What To Do When Your Victrola Record Player Wont Turn On [4 Simple Troubleshooting Tips]

Oh, dear! Is your Victrola on the fritz? Are you in a spot where your Victrola record player wont turn on? Want some helpful tips and tricks on what to check and how to get it up and running again? Then onwards we gallop!

Table of Contents

• 1. The Plug
• 2. Dead Power
• 3. Fuse
  • Inspecting for Breakage
  • Inspecting for Voltage
• 4. Motor
  • Checking the Motor
• A Word of Advice
• Final Tones
• FAQs Victrola Record Player Wont Turn On

1. The Plug

If your Victrola record player isn’t turning on, the chances are that the issue is nothing to worry about. It is incredibly common to panic even if it is only the power switch that is off or the power cord disconnected. In such instances, just plug the power outlet back in and see if the record player is back in action.

If you are still experiencing issues, then perhaps it has more to do with the motor components, something that we will deal with in more detail below. For now, just hold tight and try not to panic, soothing yourself with the fact that record players do indeed need electricity and that you are providing it.

2. Dead Power

Of course, even if you have checked and ensured that the record player is plugged in at the wall outlet, this outlet might not actually be receiving any electricity. This is something that might not be as much of a problem with digital music, but analog technology requires power almost all the time.

Some houses and offices have outlets that are otherwise not receiving any power from the generator overall. In this instance, the record player isn’t going to work no matter how many times you try plugging it out and in again and no matter how closely you adhere to the user manual.

Try following these steps to ensure that this isn’t the problem while also taking care not to electrocute yourself:

1. Check the specific outlet you are using with a voltage tester, though you can also use a night light that you know works well or a small lamp of some kind. If this tester works in the outlet, then there is no issue, but if it doesn’t then it’s clearly not receiving any power.
2. Check the breaker that the outlet is sent to, often wired with the entire wall or whole room at the breaker box. Flip it back on if it has been flipped off by a short circuit.
3. Get your tester and try the outlet again, plugging the Victrola in if it is now working correctly.

3. Fuse

The most popular versions of the Victrola (alongside many, many other electronic products) come with a fuse that protects them from people somehow using the wrong power supply. In the instance that the wrong power supply is used, the fuse will blow instead of frying the whole circuit and destroying the record player (see owner’s manual).

If the fuse of your record player has indeed blown, then there will be a short in the circuit, meaning the power will not flow from the adapter to the power circuit.

Inspecting for Breakage

Before you proceed any further, ensure that you have your user manual on hand, that the record player is on a flat surface and switched off at the wall and unplugged, and that you have the correct type of tool to be working on it with.

1. Locate the fuse on your particular Victrola (here is where the manual will be pretty helpful).
2. Once you have sourced the fuse, unscrew the plastic cover and pull it out. You should be able to look at the fuse inside and see if the filament is broken. You can usually tell that the fuse is broken if there is a whole bunch of darkness on the inside of the glass fuse, even if you can’t necessarily see the filament itself.
3. If you can see that it is broken, then therein lies your issue and you should proceed to replace this fuse.

Inspecting for Voltage

Here, again, you will need the user manual in order to gauge exactly how what voltage the fuse needs – so, take a few seconds and go and find it in its resting position because it will save you a whole heap of trouble.

If you have already checked the fuse and it is not necessarily blown, you can check the voltage by seeing it engraved on the metal contacts at either end of the fuse. If the voltage you see there does not match that recommended in the user manual, then your record player has been fitted with the wrong fuse and you should immediately seek a replacement.

While this isn’t the most common reason for a record player not to work, it is a common problem that is still worthy of note.

4. Motor

Alternatively, it is not uncommon for the issue to reside within the motor. Victrola is, after all, not exactly known for producing record players of esteemed quality like, say, Audio-Technica. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the motors on Victrola record players have been known to burn out, whether because of the belt drive tearing over time or the motor itself growing old and tired.

If your motor has gone bust, then the quickest and cheapest course of action would simply be to get a new one. These record players are rather cheap in the grand scheme of things and chances are that it would cost about as much if not more to have a professional technician to have a look at it. So, unless you have a technician friend who would be willing to have an affordable look at it, the best advice would be to make the connection and get a new one, preferably one that isn’t made by Victrola or Crosley.

Checking the Motor

Unless you have been spinning a whole bunch of heavy records at high speed, then it is unlikely for the motor to have gone out before any of the other parts, though it isn’t unheard of. If you need to check, try using the following instructions:

1. If you have checked everything else listed prior to this, unplug your unit from the wall and sever the electrical connection. Then, unscrew the case where the motor can be found (again, consult the user manual of the Victrola record player for accuracy).
2. Locate the motor among all the cheap parts and inspect it. You are looking to see whether there is any black residue spewing out from the sides. This is burning plastic and if you can see any, then the motor has indeed burned out.
3. If, however, there are no visual cues such as this, don’t count yourself off the hook just yet. Give the motor a good sniff. If you can smell the kind of burning plastic smell that typically accompanies toast left in packaging, then the motor has burned out and you will need to purchase a new record player.

A Word of Advice

Since records are getting more and more expensive, why bother collecting them if you are only going to spin them on a cheap and unworthy piece of kit? Sure, it will be more expensive in the short term, but in the long term your records will last longer and you will thank yourself for having thought ahead a little.

Why not try the reasonably-priced Audio-Technica AT-LP60, a classic starter turntable that many audiophiles still use to this day, never having had to fix them once?

Final Tones

So, there you have it! Hopefully, you are now feeling ready and able to diagnose and rectify your own Victrola record player.

FAQs Victrola Record Player Wont Turn On