i have two almost identical samsung vcr's with the same fault when you press the power button it lights up for about 3 seconds then switches off the only thing i could think of is our little boy has a habit of switching stuff on and off could this have tripped something out?
We had problem once with our remote control, where Coke was spilt on it. One of the buttons was stuck down, causing it to intermittently switch the hi-fi off. Try cleaning the inside of the unit. Just a thought.