Skipping Marantz CD-48

[ollienew]

Hi everyone,

I'd be very grateful if anyone could give me some advice on how to fix this. I bought the CD-48 many years ago and although it's not worth much, it has some sentimental value to me! So i'd like to try and fix it if possible.

The problem is skipping on track 1 and often track 2 of any disc. It gets stuck, repeating the first few seconds over and over. Tracks 3 onwards play fine.

interestingly, if I angle the front of the unit up whilst playing, it corrects itself. Also I have had the top off and wiped the lens with a q-tip but that made no difference. There was also a trim pot on the board which I played with hoping it may control the laser tracking but it didn't help so I returned it to the position I found it in.

Finally, I noticed that if I gently pushed the laser assembly towards the front of the unit whilst playing, it also corrected itself. Unfortunately when I release the pressure it returns to skipping.

So in my very limited experience, it feels like some sort of misalignment of the laser and/or tray? But the question is how can I adjust that, if at all?

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[madtecchy]

Strip the transport remove all old lubrication . re lubricate and reassemble

[ollienew]

Originally Posted by madtecchy

Strip the transport remove all old lubrication . re lubricate and reassemble

Thanks - but that sounds a bit beyond my skill level. I can't even tell how to get the transport apart. I presume I have to remove it from the board first?

[Mayday]

Try to find a Service Manual for the cd-player, it's of great help.

[madtecchy]

Hi ollienew .
Im sorry i cant help with your skill level..

Regards ian

[poynton]

The laser unit in this player, the Philips CDM12.xx, is very prone to this problem.

It is not an adjustment problem but the solution does require a partial strip-down of the mechanism, as suggested above.

It is necessary to remove the laser sled assembly from the player.
(This is not difficult. If you are worried, take a few photos as you go along to act as a guide on reassembly.)

The assembly is usually secured to the base by 3/4 screws into the base.
There is also a wide flat ribbon cable and 2 small connectors.

It is usually necessary to partially eject the tray in order to remove the front which simply unclips.

Once these steps are completed, the tray assembly simply lifts out.

Once out, the gear which drives the head can be seen and cleaned. The gears also need cleaning carefully.
What happens is that the grease lubricating the gears/slider hardens esp. at the end of the travel causing skipping and mistracking.
By cleaning, you remove the problem. DO NOT REGREASE.

Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.

Give it a go.
It is easy.


Andy

.

[ollienew]

Hey Andy - thanks very much for that advice, really appreciate it! I'll give it a try and report back.

[ollienew]

Well I've had it all apart and miraculously got back together again too. It looked very clean in there, I only found a very small amount of white lube, which didn't seem particularly hardened - I wiped it all off anyway.

Unfortunately my problem persists. Anything else I can try?

I'm currently leaving it on repeat on track 1 for an hour to see if that helps shift anything.