CD Player Ocassionally Can't Lock on Track

[DreadPirate]

Just got my very minty Kyocera cd deck (DA-301CX) from an eBay purchase with an undisclosed defect (surprise!). That's what I get for buying on looks, truly a very attractive piece.

It plays fine straight through, but when I try to jump from track to track either forward or backward, it can't lock onto the next track about 1/4 of the time. The track number is displayed, but the countdown display stays blank (a series of dashes across it) and no sound. It either does not play at all or every now and then it will begin to play after a long delay with the track number displayed, but the countdown does not start up. When it does this, it begins to play from a spot inside the track, rather than from the beginning. Now, if I jump forward, then back again, it does lock in. It appears to play both CD-R and factory CDs in this way.

Is this most likely a cleaning/lubrication issue? Can I rule out any problems with the laser or other unfixable problem? When you put a disc in and play it straight through, it appears to work without any problems, it goes from track to track smoothly (albeit it with a 4 second delay in between tracks, as designed).

The tray mechanism clearly needs cleaning, as you have to help it open and closed or it does not move.

[DreadPirate]

So I open her up for an inspection. First off, whats inside:

DAC: BB PCM54HP
Optical Assy: KSS-152A
Rubycon caps
Motors: pickup sled and tray drive: RF-510T; spindle drive: RF-310T-1?? Mabuchi
The tray is belt driven and is clearly dry and slipping.

The lens looked clean, but I went ahead and dabbed it down with 99% Iso, also air cleaned the mirror. The assy slides smoothly across the two sled bars.

I connected/disconnected all connectors.

Still, same problem. Seems to always be able to read the startup information (number of tracks, total time), but still occassionally cannot lock on a track when FF or Rev.

It has been suggested to possibly adjust the E-F. Is this advisable? Here is a photo of the pots available.

Any idea how I can get to that belt? There is a screw with suspension on the far end of the transport, but I can't seem to guess how to take her out. The face of the tray appears to be permanently mounted.

[Conrad Hoffman]

I don't know if it's similar to my Kyocera 710cx (or whatever the exact number is), but the electronic alignment procedure is a bit involved, and I found it quite fussy. When correctly aligned, and that included the E-F biz, the deck worked great most of the time. If the alignment was off, it didn't track well, and the alignment did tend to shift a bit over time. It did, however, tend to skip for no good reason. At first I thought this was due to stiff wires going to the head, but I think it finally turned out to be a tiny burr on something related to the gear or rack for driving the head. Still, tracking wasn't this decks strong point, but sound quality was. I'm not sure if my brand new Marantz is its equal or not.

[Derekva]

You've probably chucked out the old CD player by now, but here's instructions for you:

To remove the tray, you need to remove the faceplate. The two front suspension items (brass w/ rubber bumpers) are mounted in the bottom of the faceplate. I just had to swap tray / transports last night from my DA-410cx to my new DA-510cx (with SP/DIF) because the belt was shot on the DA-510cx.

To remove the belt, you need to remove the main cam gear from the underside of the tray that opens & closes the tray (plus activates the reed switches for closed & opened). Not that big of a deal, but I'm not sure where to find a spare. I guess I'll have to remove the old one, measure it, and replace it.

-D

[Bhu108]

I just got a Kyocera DA-310cx that the CD tray stick open, closed and sometime it doesn't open all the way. I put some light oil on the "slide" and the gear that operates the CD tray (drawer) using an oil pen.. I got the tray to open and close repeatedly but if I wait awhile even a couple of minutes it forgets and sticks. Is It a belt problem? if so where can I get a belt? Is it a big job to replacing the belt?
Thanks:
smash: