Troubleshooting CD Players

I am working on a Kenwood dp x9010 transport. The unit does not start to play. What i checked:

No disc in the player:
- on power the laser head moves towards the center (linear motor) and the lens moves up and down. I can see a faint red light in the lens (looking form the side)

With disc in the player:
- Disc start to spin for 1-2 seconds.
- TOC is displayed (for this player this means that the number of tracks on the CD is displayed)
- If i press the play button is see that the laser head bounces very fast from center position to maximum position and back again (you hear the head slamming against the buffers)
- The player stops and displays the amount of tracks on the CD again.

So the laser seems to be Ok. I can also play a disc in a test mode and i can verify the RF signal. The laser head is comparable to a Sony KSS152A

I already checked some voltages and not all are ok on the Servo board. I checked all transistors on the servo board and they seem to be ok. I replaced the 4558 pampas with new ons but that did not help to solve the issue. Could it be that the Sony CXA1244 servo IC is defect?
 
I have a Sony D-5 that was my first CD player back in 1985. My recollection is that by about 1990 it was skipping, sticking, would barely play, etc,. and not knowing then how to fix it I put it away until very recently.

I dug it out last summer really out of nostalgia as much as anything and fired it up and it barely played about a half a CD and then quit. I figured I'd clean the sled rails, etc., but then got sidetracked again.

So then when I went the other day to get it out and work on it I inadvertently plugged in a 12V power supply, and now it's completely dead. I'm guessing I know the answer to this before I ask, but with that kind of history is there a remote chance this is now repairable, or with an early portable being supplied the wrong voltage should I just toss it and move on?

Thanks!
 
Hi guys,
I have Marantz CC65 5 disc changer that all the sudden stopped reading discs. It goes through all 5 and shows no disc.
I see lens go up and down for every disc position and red blink only visible in complete dark room. Discs are not spinning. I tested all 3 micro switches that limit carousel and transport travel. Cleaned 2 leaf switch underneath the lens drive. It was showing resistance and after cleaning - solid continuity when engaged. Cleaned upper lens with Q-tip. After that was done, it seems that carousel stops a bit longer on the position that has disc inserted but still won't read. Any suggestions?
 
Discs not spinning are covered in post #1.

I have a question for those who did laser adjustments:

Where/how do you measure the RF wave? The procedure is refered many times but never seen a post showing where to measure. Usually the CD mechanism is inside the unit and units usually need to be assembled to be functional, making the board not accesible.
 
I am working on a Kenwood dp x9010 transport. The unit does not start to play. What i checked:

No disc in the player:
- on power the laser head moves towards the center (linear motor) and the lens moves up and down. I can see a faint red light in the lens (looking form the side)

With disc in the player:
- Disc start to spin for 1-2 seconds.
- TOC is displayed (for this player this means that the number of tracks on the CD is displayed)
- If i press the play button is see that the laser head bounces very fast from center position to maximum position and back again (you hear the head slamming against the buffers)
- The player stops and displays the amount of tracks on the CD again.

So the laser seems to be Ok. I can also play a disc in a test mode and i can verify the RF signal. The laser head is comparable to a Sony KSS152A

I already checked some voltages and not all are ok on the Servo board. I checked all transistors on the servo board and they seem to be ok. I replaced the 4558 pampas with new ons but that did not help to solve the issue. Could it be that the Sony CXA1244 servo IC is defect?
Did you perform the adjustments?
 
I have a Sony D-5 that was my first CD player back in 1985. My recollection is that by about 1990 it was skipping, sticking, would barely play, etc,. and not knowing then how to fix it I put it away until svery recently.

I dug it out last summer really out of nostalgia as much as anything and fired it up and it barely played about a half a CD and then quit. I figured I'd clean the sled rails, etc., but then got sidetracked again.

So then when I went the other day to get it out and work on it I inadvertently plugged in a 12V power supply, and now it's completely dead. I'm guessing I know the answer to this before I ask, but with that kind of history is there a remote chance this is now repairable, or with an early portable being supplied the wrong voltage should I just toss it and move on?

Thanks!
Common problems with the Discman players: Sand in the gears from taking it to the beach, cracked gears, broken plastic pieces on the disc table making the CD wobble. Any of those could have been fixed pretty easily. Now you went and damaged the internal power supply circuitry, which in Sony players is VERY complicated, sometimes using proprietary ICs that are no longer available. If you are knowledgeable about electronics you can troubleshoot the supplies and fix it. It is possible a fuse is blown. They are called ICP (IC Protector) and look like a surface mount transistor. Oh, yeah, you have to be able to de-solder and solder smt components. Trash it.
 
Discs not spinning are covered in post #1.

