Problems on the receiver side

[rflemin]

I've had several older (5-8 years) that seem to lose their capacity to receive IR signals. I've tried several different remotes, different batteries, even different brands of remote, etc. Sometimes if I turn the set on manually, it will accept remote commands, sometimes for a little while and sometimes for hours. Is there some kind of battery in the set that may be dead/dying? I opened up two of the troubled sets (and RCA and Thompson, but really the same set with a different "badge") and didn't find anything that looked like a battery. Thanks for any advice.

[The Robman]

If you can find the IR receiver itself (it'll be positioned behind the IR window), make sure that it's not damaged and that it's not bent back out of position.