Sony CDP-C215 changer unusable except when front end is lifted

[sridg]

I have an old Sony CDP-C215 5 disk changer. It's over 17 years old and has worked well for the most part. A few months ago it started showing strange behavior. I've opened it up and watched the unit as it works. When I put in a CD the clamper mechanism picks it up and it starts spinning. I hear a scraping sound. It takes a long time to read the TOC and sometimes it never does finish. If it does get to read the TOC and I start playing the first track it skips like crazy all over the place. Funny thing is that when it's reading the TOC, if I lift up the front end, it immediately reads the TOC and is ready to play. It even plays the track properly if the front end is lifted. I've left it propped up in the front and it plays well, but sometimes I have to adjust the height.

I've cleaned the lens with alcohol and that has no effect. I've read through some of the threads on this and other forums and I've seen that these kinds of problems can be fixed. I don't have a scope so I can't check the eye pattern.

Has anyone seen this before? Could it be that I need a new pickup (KSS-240A)? Or do I need to adjust tracking in some way? Or is it a problem with the way the CD is gripped and spun (off-center)?

Thanks

[Mooly]

A scraping noise suggests the disc isn't locating correctly, or that the tray isn't locating as it should.
If holding the corner affects it then it should be fairly easy to see what's going on I would have thought.
Try with the power off and a disc in and turn by hand. Does it rub ?

[sridg]

Update on this problem. Upon closer examination, I discovered that the clamper with the magnet was a bit warped/bent so it was not contacting evenly with the spindle platter. The clamper itself (the one with the magnet) has some play in it so when I was raising the front end it was evening out the wobble caused by the warped clamper. After experimenting with a number of different ideas (including taping a penny to the CD itself, which worked like a charm and taping a weight to the clamper at the appropriate spot, which worked but it had to be the right weight so it worked for different weight CD's) I finally decided that taping/gluing something would not be the right solution. So I found a button magnet and placed it on the correct spot and that worked beautifully (so far at least). It seems to handle many different CD's and no skipping and I don't have to deal with tape coming off etc. .

I'm assuming that there's no issues with adding a magnet to the player and that it won't interfere with any of the components, since there already is a magnet on the clamper.

[Mooly]

Sorry for not replying sooner... as a new member under moderation you don't trigger the thread notifier... a known issue.

A magnet shouldn't cause any issues at all. If the clamp is warped, I suppose ideally a new one is the best answer. Any "imbalance" in the load on the spindle motor could conceivably wear the bearings over time. You an actually feel "play" on a worn spindle motor.
It's a bit hard to visualise what exactly you have done without seeing a picture

[percival007]

Have you checked the rubber mounts and springs?

The rubbers could have perished and the springs could be fatigued. The mech may not be sitting in the correct place as a result and causing your problem?