I have a question for those who did laser adjustments:

Where/how do you measure the RF wave? The procedure is refered many times but never seen a post showing where to measure. Usually the CD mechanism is inside the unit and units usually need to be assembled to be functional, making the board not accesible.
There is a testpoint called RF. The service manual shows the location and the correct waveform. Usually 1V P-P to 1.5V P-P. When the board is underneath you have to solder 28 - 30 AWG wires to the test points. I never said it was easy...
 
Hi, l have an old Yamaha CDX-1030 that l really like. It has recently started skipping but only after it has been playing for approx 1-2 hours, it seems room temperature may also be playing a role as it seems worse with higher temperatures.

I had it apart approx 2-3 years ago and cleaned everything, lubricated sled rails and fitted a new drawer belt etc. Does this sound like a failing laser problem or possibly a power supply/cold soldered joint issue. If the laser was at fault would it more likely skip at any time including shortly after powering on and colder temperatures?
 
Hi, l have an old Yamaha CDX-1030 that l really like. It has recently started skipping but only after it has been playing for approx 1-2 hours, it seems room temperature may also be playing a role as it seems worse with higher temperatures.

I had it apart approx 2-3 years ago and cleaned everything, lubricated sled rails and fitted a new drawer belt etc. Does this sound like a failing laser problem or possibly a power supply/cold soldered joint issue. If the laser was at fault would it more likely skip at any time including shortly after powering on and colder temperatures?
Usually when the laser is failing, the power drops off as it plays, so it is possible that the laser is failing. Try cleaning the rails and lubing them first, since you seem to have a dog by your avatar. Pet dander and hair causes the rails to need cleaning more often. Also oil the disc motor. Some Yamaha players have a belt on the sled motor, check that also. Then perform the adjustments. If this doesn't fix it, the laser is going bad. Of course if you have an oscilloscope you can check the rf signal. If it isn't at least 1V P-P, the laser is bad.
 
Thanks dr audio, l really appreciate your reply.

Try cleaning the rails and lubing them first, since you seem to have a dog by your avatar. Pet dander and hair causes the rails to need cleaning more often.

No animals have been near the cd player as the girl in my avatar passed a few years back. I will start by giving them another cleaning and lube though.

Also oil the disc motor.

I am fairly sure l did this a couple of years back also but l will def make sure of this.

Then perform the adjustments.

When you say adjustments, are there some mechanical adjustments or are you referring to the electrical adjustments as outlined in the service manual, l don't have the equipment for the latter. Unfortunately l don't have a scope just mm.
 
Thanks dr audio, l really appreciate your reply.



No animals have been near the cd player as the girl in my avatar passed a few years back. I will start by giving them another cleaning and lube though.



I am fairly sure l did this a couple of years back also but l will def make sure of this.



When you say adjustments, are there some mechanical adjustments or are you referring to the electrical adjustments as outlined in the service manual, l don't have the equipment for the latter. Unfortunately l don't have a scope just mm.
Do not do the mechanical adjustments. I meant the electrical adjustments. You need a scope to do them. If the lubrication doesn't work you will have to take it to a reliable tech.
 
I meant the electrical adjustments. You need a scope to do them

I suspected as much, l appreciate your time dr_audio. Yes l might find someone that specialises in these, l do many amps, receivers, speakers, turntables etc but have extremely limited experience with cd players :).
 
Hi. I bought a Cambridge Audio D300se used and the seller shipped it with just cellophane around it. When I tested it, it couldn't read any discs. The discs spin for a while then the display shows "disc" and that's it, no TOC, no reaction at any button pressing.
I removed the cover and tried to follow the troubleshooting of the first post here.
With no disc, the laser unit moves a few mm away from the motor and immediately slides back where it was.
The motor rises in place and the lens pops up three times then stops. I can see a faint red light in the lens (which was clean but I cleaned it anyway).
I also oiled the clamp hole and the motor spindle.
With a disc in, I can see the disc start spinning for a few seconds, then the motor stops (the display goes from "00" to "disc") and disc goes to a halt after several additional seconds. The magnetic clamp appears to be ok, no strange noise, does not seem to scratch.
The laser assembly sled seemed clean but I cleansed the rails with q-tip and alcohol then lubed with machine oil.
I moved the assembly away from the motor by rotating the big gear very slowly. When I turned the CD on again the laser went back near the motor.
Nothing changed. Same behavior as when I first turned the unit on.
I paid 50 euro for it, so I took the courage and I dismantled the cd mechanism and disconnected the three ribbons hooked on the board to inspect it. My untrained eye was not able to find anything that was apparently wrong.
But when I put it all back again and tried to load a cd, the disc did not start spinning anymore. I just didn't put the 4 screws back - the once who lock the mechanism to the chassis - so I could keep experimenting:
that's when I thought about playing with a white plastic screw right in the side of the later. I rotated it slightly clockwise, the disc wouldn't spin anymore and I heard a few clicks maybe from the laser. If I rotated it ccw it appeared to get the motor to spin faster but no readings anyway.
In brief: it seems like by rotating the screw cw by small amounts the cd finds increasingly difficult to start spinning; the more I rotate the screw ccw, the easier the disc starts spinning but also faster and faster (too fast at a certain point, you start hearing awful vibration noise). I had put a mark on the screw to rotate it back where it was but in that position the disc wouldn't spin and I just heard the clicks. I had to rotate the screw a few degrees ccw to achieve the same initial behavior.
Any further suggestions?
Thanks!
 
