My car's CD player reports Check CD and ejects many CDs. I've managed to get the radio out of the car, and opened it until I can now see the laser lens.

I plan to clean with Qtip and isopropyl alcohol 91%.

Is there anything else I can clean? Or lube with white lithium? Photos:
http://postimg.org/gallery/13v02pwm6/
I can't spot a glass surface (mirror). Is the white rotating disk in the middle good to clean? Can the lens unit be rotated on the spindle so I can wipe the part close to the center (in case there's dirt in there - although it looks clean)?

----
Additional, here's details on what's happening that's in error. Does it indicate anything?

There are disks that consistently read without trouble. The same disk will work every time. It's been only 4 out of about 20, but it's the same 4 CDs every time that get initially picked up just fine. The rest of the CDs have trouble and will eject with Check CD repeatedly. Then on one of the re-inserts, they'll read. The CDs are books on CD from the library. I've washed most of them, and they look good (not scratched or dirty).

Once read, if I turn off the radio, when I restart it goes back to Check CD.. However they don't physically eject and will keep spinning around reporting a Check CD, until finally at some time they'll start reading.

All CDs once read, will continue fine until the end of the CD or until I turn the radio off. (Pausing works without trouble and the CD starts right up.)

Twice maybe three times in 20 or so hours of playing there's been a skip later in a CD. However it's always repeatedable at exactly the same spot, and there's at least once, been dirt on the CD to match (I didn't look the other times).

Thanks!!

In article ,
curls wrote:
My car's CD player reports Check CD and ejects many CDs. I've managed to get the radio out of the car, and
opened it until I can now see the laser lens.

I plan to clean with Qtip and isopropyl alcohol 91%.

Use a photographer's "puffer brush" first (a rubber squeeze-bulb with
a soft-bristle brush on the end). Brush the lens very lightly and
then puff it gently with air. This will dislodge and remove the worst
of the dust.

I would recommend getting electronics-grade isopropyl rather than
using 91% commercial type... you really want something as pure as
possible so that it won't leave a residue.

Is there anything else I can clean? Or lube with white lithium?

The only other thing I see which you might address, is the metal rail
on which the optical sled moves in and out. If I'm seeing what I
think I'm seeing, it's the silver metal rod, which has something that
looks like a helical spring wound around it.

If this rail is dirty, or if it has old lubricant which has gotten
gummy, the sled would be unable to move smoothly and the
laser/photodiode mechanism would have trouble following the spiral
track on the CD's data layer.

You might be able to clean it (very carefully) using a small brush
with a suitable solvent (electronics-grade isopropyl, or "white
spirit" (naptha), and then relubricate (a *small* amount of sewing
machine or watchmaker's oil... "light machine oil"). Do *not* use
3-in-1 or WD-40! Be very careful not to get either the solvent or the
oil on other parts of the mechanism, or force or bend anything.

Due to the presence of that helical spring or coil (whatever it is I
think I'm seeing) this is likely to be a tricky process. Don't try it
at all unless you're willing to take the risk of destroying the whole
thing.

If you can get a long disc (70-80 minutes) to play all the way to the
end, and then cut the power without pressing "STOP", you'll probably
find that the laser sled has moved all the way to the outer diameter
of the CD. This may leave the "rail" exposed, and easier to access
and clean.

You might find that some gunk has built up near the inner diameter of
the rail. This could "bind" the optical sled when it tried to read
the disc's table of contents, which is written right at the inner
diameter of the CD data area.

There are disks that consistently read without trouble. The same disk will work every time. It's been only
4 out of about 20, but it's the same 4 CDs every time that get initially picked up just fine. The rest of
the CDs have trouble and will eject with Check CD repeatedly. Then on one of the re-inserts, they'll read.
The CDs are books on CD from the library. I've washed most of them, and they look good (not scratched or
dirty).

Books-on-CD are commonly "burned" CD-Rs, rather than "pressed" CDs.
The reflectivity contrast of their data patterns is about half that of
pressed CDs, which means that the laser/photodiode has a weaker signal
to follow. It's fairly common for failing CD players to start
rejecting CD-Rs, while they can still track commercial "pressed" CDs.

This sometimes (often?) means that the laser diode is approaching its
end of life - the laser output is declining, and the photodiode system
is getting a weaker and weaker signal from the disc.

