Not an uncommon thing; it is usually a sign of a) worn cassette cartrige unit, b) non-standard cassette (cheap ones from foreign countries of strange origin) c) worn mechanism inside the player or d) foreign object stuck in the works!
There are sometimes a reset or release button on the front panel; just a little hole where a sharp pencil or ballpoint pen is used to depress the reset button.
Sometimes the power must be removed from the cassette mechanism in order to release the electrical solenoids inside the set. To do this you must mometarily disconnect one of the main wires feeding the deck; or remove the battery cable from the positive terminal for 30 seconds (when you do this it will require resetting of the clock and all the preset buttons on the radio, etc.)
The "error 13" is an indication of a software code error in the electronic circuits inside the deck. The reset explained above and the disconnecting of the power wire to the deck will reset the error codes, also.
In the worst case there may be some critical failure from inside the electronic circuits that will require an expert - or a new cassette deck.
charla, January 2005
