Skipping Nakamichi CDC-3A

Jicafold

Jicafold

Active Member
So I have a Nakamichi CDC-3A 6 disc cd changer. It skips sometimes. I took the lens assembly off, cleaned it several times with a q tip and isopropyl alcohol. Cleaned and lubricated the transport rail. Seems to work better, most tracks work fine but it still skips. What else is there? Thank you.
 
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Looks like it my own doing. Disc goes in clean and comes out with spots. Might be too much oil on the transport rail. The discs face with the playing side up.
 
I wish you better luck than I had.

Mine would skip/stall at around 8-10 min in, but play fine before and after that. I was sure it would be debris stuck on the rail, and tried many times to clean it, including moving the head to the extremes to expose all the rail, but it never changed, although every once in a while it would play through the 8-10 min spot. And the rail looked pristine and was smooth and slick to the touch everywhere.

My unit had laid unused for several years by the previous owner, and perhaps that was part of the problem. I probably never used it long enough to know if more extensive use would help it. But yes, clean up any excess oil you can find. It should not be spitting any on the CD.
 
let me guess, PWY-1009 laser? Got a Pioneer PD-M910 with the same problem, and the tech that looked at it said I need a new laser assembly because something won't hold adjustment. This is after buying a cheap PD-Msomething because when I found the 910 in the thrift store it didn't play and the laser lens was missing and not to be found. Supposedly a great unit but the lasers seem to be problematic.
 
Yes, That is the laser but I'm not sure that is the problem. It appears it is skipping because the disc player deposits dots onto the disc. I put in a clean unmarked disc, it plays several tracks, then starts skipping. Never skips at the same spot. I remove the disc and it has around a 10 or so spots or smudges on it. They are all circular and about 4mm in diameter random across the disc surface. I've wiped, dried the transport mechanism, cleaned every tray in the 6 disc changer with warm soapy water and dried it. No change. I photographed a couple that happen to be near the disc edge but they are everywhere. Where do these marks come from?

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I have noticed some oil dropping on my Pioneer PD-M910... it did that on one disc.

Same one I mentioned above. Another AKer sent me a "new" laser that didn't work but when I put the old one in it started playing... sort of. After 3-4 discs I noticed what sounds like the same spotting you mention.

I have only recently got it working so I haven't got a solution yet, but I did notice some thin grease on the laser assembly and wonder if that is the culprit (oil separating out from grease and dripping onto the disc that's playing.)
 
I thought it may be dripping as well, but it cant drip forever can it? It's been about 2 weeks and no improvement after cleaning the transport rail with a dry q tip and drying whatever else I can reach with a dry cotton cloth.

My 6 disc cartridge says "Onkyo" for whatever that matters. Cartridge seems to work fine.
 
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That is odd. From what I could tell on the photos, I wonder if it may not be simply "drops", but something actually flung by the spinning motion (note that each spot is composed of an array of streaks). I do realize these areas are circular, which may indicate that they landed on the disc as an intact drop and then that was spun out to form what is seen, but maybe it starts from something that is spinning, such as the main motor spindle and anything on the "back" of the flange that actually spins the disc, as these are all located above the disc surface. As far as I know, these are the only things actually spinning that are also physically above the disc. Were you able to "dry" these areas?
 
Solved. There are small round felt pads not only in the 6 disc cartridge trays but also in the transport mechanism. I had cleaned the cartridge without luck. So I cleaned off all the felt pads that guide the disc from the cartridge into the playing position with q tips and rubbing alcohol. No more marks on the disc and no more skipping!
 
Solved also.Thanks for the info Jicafold and thanks to my friend Mirh for pointing me to this post
Mine was acting up on track 3 and 4 ....took me a bit to find the tiny pads...cleaned and all good now
 
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