Need Help With Cd Changer

[piasc400]

I just bought a 93 SC400 in great condition. I have had some problems with the CD changer giving frequent "ERR" messages. Often a CD will get stuck in the changer. Thru trial and error I have been able to extract stuck CD's but now in the process of replacing the cartridge it has now become stuck and will not raise. It is not due to a CD being between the case and the player. I can get the changer to cycle thru some of the functions but nothing will now raise the cartridge to be removed.

What are my options for getting this fixed?

Is is possible to get a newer changer?

I have read some other posts and perhaps I am looing in the wrong FAQ section but it does not seem to have information about the changer or aftermarket options.

Any help would be appreciated.

[SKperformance]

best bet is to have it removed

get an electironic repair place look at it and clean it

as 90% of machine break downs are caused by foreign materials

like dust and dirt

it also may be the belt popped off for the motor

i think the changer is a 10 disc sony i am not too sure though

[Marty Witt]

When I bought my 95, I knew that the CD changer didn't work. Yours is doing the exact same thing mine did. The cartridge was jammed and would not come out. I removed the entire unit and sent it to:

Elliot Electronics

701 W. Edmond Road

Edmond, OK 73003

Phone 405-330-4255

Ken of Elliot Electronics got it working great. Unfortunately, in addition to the cartridge problem, mine also needed a new laser and other parts. Cost was $300.00 even. Depending on the repair, yours can run from $90 to $300 max I am told.

To remove the unit, you need to pull off the carpeting on the right side. To do this, you need to remove a few of the plastic fittings in the rear carpet as well as the front carpet. After that it is pretty simple. 3 10mm bolts and 1 10mm nut need to be removed and the unit will come out. Unplug it and send the entire unit, cartridge and all for repair.

Good luck.

Marty

[piasc400]

thanks for the replies

I removed the unit from the trunk. I also discovered that there is a popout window on the side of the unit that exposes some gears. If you turn those gears with your finger the cartridge will lift. If I have more problems I will most likely send the unit off for repair.

The most common problem I have with the unit is that some CDs will not load. This seems to have some relationship to the label because it does not seem to matter whether the CD was CD-R or was store bought.

Someday I would like to buy an adaptor cable that will enable using a MP3 player and forget the CD's altogether.

[K9crew]

Marty,

Did your changer "skip" a lot as well before you sent it out? If so, did Ken fix that problem too? When I bought my '95 the seller told me that the changer didn't work (ERR messages displayed) so I bought a used changer on eBay for $200. It works well except that it skips fairly regularly. I remember a pioneer changer that I had years ago that had oil-filled vibration dampers in it. I also remember something about the oil "gelling" over time reducing the effectiveness of the dampers.

:)

[Marty Witt]

The CD player didn't work at all when I bought the car, so I don't know if it skipped or not. After repair, it only skips on rough roads.

Marty

[piasc400]

I also used a head cleaner cd in mine and it seemed to help slightly with the skips (either that are I am learning how to avoid bumps in the road better)

[K9crew]

I have two changers at the moment. The original one that causes the ERR message to be displayed and the one that I bought on eBay. The 12-disc changers are made by Pioneer (I think) so I'm fairly confident that they have oil-filled dampers or something similar. I did notice that CDR's skip less than "real" CD's which is counter intuitive since CDR's are less reflective. Anyway, I plan on disassembling the original changer to see what's going on inside. I may be able to scavenge some parts or at least determine why the other changer skips so much. I remember a trick that involved sucking out the old oil and injecting new oil in the dampers ... I'll try to find the exact process.

:)

[LeXuS*SC]

sometimes the old ones mess up **** happens but u dont have to spend 300 bucks to fix it, you can get the whole Cd changer used for about 150 if u g to a good junk yard so dont listen to that moron

and they usualy mess up on burned cd's too so dont trip on it because its old

[Marty Witt]

When you say moron, I hope your not talking about me because besides not being nice, your also wrong. The guy that repaired mine said that about half of the units he repairs are from scavenged cars and E-Bay. So, buyer beware. You get what you pay for. P.S. if your going to call people names that are just trying to help other people, I suggest you stay off of this site.