6-disc Cd Changer In Trunk Won't Play When Cold

[Draco91185]

I have a 1993 ES300 with a 6-disc CD changer in the trunk. It works fine, but on chilly mornings or on days when it's 50-ish or lower it won't play. The readout will list the disc and track, as if it's trying to play, then a few minutes later it'll give up and say "Err". Once the inside of the car warms up a bit, it'll start playing again though. What is wrong with it that causes it not to play when chilly, and is there any easy way to fix it without buying a new CD player for the dash? Thanks!

[dcfish]

I have a 1993 ES300 with a 6-disc CD changer in the trunk. It works fine, but on chilly mornings or on days when it's 50-ish or lower it won't play. The readout will list the disc and track, as if it's trying to play, then a few minutes later it'll give up and say "Err". Once the inside of the car warms up a bit, it'll start playing again though. What is wrong with it that causes it not to play when chilly, and is there any easy way to fix it without buying a new CD player for the dash? Thanks!

The changer is probably dirty after 16 years. ;)

[Lexucan]

I have a 1993 ES300 with a 6-disc CD changer in the trunk. It works fine, but on chilly mornings or on days when it's 50-ish or lower it won't play. The readout will list the disc and track, as if it's trying to play, then a few minutes later it'll give up and say "Err". Once the inside of the car warms up a bit, it'll start playing again though. What is wrong with it that causes it not to play when chilly, and is there any easy way to fix it without buying a new CD player for the dash? Thanks!

I've found exactly the same thing with my CD changer. During the summer it plays without a problem, but when the cold weather sets in, it often has a problem reading CDs. What I do when it shows the "ERR" message is keep switching from one CD to the next until it finds one it can read. I let it play that one for 5 minutes or so to "warm up" the internal mechanisms of the changer. After that I can usually play any of the discs in the changer without a problem. And maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I don't even try to play a CD in very cold weather when the car is stone cold. I think trying to play a CD when the player is very cold could put extra wear and tear on the internal motor and mechanisms. I always wait until the car is completely warmed up inside before attempting to use the CD changer. I sometimes open the little pass-thru door behind the back seat armrest so warm air can get into the trunk and raise the temperature before I try to play a CD in cold weather conditions. Or, I just listen to the radio instead. And as dcfish said, if your changer is dirty, that doesn't help matters either. I use a CD cleaning disc to clean the laser head every once in a while, but I've found in cold weather that the changer can still have a problem. This may be why the changer was moved to the glove box in later models.

One other note: I've also found that CD-Rs usually present more problems for the changer than do regular store-bought music CDs, so if all the discs in your changer are CD-Rs try putting a few regular CDs in it and see if that makes a difference.

[kingjack133]

i heard that lexucan once jammed an old shoe into the cd player expecting to hear soul music but all it did was make his doggy heel and his wife beg!!

[Lexucan]

i heard that lexucan once jammed an old shoe into the cd player expecting to hear soul music but all it did was make his doggy heel and his wife beg!!

LOL...yeah, and that was the same old shoe I lost a while ago...