The only real cure for this is to replace the laser diode (often the
whole optical assembly), and then recalibrate the laser drive and the
tracking. This is definitely possible but may not be economically
worthwhile. There are probably YouTube videos which show the
procedure.

It's sometimes possible to turn up the laser drive current, but this
is a *very* temporary hack... the higher current just makes the diode
fail all that much sooner.

On Sun, 29 May 2016 08:53:43 -0700 (PDT), curls
wrote:

My car's CD player reports Check CD and ejects many CDs.

Does the CD player have a maker and model number?
Your photos kinda look like the player is part of the vehicle console
and not a seperate unit. Perhaps the vehicle maker and model might
help.

This might help:
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm

With CD lasers, I like to use my digital camera to "see" the IR output
of the laser. To determine if it's lacking in brightness, compare it
with what the digital camera can see from another CD player.

Most common problem I've seen on vehicle CD players is "smoke" on the
lenses and mirrors.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Sunday, May 29, 2016 at 2:08:11 PM UTC-4, Dave Platt wrote:
In article ,

Wow Dave, thanks for all the ideas!

Any idea in brick and mortar where I can buy 99%?

I'd also like to find something that won't leave lint like a qtip has.

I've cleaned and re-tested and it's definitely doing better! It's picking up disks from the library in 1 to 3 tries that were taking 10 or 20 tries. It plays homemade but takes a while to pick them up. I didn't check if they're CD+R or CD-R. (I always used +, but these weren't all made by me.)

I think I'd stick with cleaning the lens area for now, since the spiraly thing looks clean, and I can imagine how easily I could damage something. I'll tuck away the ideas though, in my tool chest for projects. I was thinking I'd try that idea of cutting off to get the reader further near the outside just to take a good look, but then it will have a disk in it. I wasn't able to get that disk out by hand.

I had no idea CD books are done with a less expensive method similar to home burned. Of course, I hope this isn't all indicative of a weakening laser beam. If the cleaning is helping, and I know it was a smoker's car... so maybe it's just a little haze on it. I just pulled out some professional music CDs tonight. I'm not seeing a difference in acceptance rate, so that's a good sign. Of course some of these bands aren't big and may have burned their own CDs.

I've just done a bunch more wiping with the 91% tonight, so maybe I'll try it again before hunting down more.

On the wire harness, I nicked one of the wires (very tiny spot) trying to get that thing off (even the dealer service person had trouble. For testing it doesn't matter, but I'd like to patch when I put it all back together. I'm thinking a touch of white lithium on the tiny little bare exposed nick will do well enough. There's no remote way to wrap electric tape around that small a wire kind of near the casing.

Thanks for all the education!!

Called CVS and a rather sleepy pharmacist staff said they don't have 99%.

On Sunday, May 29, 2016 at 4:19:42 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 29 May 2016 08:53:43 -0700 (PDT), curls
wrote:

My car's CD player reports Check CD and ejects many CDs.

Does the CD player have a maker and model number?
Your photos kinda look like the player is part of the vehicle console
and not a seperate unit. Perhaps the vehicle maker and model might
help.

This might help:
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm

With CD lasers, I like to use my digital camera to "see" the IR output
of the laser. To determine if it's lacking in brightness, compare it
with what the digital camera can see from another CD player.

Most common problem I've seen on vehicle CD players is "smoke" on the
lenses and mirrors.



Thanks Jeff!

I thought I'd included the make and model originally. Must have been in the email to Sam. It's 2012 Mazda 3 iGT Hatch.

I don't know what particular unit it's considered to be. It is part of the radio console. The photos were after I got it out of the console and on it's own, and took a holder off so it's possible to get into the lens. Sure is hard to get good photos of the insides...

I know this car was a smoker's before me for 4 years. It didn't smell when I bought it, but there's been evidence since. So if most of the time problems have been smoke on the lens, do you mean actual smokers? It'd been hopeful for me, if that's the case.

Can you see in the photos, where the glass mirror would be? I know it looks like glass not a mirror, but I can't spot any place that could be it. Is it usually right near the lens? I can't easily take off that metal piece that's over the where the lens is, so it's hard to get under or into the lens area beyond the lens itself.

Taking a photo sounds like a good idea. It'd be very hard to take a photo since it has to be in the box, where the beam isn't directly visible. Maybe the more cleaning that I've done will do the trick.

Thanks for your help!

In article ,
says...

On Sunday, May 29, 2016 at 2:08:11 PM UTC-4, Dave Platt wrote:
In article ,

Wow Dave, thanks for all the ideas!

Any idea in brick and mortar where I can buy 99%?

I'd also like to find something that won't leave lint like a qtip has.



I have looked and asked at several drug stores for the 99% but none had
it. Finally ordered some off Amazone for 3 pintes for about $ 15.
Postage would make it more, but needed soe other things so got free
shipping.

YOu might look for some of the things that look similar to qtips but
have a sponge type of tip on them in the makeup section. I usually use
some of the Kemwipes that leave almost no fibers . You may want to try
some of the cleaning tissues for glasses that have alcohol already on
them if this is just a one time thing.

Found the 99% -- at Micro Center. (Maybe Best Buy or Radio Shack carries it too.)

On Tue, 31 May 2016, curls wrote:

Found the 99% -- at Micro Center. (Maybe Best Buy or Radio Shack
carries it too.)

I've seen it at one of the drugstore chains, keep meaning to buy some.
More expensive than the usual rubbing alcohol.

Michael

On Mon, 30 May 2016 22:20:43 -0700 (PDT), curls
wrote:

On Sunday, May 29, 2016 at 4:19:42 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 29 May 2016 08:53:43 -0700 (PDT), curls
wrote:

My car's CD player reports Check CD and ejects many CDs.

Does the CD player have a maker and model number?
Your photos kinda look like the player is part of the vehicle console
and not a seperate unit. Perhaps the vehicle maker and model might
help.

This might help:
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm

With CD lasers, I like to use my digital camera to "see" the IR output
of the laser. To determine if it's lacking in brightness, compare it
with what the digital camera can see from another CD player.

Most common problem I've seen on vehicle CD players is "smoke" on the
lenses and mirrors.

It's 2012 Mazda 3 iGT Hatch.

My point is that the drive is NOT easily replaced. No clue on parts
but unless the CD drive mechanism can be identified, finding
replacement parts is going to be difficult.

Read the repair faq section on "CD players in vehicles".

I know this car was a smoker's before me for 4 years.

Bingo. 90% rubbing alcohol works well to remove the tar.

So if most of the time problems have been smoke on the lens, do you
mean actual smokers? It'd been hopeful for me, if that's the case.

Yes, but there are plenty of other sources of oil, grease, tar, soot,
and such. Just look at the windows. Do they remain perfectly clear
when you're driving? Of course not. Well, some of that also gets
into the CD player and makes the optics looks much like your
windshield.

Can you see in the photos, where the glass mirror would be?

I have no idea. The photos are too small and cover too large an area.
Look for something like this:
http://g01.a.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1Cm2ZKXXXXXXWXFXXq6xXFXXXJ/Original-Replace-For-font-b-Pioneer-b-font-DEH-P7400MP-font-b-CD-b-font-font.jpg
The mirrors are behind the lens.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/cdplay.html

Taking a photo sounds like a good idea. It'd be very hard to
take a photo since it has to be in the box, where the beam isn't
directly visible. Maybe the more cleaning that I've done
will do the trick.

I don't take a photo. All I do is check if there's anything coming
out of the laser or if it looks wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df70YVAg-iI
Fast forward to 2:10 for what it looks like. Not all digital cameras
can see 780nm light. (DVD are 650nm and BluRay are 405nm).

There are also photo diodes on a stick that can be used to measure the
laser output. For some odd reason, I can't find the magic buzzwords
and URL. Anyone?

Oh crap. Power outage... save, post, and run...


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tue, 31 May 2016 07:15:41 -0700 (PDT), curls
wrote:

Found the 99% -- at Micro Center. (Maybe Best Buy or Radio Shack carries it too.)

Alcohol is hydroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air). Your 99% will
go down to 91% if you leave the bottle open. Fortunately, it takes
some time so you don't need to be fanatical about replacing the cover.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azeotrope
Note that 70% alcohol is what you want for a disinfectant because some
water is needed to kill of hydrophylic bugs.

I should probably buy some 99% alcohol for lens cleaning, but have
been getting away with using the 91% stuff without streaking.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=99%25+alcohol
Ugh... about $8/pint

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

In article ,
says...

