I have a 94 TA with 25K mi, never smoked in, with the original factory CD
radio with the 7 band EQ. Being a 25th anniversary special edition, I want
to keep it all original. The radio and CD both play fine, except that the
CD skips whenever I hit a bump. I pulled the radio, pulled the CD module
out of it, and took it apart. I cleaned the lens and inspected the
mechanicals. Everything looks fine. I noticed when the control card was
out that there are no electrical adjustments on it at all. There is one
small pot on the sled (laser power?). Any ideas on what would make it skip
so easily?

Paul

On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 22:48:46 -0600, Paul wrote:


I have a 94 TA with 25K mi, never smoked in, with the original factory CD
radio with the 7 band EQ. Being a 25th anniversary special edition, I want
to keep it all original. The radio and CD both play fine, except that the
CD skips whenever I hit a bump. I pulled the radio, pulled the CD module
out of it, and took it apart. I cleaned the lens and inspected the
mechanicals. Everything looks fine. I noticed when the control card was
out that there are no electrical adjustments on it at all. There is one
small pot on the sled (laser power?). Any ideas on what would make it skip
so easily?

Could be simply that it was a POS. Hows are the isolation mounts?

On Jan 25, 8:48 pm, "Paul" wrote:
I have a 94 TA with 25K mi, never smoked in, with the original factory CD
radio with the 7 band EQ. Being a 25th anniversary special edition, I want
to keep it all original. The radio and CD both play fine, except that the
CD skips whenever I hit a bump. I pulled the radio, pulled the CD module
out of it, and took it apart. I cleaned the lens and inspected the
mechanicals. Everything looks fine. I noticed when the control card was
out that there are no electrical adjustments on it at all. There is one
small pot on the sled (laser power?). Any ideas on what would make it skip
so easily?

Paul

I could be possible that your CD player pre-dates modern anti-skip
technology. I was never a fan of anything other than GM but the factory
radio goes before the new car smell does. The last time I bought a new
Chevy truck within a few hours the am/fm radio was out and a new
cassette head unit and CD changer with a 1200 watt amp was in.

Then a couple of years later I bought a new sports car and that had an
aftermarket CD changer and tape deck in the dash after a few hours.

Just because you want to keep it original doesn't mean you have to put
up with ****ty audio.

Any ideas on what would make it skip
so easily?

Could be simply that it was a POS. Hows are the isolation mounts?

POS?... maybe in terms of long term reliability, but there is no way
they could have sold these if they were this bad when new.

The isolation mounts seem OK. Spring and rubber bushing are intact at
each suspension point.
Could it be that the rubber bushings are hardened from age and ned to
be replaced?

We had similar problems in our 97 buick, although not as bad. No
problems the first few years, but as the car got older, the CD got more
sensitive to bumps in the road.

WRT electronic skip protection mentioned by other posters, I also doubt
that this radio had it, but it did not used to be this sensitive to
bumps. Something in the CD played has degraded mechanically or
electronically.

Paul

Paul wrote:

Any ideas on what would make it skip
so easily?


Could be simply that it was a POS. Hows are the isolation mounts?


POS?... maybe in terms of long term reliability, but there is no way
they could have sold these if they were this bad when new.

The isolation mounts seem OK. Spring and rubber bushing are intact at
each suspension point.
Could it be that the rubber bushings are hardened from age and ned to
be replaced?

We had similar problems in our 97 buick, although not as bad. No
problems the first few years, but as the car got older, the CD got more
sensitive to bumps in the road.

WRT electronic skip protection mentioned by other posters, I also doubt
that this radio had it, but it did not used to be this sensitive to
bumps. Something in the CD played has degraded mechanically or
electronically.

Paul


Part of the problem is you cleaned the lens. Below the lens is the
bottom of the lens, a mirror, and the diode assy. ANd that dirt is
still there.

When i clean them, i first use canned air to blow them out. Then i have
some highly evaporatable optical lens cleaner spray i spray beside the
lens assy to get down into the laser sled unit where you cannot see.
Then Put it upside down to let it drain out and evaporate. If your lucky
then, its better. Give it an hour or two to dry out before you try it.
The first time i tried it, i though i killed the laser. Then latter it
came back to life when it dried out internally.

Bob

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On Fri, 26 Jan 2007 13:19:42 -0600, Bob Urz wrote:


Could be simply that it was a POS. Hows are the isolation mounts?


POS?... maybe in terms of long term reliability, but there is no way
they could have sold these if they were this bad when new.

Sure they could. The entire trans-am was a absolute POS during most of the 80's
needing service more often than fuel.

Hi!

Any ideas on what would make it skip so easily?

Whatever you do, DO NOT twiddle any pots or adjustments inside the player!
This may really "fix" things beyond all hope of repair.

I would start by looking for dust build-up in the player. I've pulled some
car radios out over time that were just choked with dust, even ones that
came from cars which were well kept over time. Perhaps there's a gob of dust
stuck to the lens. There might also be something stuck in the track that the
pickup runs along...and that could cause the sled assembly not to be able to
move freely, which might cause skipping in the audio. While you're in there,
see if the spindle motor is stiff or sticky when turned by hand. It too
could be suffering from dried up grease or oil.

Also worth a shot are any electrolytic capacitors in the radio. Over time
the moisture inside these capacitors could have been driven out by extreme
heat in the car. This can cause all kinds of malfunctions or strange
behavior.

I do agree with most of the other posters here--the Delco made radios are
cheaply constructed and are not really the best thing out there. This is
true even today--the radio from my 2003 S-10 is held together *only* by snap
points in the metal casing! But they do seem to keep playing (at least the
radio does) for quite some time.

William