unit is now in a local repair shop, but I will be picking it up on Wednesday, January 17, unrepaired, as I don't know how much the repairs will cost (I live on a fixed income). I don't drive, either, so have made arrangements with the county's transportation service to get me to the repair shop and back home; they do not appreciate people undoing ride scheduling unless it is absolutely necessary.

Again, I wish I had known a lot sooner about the Aiwa CX-NA888's cassette decks' record/playback heads being driven by belts. Just out of curiosity, how much should it cost to have those belts replaced? If I had decided to go ahead with the repairs, would the cost have been very much, say on the order of $20-$30 or so, or would it have been more? I am also concerned about putting too much money into this stereo, as I bought it new seven years ago (and we all know, at least we should, how quickly technology becomes obsolete these days). I could purchase a brand-new system for a fraction of what I originally paid for my Aiwa unit; in fact, one of the technicians at the service shop I took my system to even asked me (over the telephone) to consider getting an entire new system before putting any large amount of money into mine, given the age of my system (which is basically why I eventually decided not to have it repaired). I have most of my CDs and even a few cassettes stored on my computer anyway (as mp3 files, using Audacity audio editor software), so I have little or no use for the cassette decks in my stereo at this point in time. I consider this my method of keeping up with the times, without spending a lot of money to do it.

Jeff Strieble
January 2007

it is almost certainly the belts .the head is move in and out of the cassette by a cam driven by the belt.to release the tape use a finger on the capstan to get the mechanism to turn so releasing the tape

terry
August 2006

I have the same problem with my AIWA , I recently payed $50 to unmount a caeest from tape deck 1 and now after almost 3 months tape deck 2 is stuck.

Kumar
July 2006