On Tue, 31 May 2016 07:15:41 -0700 (PDT), curls
wrote:



I should probably buy some 99% alcohol for lens cleaning, but have
been getting away with using the 91% stuff without streaking.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=99%25+alcohol
Ugh... about $8/pint

Found some 99% on Amazon for $ 14.05 for 3 pint contaniers.

http://www.amazon.com/99-Isopropyl-Alcohol-Antiseptic-
Solution/dp/B00BWYNIDO?ie=UTF8&psc=1
&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

Need to order other things to make up about $ 50 total for free
shipping. As my wife likes certain Yuban Gold coffee that is not in
the local stores any more, I ordered lots of that and the 99% for the
free shipping.

It seems to be 99% as I put equal ammounts of that and some Walmart 90%
in some open containers (about half a teaspoon) and kept checking on it.
The 90% still had something left in it after all the 99% was gone or
almost gone.

In article ,
curls wrote:
On Sunday, May 29, 2016 at 2:08:11 PM UTC-4, Dave Platt wrote:
In article ,

Wow Dave, thanks for all the ideas!

Any idea in brick and mortar where I can buy 99%?

I usually get it at Fry's, in the electronic-tools section.

Online... Amazon or eBay would probably work.

I'd also like to find something that won't leave lint like a qtip has.

There are foam-tipped swabs (look a bit like Q tips on steroids)
designed for just that purpose.

I had no idea CD books are done with a less expensive method similar to
home burned.

These days, burning is used for a lot of smaller CD production runs.
I haven't priced things lately but I suspect it's more economical for
any single-run batches of less than a thousand copies.

"curls" wrote in message
...
My car's CD player reports Check CD and ejects many CDs. I've managed to
get the radio out of the car, and opened it until I can now see the laser
lens.

I plan to clean with Qtip and isopropyl alcohol 91%.

You can get a lens cleaning disk with a small tuft of brush on it that wipes
the lens as it goes round. There's normally a bottle of cleaning fluid
supplied in the box.

Attacking the lens with a Q-tip is the last resort, the lens mount is very
fragile. normally that is only necessary if you're a heavy smoker and tar
deposits have contaminated the deck.

The Q-tip is pretty much the kill or cure last ditch attempt to save it!

On Tue, 31 May 2016, Ian Field wrote:



"curls" wrote in message
...
My car's CD player reports Check CD and ejects many CDs. I've managed to
get the radio out of the car, and opened it until I can now see the laser
lens.

I plan to clean with Qtip and isopropyl alcohol 91%.

You can get a lens cleaning disk with a small tuft of brush on it that wipes
the lens as it goes round. There's normally a bottle of cleaning fluid
supplied in the box.

I thought those things weren't regarded well. Maybe it's in the faq. I
was given one after I got my first CD player in 1997, but I never used it.

Attacking the lens with a Q-tip is the last resort, the lens mount is very
fragile. normally that is only necessary if you're a heavy smoker and tar
deposits have contaminated the deck.

The Q-tip is pretty much the kill or cure last ditch attempt to save it!

I've never done anything but the q-tip in alcohol. I have no idea whether
something lesser would work, but I also know nothing bad came from it.
All the warnings make me gentle.

I know I got my found on the sidewalk blu-ray player working by cleaning
it with a q-tip. It played DVDs fine, but not blu-rays. Cleaning the
blu-ray lens got it going, it's been fine for a few years, though I don't
yet have many blu-ray disks so that laser isn't getting much use.

Michael

On Tue, 31 May 2016 12:51:28 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:
It seems to be 99% as I put equal ammounts of that and some Walmart 90%
in some open containers (about half a teaspoon) and kept checking on it.
The 90% still had something left in it after all the 99% was gone or
almost gone.

Got a proof and tralle hydrometer? Surely a well equipped kitchen
laboratory should have one[1]. If not, check for home moonshine
making kits online. They're calibrated in percent alcohol. You want
one that goes to 200 proof (100%) alcohol:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=proof+and+tralle+hydrometer
The following look good because of the expanded 70% to 100% range:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-3pcs-Vinometer-Proof-and-Tralle-Hydrometer-Alcohol-meter-0-100-w-Hydrometer-/171952516675
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PROOF-AND-TRALLE-60-100-HYDROMETER-MEASURE-ALCOHOL-CONTENT-OF-DISTILLED-SPIRITS-/111409214376
http://www.banggood.com/3PCSSET-Alcohol-Meter-Hydrometer-Wine-Measuring-Instrument-Vinometer-Thermometer-p-1036683.html
Note that these are all calibrated at some specific temperature. Have
a thermometer handy and make sure you get the necessary temperature
conversion tables.


[1] Impress your friends and relatives by measuring the alcohol
concentration of their booze.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tue, 31 May 2016 22:20:00 +0100, "Ian Field"
wrote:

You can get a lens cleaning disk with a small tuft of brush on it that wipes
the lens as it goes round. There's normally a bottle of cleaning fluid
supplied in the box.

Ahem. I once bought one of those, stuffed it into a working CD
player, and in no time produced a non-working CD player. The base of
the brush, where it attaches to the CD disk, is rather hard and stiff.
It hit the lens, mangled the springs, and killed the head assembly.
Not recommended.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

In article ,
Jeff Liebermann wrote:

You can get a lens cleaning disk with a small tuft of brush on it that wipes
the lens as it goes round. There's normally a bottle of cleaning fluid
supplied in the box.

Ahem. I once bought one of those, stuffed it into a working CD
player, and in no time produced a non-working CD player. The base of
the brush, where it attaches to the CD disk, is rather hard and stiff.
It hit the lens, mangled the springs, and killed the head assembly.
Not recommended.

Agreed. I've mostly heard horror stories like yours, leavened with a
smattering of "just didn't work" or "didn't help".

I prefer a photographer's lens brush (the puffer-bulb type) as the
bristles are long and soft, and will remove most dust without abrading
the lens or stressing the lens mechanism. In many cases this will be
all that's necessary.

A soft artist's brush moistened with isopropyl or a plastic-safe
water-based surfactant is a decent choice for wet-cleaning, if that's
necessary.

The difficult case is if the CD player has been exposed to tobacco
smoke (and I suspect cannabis smoke is about as bad). Tobacco-smoke
tar is pernicious: it gets into almost everywhere and forms a nasty
film on the surfaces it touches. From what I've heard it will even
get into plug-in connectors and can cause the contacts to become
intermittent with time.

Light dusting won't touch it, and I don't think isopropyl alcohol will
dissolve it. Consumer Reports uses it as their "difficult to remove"
surface contaminant when testing things such as window-cleaning
fluids. I'm not sure it's possible to get it off of CD-player lenses
without the use of damaging detergents and/or scrubbing.

Years ago I loaned a prized LP to a college acquaintance, who played
it a couple of times at a party where people were smoking (various
substances). The LP was ruined - the surface noise level went through
the roof and I was never able to get it clean again.

On Tue, 31 May 2016 15:37:53 -0700, (Dave
Platt) wrote:

Light dusting won't touch it, and I don't think isopropyl alcohol will
dissolve it. Consumer Reports uses it as their "difficult to remove"
surface contaminant when testing things such as window-cleaning
fluids. I'm not sure it's possible to get it off of CD-player lenses
without the use of damaging detergents and/or scrubbing.

I've successfully cleaned tobacco tar off of electronics, including CD
and DVD lenses. A few years ago, I given an 24" LCD monitor that was
previously owned by a major producer of tobacco smog. It was free and
all I had to do was make it work. It lit up, but almost every control
and feature had something odd about the way it worked. Some of the
connectors were intermittent. Initially, I didn't know that tobacco
tar was the problem because the outside of the case was totally clean.
However, when I tore it apart, the problem was obvious. The paper
towels I was using to wash off the brown scum were gross, disgusting,
and smelled really bad. I had to move the project outside for fear of
contaminating the office.

After several half hearted attempts to clean it with 91% alcohol and
an assortment of stiff paint brushes, I decided that I needed to do
something more drastic. I removed the LCD panel assembly and cleaned
it separately with alcohol, brush, sponge, and more paper towels. The
rest of the monitor was immersion baptized in a mixture of 2 gallons
of alcohol (at $15/gallon from the local cleaning supply house), some
water, some Simple Green, a few drops of Photo-Flo, and about 10ml of
paint thinner. I put the cleaning solution in a plastic washing
basin, dumped various pieces of the monitor into the basin, and
watched it turn slowly brown. Yech. Afterwards, I parts another
rinse, this time in 91% alcohol without the other stuff, and blew off
the excess solvent with compressed air. I was later able to recover
about half the alcohol through distillation.

