A Fix For Some Cd-changer Problems

[Sluggo]

I had some luck today with a Pioneer 12-disc changer that had not worked in about 2 years. The problem was that after loading a magazine of discs, the unit would go though the magazine, index the loaded slots, and would often stop at one slot or another and the dash dispay would show "ERR". Or, if it did manage to load a disc and start playing, when I tried to change a disc it would often stop in the process and the display would show "OPEN". Either way, I had to open the changer, hit the reset button, and sometimes I had put a knife blade into the player and scootch a stuck disc back into the magazine.

So I took the changer out and took off everything so I could see the loading mechanism. I wired in a 12V supply and faked the door and magazine switches. I saw how the magazine would push the disc into the pinch rollers, and then the disc would just stop there while the rollers still turned. The unit would then push the disc back into the magazine and retry two more times, then move onto the next slot. Sometimes it would load a disc from a slot, and sometimes it would fail to load the same disc from the same slot.

Figuring the pinch rollers were dried up from time and temp, I used some Vinylex (Lexol's vinyl treatment) to clean the rollers. It took 15 minutes and 6 or 7 cotton swabs before I finally got a swab that came away clean. I added some more Vinylex to the clean rollers and waited a while, then went back and swabbed off the excess. Now when I tried loading discs they loaded every time, from every slot. I tried a couple of different discs, including bare CDR media and commercial CD's with lots of artwork.

So I put it all back together and put it in the car with a full magazine. It worked perfectly. Every slot was read, and changing discs during play worked just fine.

If you're having the same sort of problems I was having, you might give this a try.

Luck -

Sluggo

[TexasComputerMan]

That is a good solution, but my cd-changer is just dead. I read at a different Lexus forum that an ES300, trunk mounted cd-changer is plug compatible for my NAK system.

I found one at a local mom & pop salvage yard and took my sc400 out there and tried the ES300 unit. It is plug compatible and works perfectly. My car is a 1992 SC400. The ES300 unit has to be a pre-1996 unit. This cd changer is only a 6 cd unrt, but that is OK with me. The NAK head unit recognises it and works well. The only problem is how to mount it in the trunk. I will solve that soon and really do not care how it looks in there. (I rarely show people the inside of my trunk)

I am very pleased with this solution. The word is that the ES300 cd-changer is much better designed than the original 12 cd Nak system

TexasComputerMan (Arlington, Texas) :D

[Sluggo]

The word is that the ES300 cd-changer is much better designed than the original 12 cd Nak system

TexasComputerMan (Arlington, Texas) :D

I hear ya. I was at a local car stereo shop yesterday and saw an in-dash all-in-one unit that plays MP3 and Windows Media files. How handy would that be? Put 10 CD's on one disc and eliminate the need for a changer altogether. With a tuner, 4-channel amp, etc .. all for about 140 beans.

Having a working 13-year-old changer is kind of a mixed blessing. I kinda wish it would just stop working altogether so I could upgrade, but it's not exactly in the budget at the moment.

Sluggo

[Dexterkatt]

The word is that the ES300 cd-changer is much better designed than the original 12 cd Nak system

TexasComputerMan (Arlington, Texas) :D

I hear ya. I was at a local car stereo shop yesterday and saw an in-dash all-in-one unit that plays MP3 and Windows Media files. How handy would that be? Put 10 CD's on one disc and eliminate the need for a changer altogether. With a tuner, 4-channel amp, etc .. all for about 140 beans.

Having a working 13-year-old changer is kind of a mixed blessing. I kinda wish it would just stop working altogether so I could upgrade, but it's not exactly in the budget at the moment.

Sluggo

←

I have searched for a complete replacement for the Lexus unit, but no one seems

to have one. What was this unit you saw and was it a direct replacement.

Thanks

[TexasComputerMan]

The word is that the ES300 cd-changer is much better designed than the original 12 cd Nak system

TexasComputerMan (Arlington, Texas) :D

I hear ya. I was at a local car stereo shop yesterday and saw an in-dash all-in-one unit that plays MP3 and Windows Media files. How handy would that be? Put 10 CD's on one disc and eliminate the need for a changer altogether. With a tuner, 4-channel amp, etc .. all for about 140 beans.

Having a working 13-year-old changer is kind of a mixed blessing. I kinda wish it would just stop working altogether so I could upgrade, but it's not exactly in the budget at the moment.

Sluggo

←

I have searched for a complete replacement for the Lexus unit, but no one seems

to have one. What was this unit you saw and was it a direct replacement.

Thanks

←

I am not sure what your question is. (Great grammer!)

If you are asking about the cd-changer, then a 6 cartridge, trunk-mounted unit from an ES300 1996 or earlier is plug compatible. Your NAK head unit will recognise it and allow you to cycle from cd1 through cd6. The sound is excellent. You will need to find a local salvage yard that has an ES300 (1996 or earlier) and go there and plug the cd-changer into your Nak system to prove that it works.

As far as a complete replacement, Head unit/amp/cd-changer. I don't know.

[Sluggo]

The word is that the ES300 cd-changer is much better designed than the original 12 cd Nak system

TexasComputerMan (Arlington, Texas) :D

I hear ya. I was at a local car stereo shop yesterday and saw an in-dash all-in-one unit that plays MP3 and Windows Media files. How handy would that be? Put 10 CD's on one disc and eliminate the need for a changer altogether. With a tuner, 4-channel amp, etc .. all for about 140 beans.

Having a working 13-year-old changer is kind of a mixed blessing. I kinda wish it would just stop working altogether so I could upgrade, but it's not exactly in the budget at the moment.

Sluggo

←

I have searched for a complete replacement for the Lexus unit, but no one seems

to have one. What was this unit you saw and was it a direct replacement.

Thanks

←

If it's me you're asking, the unit I saw happened to be a Pioneer. There are a lot that do this sort of thing ... but I think you're asking about a possible double-DIN drop-in replacement, which this was not. As far as I know, if you want to retain the stock look of the dash, then you're locked into the Lexus factory stuff. I could be wrong about that, though.

My point about the Pioneer unit was not that it would work as a drop-in, but that the concept was a nice one, as it eliminates the need for keeping a 10+ year old changer working. Sorry for any confusion.

sluggo