Pioneer PD-5010 not reading disk

[FinnJ]

I picked up this absolute beast of a CDP at a local Goodwill the other day and the tray mech works great, everything looks really clean. The laser head moves like it should but the disk doesn't spin at all.

Sometimes when I turn it off with a disk in it the motor will spin a little so I think that works? I'm not sure what my issue is here, I know I can't find these lasers new anymore so if I'm sol then so be it but any help would be appreciated!

 

[swechsler]

The laser shouldn't come into play until the motor is up to speed. I'm assuming - unless they're using the laser to determine if a disk is in the tray to begin with, but most players whose internals I've seen spin the disc up first.

 

[FinnJ]

When I press play without a disc in I can see the laser move up and down a couple times, presumably trying to check for the disk or put the laser in focus to read a disc. But it does that and then nothing else happens.

 

[swechsler]

If you can access the laser you can use a mirror, or maybe a piece of white paper held above it, to see if it's lighting up. It doesn't put out much light, so you'll want to do it in a dark room.

 

[FinnJ]

I'll give that a shot, I can tell that it is lighting up but it might be misaligned? I'm not too familiar with how those systems work.

 

[Shrugg]

The laser is probably not "parked" in the correct location to read the CD. I used to own one of these CD players, and they use a rubber belt between a motor and a worm gear to move the laser assembly. This belt tends to go bad, and the laser will have trouble moving as a result. The belt can be replaced by removing the mechanism, it should be visible on the bottom. If the laser appears to have some space between the motor and the assembly, you can try spinning the pulley attached to the worm gear, moving the laser assembly inward until it stops moving. If the CD then reads, then the belt probably needs to be replaced.