I have one of these and it's a very nice player, but has a problem. If anyone is familiar with the transport part of it, I would appreciate any help.
About half of the time, it fails to spin up the disc. You put the disc in, drawer closes, then it doesn't spin up. After a few seconds, it opens the drawer and the display reads "open". I've operated it with the cover off and tapping on the transport sometimes makes it work. Not always. Other times it works by itself with no help. Clearly some type of intermittent.
I've re-soldered everything I could on the transport, plugged and unplugged the connectors, etc. No improvement.
This is not disc-related. It reads both cd and cdr just fine and sometimes it will fail to spin up the same cd it just played.
About half of the time, it fails to spin up the disc. You put the disc in, drawer closes, then it doesn't spin up. After a few seconds, it opens the drawer and the display reads "open". I've operated it with the cover off and tapping on the transport sometimes makes it work. Not always. Other times it works by itself with no help. Clearly some type of intermittent.
I've re-soldered everything I could on the transport, plugged and unplugged the connectors, etc. No improvement.
This is not disc-related. It reads both cd and cdr just fine and sometimes it will fail to spin up the same cd it just played.
What mechanism is the player based on ? Most are Philips or Sony based. Can you identify the pickup number e.g. KSS240 etc.
Pictures of it internally maybe.
Common problems generally are dried out and "sticky" grease on the mechanism. Maybe the drawer doesn't quite fully complete the loading operation... slipping loading belts are a common problem.
Need more info to help...
Pictures of it internally maybe.
Common problems generally are dried out and "sticky" grease on the mechanism. Maybe the drawer doesn't quite fully complete the loading operation... slipping loading belts are a common problem.
Need more info to help...
Here are the pictures. Top and bottom views. There is no transport model number on it. According to some info on the web, the transport is KSS-210A. This is for the CD8A and mine is a CD8, so may not be correct. I can't find any listings for CD8 without the A, but the DAC in mine is the same as listed for the CD8A, so perhaps it is the same thing.
The drawer is retracting fully as far as I can tell visually and pushing it in doesn't do anything.
Edit: After closing the drawer, it does lift the disc into the playing position, but fails to spin.
The drawer is retracting fully as far as I can tell visually and pushing it in doesn't do anything.
Edit: After closing the drawer, it does lift the disc into the playing position, but fails to spin.
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Thanks for the pics...
KSS210 is one of the most common pickups around.
As well as the draw going in fully can you be sure the mech itself lifts up fully to the disc ? Sometimes that can be a problem.
With no disc (or if you can see it with a disc in) does the lens move up/down 3 times each time the drawer is opened and closed ? If it does that confirms that the loading operation has fully completed. There are a couple of microswitches on the mech PCB. Are they 100% OK ? If it loads they are OK. Also one for the limit switch on the spindle motor PCB
Common problems... the pickup itself. Also the spindle motor is a fairly common failure item. If you unplug the spindle motor you can try connecting a 9 volt battery across it to zap any dirt on the commutator. It may or may not prove anything though... sometimes it does though.
KSS210 is one of the most common pickups around.
As well as the draw going in fully can you be sure the mech itself lifts up fully to the disc ? Sometimes that can be a problem.
With no disc (or if you can see it with a disc in) does the lens move up/down 3 times each time the drawer is opened and closed ? If it does that confirms that the loading operation has fully completed. There are a couple of microswitches on the mech PCB. Are they 100% OK ? If it loads they are OK. Also one for the limit switch on the spindle motor PCB
Common problems... the pickup itself. Also the spindle motor is a fairly common failure item. If you unplug the spindle motor you can try connecting a 9 volt battery across it to zap any dirt on the commutator. It may or may not prove anything though... sometimes it does though.
Mooly, thanks for the help.
I did finally find the label that says KSS-210B. The lens does move up and down 3 times with no disc. Once disc is in, I can't see.
Would it be worthwhile to get another Kss-210 and try it? They're cheap enough. I'm not from the school of "replace parts until it works", but I don't have a service manual with a diagnostic procedure.
Edit: One interesting thing I noticed this morning. When it works, I can open and close the door many times and it will work every time. I've tried it about 25 times. Then later when it doesn't work (same disc) it will also NOT work every time (at least 25 times).
I did finally find the label that says KSS-210B. The lens does move up and down 3 times with no disc. Once disc is in, I can't see.
Would it be worthwhile to get another Kss-210 and try it? They're cheap enough. I'm not from the school of "replace parts until it works", but I don't have a service manual with a diagnostic procedure.
Edit: One interesting thing I noticed this morning. When it works, I can open and close the door many times and it will work every time. I've tried it about 25 times. Then later when it doesn't work (same disc) it will also NOT work every time (at least 25 times).
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When it doesn't work what happens if you just turn the disc a little by hand as soon as it has loaded ? That would prove if the spindle motor were weak or had a dead spot.
tbh the pickup doesn't sound favourite for this but very hard to say for sure without seeing.
Also, when it doesn't work try ejecting the disc and then turning the gear visible in your picture to move the sled away from the centre rest position so that the pickup is a few cm out along its track. Put a disc in with the sled still in that position and it should return to its normal rest position as soon as the drawer closes and then attempt to play.
If that fails to show anything then maybe try a pickup... get a B version if that is what is in and remember that they come with a small shorting link (solder blob) on the pickup that has to be removed when fitted.
tbh the pickup doesn't sound favourite for this but very hard to say for sure without seeing.
Also, when it doesn't work try ejecting the disc and then turning the gear visible in your picture to move the sled away from the centre rest position so that the pickup is a few cm out along its track. Put a disc in with the sled still in that position and it should return to its normal rest position as soon as the drawer closes and then attempt to play.
If that fails to show anything then maybe try a pickup... get a B version if that is what is in and remember that they come with a small shorting link (solder blob) on the pickup that has to be removed when fitted.
The motor only spins if the FOK (focus OK command) is good.
If you want to zap the motor with a PP3 battery you must isolate it from circuitry first.
If I spin it by hand it spins freely and for quite a bit (no evidence of friction or other hangup), but still nothing happens, the motor doesn't kick in to keep it spinning.
If I displace the pickup from center as you suggested, it returns to center as it's loading the disc, which seems normal.
Suppose now you have to try a pickup then. It's very rare for there to be an electronic fault on the main PCB.
I just have doubts with this one tbh... but what else can you do. It would be nice to be able to check the RF when it's playing with a scope to give an idea of the pickup condition.
I just have doubts with this one tbh... but what else can you do. It would be nice to be able to check the RF when it's playing with a scope to give an idea of the pickup condition.
Finally fixed, so I'm posting in case someone else searches for this issue.
Replaced the laser and that wasn't it. Turns out the belt was stretched just a bit. It operated the drawer slide OK. But the belt also operates the mechanism that lifts the CD into playing position. Most of the time it didn't have enough grip to lift the CD all the way up. Sometimes it did. Once I replaced the belt everything works fine.
The correct belt is 0.065" thick x 3.0" long (inside circumference). I used a 2.8" long belt so it's a bit more snug. These belts are sold by size, not by application. You can find them at a couple of internet vendor sites for about $2 plus shipping.
Replaced the laser and that wasn't it. Turns out the belt was stretched just a bit. It operated the drawer slide OK. But the belt also operates the mechanism that lifts the CD into playing position. Most of the time it didn't have enough grip to lift the CD all the way up. Sometimes it did. Once I replaced the belt everything works fine.
The correct belt is 0.065" thick x 3.0" long (inside circumference). I used a 2.8" long belt so it's a bit more snug. These belts are sold by size, not by application. You can find them at a couple of internet vendor sites for about $2 plus shipping.