Hi. I bought a Cambridge Audio D300se used and the seller shipped it with just cellophane around it. When I tested it, it couldn't read any discs. The discs spin for a while then the display shows "disc" and that's it, no TOC, no reaction at any button pressing.
I removed the cover and tried to follow the troubleshooting of the first post here.
With no disc, the laser unit moves a few mm away from the motor and immediately slides back where it was.
The motor rises in place and the lens pops up three times then stops. I can see a faint red light in the lens (which was clean but I cleaned it anyway).
I also oiled the clamp hole and the motor spindle.
With a disc in, I can see the disc start spinning for a few seconds, then the motor stops (the display goes from "00" to "disc") and disc goes to a halt after several additional seconds. The magnetic clamp appears to be ok, no strange noise, does not seem to scratch.
The laser assembly sled seemed clean but I cleansed the rails with q-tip and alcohol then lubed with machine oil.
I moved the assembly away from the motor by rotating the big gear very slowly. When I turned the CD on again the laser went back near the motor.
Nothing changed. Same behavior as when I first turned the unit on.
I paid 50 euro for it, so I took the courage and I dismantled the cd mechanism and disconnected the three ribbons hooked on the board to inspect it. My untrained eye was not able to find anything that was apparently wrong.
But when I put it all back again and tried to load a cd, the disc did not start spinning anymore. I just didn't put the 4 screws back - the once who lock the mechanism to the chassis - so I could keep experimenting:
that's when I thought about playing with a white plastic screw right in the side of the later. I rotated it slightly clockwise, the disc wouldn't spin anymore and I heard a few clicks maybe from the laser. If I rotated it ccw it appeared to get the motor to spin faster but no readings anyway.
In brief: it seems like by rotating the screw cw by small amounts the cd finds increasingly difficult to start spinning; the more I rotate the screw ccw, the easier the disc starts spinning but also faster and faster (too fast at a certain point, you start hearing awful vibration noise). I had put a mark on the screw to rotate it back where it was but in that position the disc wouldn't spin and I just heard the clicks. I had to rotate the screw a few degrees ccw to achieve the same initial behavior.
Any further suggestions?
Thanks!
Put the white adjustment control back where it was, that is the laser power adjustment. You need an oscilloscope to troubleshoot this. It is possible that it didn't work before the seller shipped it. Some people lie. If there was no obvious damage to the case, it was probably not damaged from shipping, but you should look carefully at the circuit board and examine it for cracks, especially near the screws and near any heavy components like the transformer.
If you see no damage you need to check the electrical adjustments using an oscilloscope. If you can get the service manual it tells how to make the adjustments. It spins because it is getting enough signal from the laser to detect the CD, but it doesn't read the TOC so it stops. An adjustment may fix this. Don't try adjusting without an oscilloscope.
 
Thank you dr*audio!
No, no apparent damage on the case, nor inside....
If I put the adjustment where it was, the cd would not spin anymore (while it did before I made any attempts).
In the meantime, I observed this, too:
1- After the laser lens pops up three times when I turn the player on, the laser light goes off. Maybe normal....?
2- the laser lens is not fixed, it moves freely in any direction while I clean it, and it returns at the centered position, like it were on suspensions. Right?
3- When the disc starts rotating and while it is going to stop (therefore at a certain rpm), the disc wobbles quite a bit. Actually, it seems the whole laser+motor plate vibrates noticeably before everything stops (the motor spindle is fine, steady). Maybe not normal?
This worsens when I rotate the adjustment screw counterclockwise, which gave to me the impression I was just adjusting speed.... ouch!
 
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You really need an oscilloscope to make the adjustments. You can't tell if the laser power is correct without either a scope or a laser power meter, so leave the power adjustment where it was. It is not normal for the disc to wobble. The motor shaft could be bent or the CD could be warped. try another CD.
 
Oh well, now I see it.... bent motor staff - that's what makes impossible for the player to read anything (I already tried several discs that work fine on a cheap Phillips DVD)!
So, either I find spare parts or I ditch the unit altogether....
Thanks for the help! I've learned useful stuff at least.... among which, don't expect much if you don't pay too much... or even: don't buy CDPs that need to be shipped! ;-)
 
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