Accuphase DP60 issue: CD tray doesn't open

[bennybee]

Hi all,
Last night my DP60 suddenly started acting up: I seemed to notice that the speed of closing the tray was higher than usual after removing the CD. Now the machine refuses to open the tray altogether : I essentially now have a dead player. My first thought was a broken belt, but upon opening the player everything looks fine and clean as new. It seems like a few gentle taps with the handle of a screwdriver on the motor in the back will open the CD tray, but it could be a coincidence. I'm talking about the motor that lifts and lowers the disc pressure arm.
Could the motor be the culprit? Or is there an electronic problem (hence the high closing speed of the tray)? Or a slipping belt perhaps?
There is no longer an importer in Belgium, so if I can't pinpoint the problem and repair it easily myself i may have to drive all the way up to Holland or Germany.
Any ideas what could be wrong please? Thanks!

 

[bennybee]

After realising that there was nothing obvious that I could do I somewhat gave up on it and closed the player again this morning. Put it back in the rack and tried again : nothing.
Then after gently tapping and trying to move the front of the CD tray it suddenly opened and closed a few times at normal speed. After that it stopped reacting again. Strange!

 

[quaddriver]

there are limit switches in there that gum up, time to take it apart - I mean REALLY take it apart, and clean it. IF that fails, invest in a small crowbar

 

[bennybee]

Thanks. Will look into that (the switches - not the crowbar... yet).
It seems to work right now, but it could refuse to open tomorrow morning again. Gummed up lithium grease on the gears? Ageing capacitor with irregular charge? Slipping belt? Dead spots in arm lift motor? IC or driver module acting up?
I lost confidence in the unit. Sad for such a nicely built machine.

 

[rickl]

my guess the rails are gummed up. I recently had a sony cpd-102 with similar problems. I had to clean the metal rails twice to get it working. belt was fine. clean and re-grease.

 

[bennybee]

Thanks Rick. The rails were clean and the whole interior looks like new. I couldn't see any deposits anywhere, nor any wear. Maybe I will need to wipe and relube those rails anyway. What is the recommended lube for this?
Meanwhile the issue didn't reoccur and seems to have been a temporary glitch. But why?

 

[rickl]

I don't recall where (digital?) someone recommended light 3in1 oil or ATF. I used 3in1 oil for motors (blue can). Note this is not grease but oil.

Seems to work well on my cdp-102.

 

[Bob]

the unit is about 30 YO and needs a going-over. find and download a servicemanual.
follow instructions for "tuning" their mechanism etc.

DO NOT touch/modify/adjust/etc ANY electrical/electronic/mechanical controls.
unless you have the tools, have done this before, and know exactly what you are
doing.

above suggestions are a start. needs cleaning, inspect all mechanicals and watch them
and record everything (in case something gets messed up and you need to show what
happened and not rely on memory).

this machine should survive another 30 years. I have older machines that still work.

 

[bobschneider]

As with most (not all) Accuphase gear, the service manual for the DP-60 isn't available on line - Accuphase guards those pretty closely. If anyone has a copy, I've love to have one too, since I have a DP-60 myself (working fine, cross my fingers).

That unit uses a Sony CD drive. The same drive (with a KSS-190A laser) is used by other Accuphase CD players of the same era (DP-70V, DP-11, DP-80L), as well as several high end Sony decks (CDP-337ESD, CDP-557ESD, CDP-707ESD). Your best best is probably to try to find a Sony service manual (usually available for free download online), and see if that gives directions on how to unstick the drive.

 

[Oldgezzer]

Explain how to open the Accuphase CD player. That is take off the top plate.

Hi all,
Last night my DP60 suddenly started acting up: I seemed to notice that the speed of closing the tray was higher than usual after removing the CD. Now the machine refuses to open the tray altogether : I essentially now have a dead player. My first thought was a broken belt, but upon opening the player everything looks fine and clean as new. It seems like a few gentle taps with the handle of a screwdriver on the motor in the back will open the CD tray, but it could be a coincidence. I'm talking about the motor that lifts and lowers the disc pressure arm.
Could the motor be the culprit? Or is there an electronic problem (hence the high closing speed of the tray)? Or a slipping belt perhaps?
There is no longer an importer in Belgium, so if I can't pinpoint the problem and repair it easily myself i may have to drive all the way up to Holland or Germany.
Any ideas what could be wrong please? Thanks!

 

[Oldgezzer]

Explain how to remove the to plate of the Accuphase CD player. Old gezzer