DBX DX3 CD Player skipping problem
The culprit on that model for this symptom (skipping and or poor tracking from track to track) is usually a bad stepper motor for the laser carriage assuming it isn't a bad laser. The DC motor runs a small 4.2? inch(I.D) belt and pulley that advances the laser carriage as it plays or searches tracks and I have seen the DX3 skip for some time before it finally craps out and doesn't advance at all. Many people are fooled into thinking it is a slipping belt or something else and after servicing the mysterious skips re-occur. Eventually when the motor doesn't work at all you will receive a "NO DISC" message on the display and you will note that the CD doesn't get read properly upon CD draw load and attempting to play, etc.(it fails CD Load self-test). Last one I worked on in Oct. 2010 had a belt meltdown in that assy and the gooey bad belt juice contaminated the bearing after being wrapped around the motor pulley shaft. Upon cleaning the goo residue off the pulley and shaft the motor immediately failed. I suppose some cleaner and belt goo got into the motor? Another dead patient - I thought modern belts post 1980 never chemically meltdown????- this one did)! It is somewhat easy to remove the entire CD Drive unit from the DX3 but when you get to the lower side you will find it difficult to easily remove and replace the motor. lt is soldered and screwed into a circuit board sandwich and would require a bit of dis-assembly that probably isn't worth it unless you have a good replacement motor on hand. I did like the way this unit sounded before it **** the bed for good. Also, these units start to get a bit of crackle in the audio output when the Ambiance and Dynamic control circuits are selected with the front panel "IN" switch. Spraying the IN/OUT switch with DeOxit ID did the trick after removing the front panel and around 6 or 7 screws to access the selector switch which is soldered to a front panel PCB as well as the two control pots nearby. Good luck and safety first!
-Angelo in NY
The culprit on that model for this symptom (skipping and or poor tracking from track to track) is usually a bad stepper motor for the laser carriage assuming it isn't a bad laser. The DC motor runs a small 4.2? inch(I.D) belt and pulley that advances the laser carriage as it plays or searches tracks and I have seen the DX3 skip for some time before it finally craps out and doesn't advance at all. Many people are fooled into thinking it is a slipping belt or something else and after servicing the mysterious skips re-occur. Eventually when the motor doesn't work at all you will receive a "NO DISC" message on the display and you will note that the CD doesn't get read properly upon CD draw load and attempting to play, etc.(it fails CD Load self-test). Last one I worked on in Oct. 2010 had a belt meltdown in that assy and the gooey bad belt juice contaminated the bearing after being wrapped around the motor pulley shaft. Upon cleaning the goo residue off the pulley and shaft the motor immediately failed. I suppose some cleaner and belt goo got into the motor? Another dead patient - I thought modern belts post 1980 never chemically meltdown????- this one did)! It is somewhat easy to remove the entire CD Drive unit from the DX3 but when you get to the lower side you will find it difficult to easily remove and replace the motor. lt is soldered and screwed into a circuit board sandwich and would require a bit of dis-assembly that probably isn't worth it unless you have a good replacement motor on hand. I did like the way this unit sounded before it **** the bed for good. Also, these units start to get a bit of crackle in the audio output when the Ambiance and Dynamic control circuits are selected with the front panel "IN" switch. Spraying the IN/OUT switch with DeOxit ID did the trick after removing the front panel and around 6 or 7 screws to access the selector switch which is soldered to a front panel PCB as well as the two control pots nearby. Good luck and safety first!
-Angelo in NY
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