Wendles

Hi!

I have a lovely ES 330 that I love driving and listening to music in! Until my CD player died that is. No biggie, I'll use the ol' cassette tape + iPod. Until my iPod died. Replacing the iPod is easy, but I would actually like a working CD player. It sounded very nice.

My car does not have ML, and it does not have nav. Just the regular sound system and a 6 CD changer. The changer doesn't work anymore. It will not accept any CD's, and I have no idea if there are any still in there. If this helps my CD's were scratched and crappy.

I've smacked it a couple of times (I know, I know), but nothing. What are my options? Could I pop out that whole segment and look at the CD changer and see if something is stuck? Can I buy another factory changer? Should I replace with an aftermarket unit? The thought of an aftermarket unit does make me go "ugh", because I think the interior looks so nice as is.


Thank you for your help, all

DRACO A5OG

Go to pick a part and pick one up cheap, get a warranty so if it does not work you can exchange it.

Oro

I also am loathe to change the OE unit since I agree the center console is pleasant looking. One of the things I really like about the 4ES; the "office" is elegant.

Some things to try:

a) smacking it sometimes does work.
b) Disc mis-load. Try getting up close to it, cycle through the disc positions. Sometimes a disc will be fed in-between the carrier arms and you can see it. You can fish it out w/a long instrument with like a dental tool - preferrably plastic. If you have a computer repair kit or a friend does (like this one):

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Parts/P...FciFfgod5ZcJgw

then you are golden. Ours ate my 1st Sony CD pressing of Bruce's "Nebraska" album that way once. I would have disassembled the entire dash to get that back, but this method worked.

c) someone reported they took a blank thin-ish computer r/w disc, put some thin tape on it, soaked that with cleaning fluid, and ran it through the system. This presumably cleaned the rollers and they reported it worked well from then on. I have not tried it.

Mine is currently in/op and sometime this summer I may give it a go to get it operative again. If not, then time to ignore it and just go bluetooth. BTW, it is VERY easy to get the whole center console apart and work on it on the bench if you want or to replace the changer unit yourself. There is a good guide to that online if you google for it.

Wendles

Hey Oro! (May I ask what your name comes from? I can think of one thing at the risk of sounding like an anime nerd).

My problem is the player does nothing. When I hit "Load", it says "WAIT" for 5 seconds then just does nothing. Goes back to the radio. Doesn't make any noises. If I pulled out the whole section, could I inspect the player and maybe see if anything is stuck that way?

Oro

I took mine out but could not easily access the interior; I can't recall what the construction was that prevented it as it was a while ago that I did it.

Mine is acting as yours and I haven't found a solution, but I haven't tried too hard as she drives it daily and listens to the radio and doesn't care a lot about the CD changer. I'll tackle it with some other minor things later this summer.

The name is from my horse. The breed is a gaited Peruvian. The most influential horse in the breed was Sol de Oro, and a lot of stallions descended from him have "Oro" as part of their name. I'm not familiar with any anime character (don't know that much about anime, just a little bit).

Wendles

Thanks, Oro I am literally trying to pull it apart right now but can't get out the climate control segment. I'm worried I am going to break it. So I guess that's it for the day

A horse? Even better.

mmatheny

[QUOTE=Oro;9413163]I also am loathe to change the OE unit since I agree the center console is pleasant looking. One of the things I really like about the 4ES; the "office" is elegant.

Some things to try:


c) someone reported they took a blank thin-ish computer r/w disc, put some thin tape on it, soaked that with cleaning fluid, and ran it through the system. This presumably cleaned the rollers and they reported it worked well from then on. I have not tried it.

QUOTE]


That was me, what I did was put a blank paper CD label on BOTH sides of a CD, then soaked 1/2 on both sides with alcohol or rubber replenisher - used a pair of hemostats to hold the CD from being pulled in, and after hitting Load place the CD in with the liquid towards the unit, and slowly pull in and out as the rubber rollers try to grab the CD. Then do the same thing but insert the DRY side in towards the unit to take off the gunk loosened by the liquid.


Now, if you CD NEVER tries to even load the CD (rubber rollers not trying to grab the CD) this won't work.


Good luck.

Wendles

Thanks guys

Today I pulled out the whole head unit, and unscrewed the top of the changer (nerve-wracking for someone who never messes with stuff)! There were no CDs stuck inside, and honestly everything looked... fine (a little disappointing). I put it all back together and turned on the car and NOW my player says the dreaded "ERROR 3" AND it thinks it is full of CDs! What an idiot!

So my last line of defense is to unhook the negative battery terminal for 15 mins and pray to the Japanese. I will report back soon.

My cassette deck still works thank god. I will probably have a heart attack if it dies on me too. Any preventative cleaning or maintenance I can do for it?

mmatheny

When you try to load a CD does it TRY to drag the CD in? If so, try my fix. BTW, since this is Japanese car, your CD player would be 電車男 - NOT kaput!

Wendles

mmatheny,

The CD player doesn't do anything. None of the components move. I shoved a CD wayyy in there (but not all the way in case it stuck) and it acted like nothing was happening. Literally the only thing that ever responds are the tiny orange lights in the corner of the loading dock.

I've done everything I think I can. Now it just thinks it is full of CDs but when I press "Load" or "Eject" nothing happens.

mmatheny

Time to get a used one while you know how to replace it! Sorry it seems to ALMOST dead!


EDIT: Is there some kind of microswitch that detects you have inserted a CD to start the load process maybe??