My car battery died and the guy who was sent from my insurance company used cables from his battery to mine. I thought that they used a box with cables because cars electrical systems were so sensitive. Anyway, my CD/tape player was working earlier that day but after the jump it doesn’t. I was told I would have to prove it so that the company who gave me a jump start would be held liable. I brought it to a place that installs them and they looked at it and said they could find what was wrong and it would be 250.00 to put in another one. Then I went to my mechanic and asked if he could check it, which he did and couldn’t find any fuses blown. I want to keep my CD/tape player because it hold six CD’s and they don’t make them anymore and I still have tapes I want to play. Any ideas?
I fail to see how the jump start could have damaged the CD/Tape player if it didn’t damage anything else.
And even if it did, how could you possibly “prove” it.
I think it’s a coincidence, but I’d double check all the fuses just to be sure.
Jumpstarting a car can involve sparks at the the terminals, which, as you know, cause voltage surges that can be hazardous to sensitive electronics. I have never seen a tape player be the most sensitive component and get damaged, but it certainly sounds like that is what happened here.
I have seen tape players with fuses on the inside, so I would pull the unit and peek inside before giving up on it. I would probably not even try a repair shop because the minimum repair charge will be more than the unit is worth.
Do you have access to a computer with audio inputs (e.g. Sony VAIO) that will convert your tapes to MP3s and save them to CD or to your MP3 player? That would be the cleanest solution, though it would be time consuming. If you have good software, you might even take out some of the ‘old tape’ noise, and make them sound crisper.
It’s very possible…however proving it will be impossible unless other components such as your vehicle computer or other electronic component are found to be fried. Consider yourself lucky.