Technics SL-P230 outputs finicky and takes 10-15 minutes to load when cold

[daejaephonic]

I just bought this Technics cd player and it had a few issues that I was hoping some pros here would have an idea what's going on.

One the left channel is very finicky to make a connection. I tried to sets of RCA cables and there's no difference. It's just the left channel that's spotty. I can pull the cable out of the spotty connection side until it's practically out of the socket and just barely making contact with the metal inside. If I don't touch anything so it actually works. Any ideas how this can be fixed so I don't have to play around with the rca every few plays?

Secondly when I first got it, it was winter and much colder in my house in the morning. I noticed that it took the cd player a while for it to actually read the cd just displaying all zeros on the display - 0:00. It would just spin for 10+ minutes. After the heat was turned on in the house, the cd would eventually work. Now that summer is here I haven't had this issue but I expect it to go back to how it was earlier. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be from?

Thanks for reading!

 

[KeithD]

I just bought this Technics cd player and it had a few issues that I was hoping some pros here would have an idea what's going on.

One the left channel is very finicky to make a connection. I tried to sets of RCA cables and there's no difference. It's just the left channel that's spotty. I can pull the cable out of the spotty connection side until it's practically out of the socket and just barely making contact with the metal inside. If I don't touch anything so it actually works. Any ideas how this can be fixed so I don't have to play around with the rca every few plays?

Secondly when I first got it, it was winter and much colder in my house in the morning. I noticed that it took the cd player a while for it to actually read the cd just displaying all zeros on the display - 0:00. It would just spin for 10+ minutes. After the heat was turned on in the house, the cd would eventually work. Now that summer is here I haven't had this issue but I expect it to go back to how it was earlier. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be from?

Thanks for reading!

Are the RCA jacks soldered directly to the PCB inside the unit? If so, you could have a cracked solder joint on the left channel connector. Fix would be to remove the solder and put new solder in, or at least reflow the solder.

Does the laser mechanism work on a screw drive to move the laser back and forth? If so, might have old grease/lubricant that has dried out and grown stiff. As temp increases, it might become "fluid" enough to allow the laser to move to find the TOC on the disc. If it's a screw drive, give it a good cleaning and put new grease/lubricant on.

 

[curtisw99]

Secondly when I first got it, it was winter and much colder in my house in the morning. I noticed that it took the cd player a while for it to actually read the cd just displaying all zeros on the display - 0:00. It would just spin for 10+ minutes. After the heat was turned on in the house, the cd would eventually work. Now that summer is here I haven't had this issue but I expect it to go back to how it was earlier. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be from?

Sounds like the old grease in the transport softens as it warms up.

Probably needs a deep clean. Any brown/amber grease, clean it out and use a modern silicone grease.

 

[daejaephonic]

Thanks for the replies @curtisw99 and @KeithD

I didn't have any issues over the summer but now that it's getting colder, I see the cd player often spins very rapidly again and doesn't play for maybe 10 or 15 minutes after powering the cd player up. One other thing to note, that often when this happens the sound gets very muffled like a low bit rate sounding recording. Eventually everything plays as normal. So because of this I'm gonna try to fix it myself finally!


So is the spot I'm pointing to where I should clean and then reapply new grease? The only thing I have is a Park Tool silicone grease but I don't think that's the right thing to use. Other sources say use something like Super Lube which is good to use on plastics.




@KeithD - here are the RCA jacks. I don't know how to tinker with electronics super well so am unsure if the RCAs are soldered directly to the PCB unit.

 

[KeithD]

Thanks for the replies @curtisw99 and @KeithD

I didn't have any issues over the summer but now that it's getting colder, I see the cd player often spins very rapidly again and doesn't play for maybe 10 or 15 minutes after powering the cd player up. One other thing to note, that often when this happens the sound gets very muffled like a low bit rate sounding recording. Eventually everything plays as normal. So because of this I'm gonna try to fix it myself finally!


So is the spot I'm pointing to where I should clean and then reapply new grease? The only thing I have is a Park Tool silicone grease but I don't think that's the right thing to use. Other sources say use something like Super Lube which is good to use on plastics.

View attachment 3863924


@KeithD - here are the RCA jacks. I don't know how to tinker with electronics super well so am unsure if the RCAs are soldered directly to the PCB unit.
View attachment 3863923

If the pickup sled moves freely, you probably don't need to re-lube it.

All those components on the board are soldered underneath, so you'd need to access the underside of the board to check the joint. If you have the schematic, you can see what component the +/- of each jack is connected to (- should be ground), and check for continuity with a multi-meter.