CT-F1000 - worked great when I got it, actually overpaid for it as it was supposedly well kept and the belts just changed etc....
started not recognizing a tape was in and none of the buttons would work.
If I left a button pushed in tho, eventually it would recognize a tape was there (the microswitch would kick in) and work fine until I powered it off.

Now it does nothing, just sits there staring at me.
Figured it was the microswitches so popped the top to see what was going on -
with the face of the unit away from me, there are 3 switches, one being easily accessed on the far left and the other 2 tucked up a bit into the unit.

If I short out the one on the far left, the fast forward and rewind will work, but not the play button.
I tried jumping the other 2 switches but could not get it to play.
On each of the switches, there are 3 tabs for a wire connection. One on far left just has wires on the two ends, no wire in the middle.
On the other two switches, there are wires on all 3 connections.

I am just insuring this is my problem - to jump the switches, do I just need to short out the two connections on the end or all 3 ? I was thinking all 3 needed to be shorted.....but middle may always be "on" (I did not have meter handy)

Where do you purchase the microswitches ?
Looking at the switch, is just a piece of copper being pushed down to make contact - guessing the copper gets oxidated. Has anyone had any luck using deoxit on this ? (I am out of deoxit at the moment or would have just tried and see what happened).

anything else i should be looking into it when I dive into it - love my tape deck and need to get her back up and running -

I would try deoxit in the switches first. My deck started acting up to where it would stop, disengage the heads, then reingage the heads and start playing again. Deoxit on the switch fixed it and has worked ever since.

I wouldn't short anything without either getting a service manual, or first doing some continuity tests with the power off. The actual switch is inside the black enclosure, the copper part only pushes against a small plastic piece which then activates the enclosed switch.

From memory, the one on the far right tells the deck whether a chrome tape is inserted, this should have no say in whether it moves the transport at all. The one on the far left is the record protect switch, this tells the deck if the record protect tab on the cassette is intact and if so, allows it to go into record mode. There is a small push-style switch located deep down behind the mechanism which starts up the motor. It looks like a little silver rod looking straight out at you near the bottom right of the cassette holder (take out the tape to see it). I'll bet this is your problem area.

i have a manual, will have to go thru it. With the face of the unit away from me, if I jump thise two wires together, fast forward and rewind works.....

got some deoxit (I hate buying it at radio shack) and no luck. Nothing to lose , had some stuff called "Gun Scrubber", a cleaner/degreaser for cleaning guns. Expected it to melt the plastic - worked great. All buttoned up, working fine.
Think I have a new micro switch cleaning aide in my toolbox...

Microswitches usually have some very heavy, thick grease in them, that yields to very few solvents.

The micro switches are about $1 each. Both Digikey and Mouser have them. Why not just replace them? They're direct fits.

they will be replaced - but as i mentioned, figured I had nothing to lose. Now I can still use my deck while waiting for the switches. This way i can just toss them in when i order caps. Going to take me a while to cruise thru all of the switches they have trying to find the replacement anyway

The Digikey part number is SW777-ND. They are made by Omron. The Omron part number is SS-01GL13P.

they will be replaced - but as i mentioned, figured I had nothing to lose. Now I can still use my deck while waiting for the switches. This way i can just toss them in when i order caps. Going to take me a while to cruise thru all of the switches they have trying to find the replacement anyway

Sorry, thought you caught it on the other ct-f1000 thread that is active

about those switches on the ct-f1000, from a previous thread:

Simulated roller microswitch: Digikey SW777-ND

Digikey catalog confirms gold contacts, and are $0.92 in 1-24 quantity.

IIAC: CT-F1000's Service manual confirms uses Simulated roller RSF-021 microswitch: Digikey SW777-ND which has an end shaped like a
little question mark.
The ctf-9191 service manual confirms the "same" microswitch, RSF-017, which according to http://parts.pioneerelectronics.com is
officially subbed by the RSF-021.

The gold contacts are much more reliable over time, they don't carry any real current at all.
---
DigiKey shows 0 available but Mouser has them.
Part Number 653-SS-01GL13PT for the Quick connect terminals
Part Number 653-SS-01GL13PD for Solder Terminals
Which one should I get?
answer: solder terminals
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sorry I missed that - thank you much.Saved me a wholllllleeee lot of searching.