I would normally not spend that much time and money fixing a $350 (at
the time) monitor, but I wanted it for myself, so profit was not an
issue. At todays prices, I don't think I would do all that again. The
good news is that it worked the first time when reassembled, and I'm
still using it today.

Years ago I loaned a prized LP to a college acquaintance, who played
it a couple of times at a party where people were smoking (various
substances). The LP was ruined - the surface noise level went through
the roof and I was never able to get it clean again.

Alcohol should have worked. I've had some of mine cleaned in an
ultrasonic cleaner, which worked well.
http://klaudio.com/kd-cln-lp200-lp-vinyl-record-ultrasonic-cleaner-dryer
or do it thyself:
Ultrasonic Record Cleaner - Vinyl Clean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WgVL5lhHYU
Note that the cleaning solution is mostly soap and water (for
producing the required cavitation) and a little alcohol to break loose
the tobacco tar. Try not to get the label wet as the hard glue used
(and the solvent) will break loose the glue. I'm sure there are more
tricks, but since I didn't do the work, I'm not familiar with the
details.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 7:08:06 PM UTC-4, Dave Platt wrote:


Years ago I loaned a prized LP to a college acquaintance, who played
it a couple of times at a party where people were smoking (various
substances). The LP was ruined - the surface noise level went through
the roof and I was never able to get it clean again.

__________

Put glue on it.

What a bunch of great information. Sorry I've missing in action here. I took it off, cleaned the lens again (and lots more times)... and it's kind of livable now.

It plays often on first try, sometimes 1 or 2 more. Once in, with the next start, it often does a CHECK CD but then within a minute or two it starts playing. All music CDs played the 1st time.

It played two homemade CD-Rs just fine, and two wouldn't play with many tries. So I don't play them much in the car anyway, and could copy them to CD+Rs if need be -- or get modern and get them onto a ipod or such device.

So I'm stoked!

I'm still tempted to do more but don't want to mess it up accidentally. I have another CD boombox that's broken, so I may try working on that, now that I have the courage.

On this CD the possible additional fix seems to be turning over the player, and from the bottom taking out the tiny screw on the box that goes up and down the spirally thing (to give it a technical name). The other side of the box is the mirror. So I'd guess that opening it up (by unscrewing), will expose the mirror. And that since cleaning the lens helped, likely the mirror would make maybe even the rest of the difference. My worry is that there's adjustments that will get knocked out just by unscrewing that box. ....??


----

Makeup applicators - hadn't thought about it, but that'd be much better than q-tips. Also I probably have some sponge-type paint brushes from the hardware store.


Sam who set up this forum writes that CD cleaners can damage the player. It answered what I was wondering - how does anyone know how to build a brush close enough in distance and high for all the variety of CD players, to work? So very useful to hear the read experiences and feedback you all have had. I had tried one and got lucky that it didn't damage anything.

Jeff
Initially, I didn't know that tobacco
tar was the problem because the outside of the case was totally clean.
However, when I tore it apart, the problem was obvious.

That's quite a story . Applies here and interesting that it looked clean on the outside, and inside it was that brown...

Dave:
The difficult case is if the CD player has been exposed to tobacco
smoke (and I suspect cannabis smoke is about as bad). Tobacco-smoke
tar is pernicious: it gets into almost everywhere and forms a nasty
film on the surfaces it touches. From what I've heard it will even
get into plug-in connectors and can cause the contacts to become
intermittent with time.

Light dusting won't touch it, and I don't think isopropyl alcohol will
dissolve it. Consumer Reports uses it as their "difficult to remove"
surface contaminant when testing things such as window-cleaning
fluids. I'm not sure it's possible to get it off of CD-player lenses
without the use of damaging detergents and/or scrubbing.


As I'm reading, I will work harder next time (!!) to make sure I'm not buying a smoker's car that was fixed up well, so I can't smell it. There's only one givaway in this car, a slight grey mark up where a person would hold their hand out a window. When a detailer steamed the roof, he showed me on cloth that it had been a smoker's car.

The 91% seems to have cleaned off the lens. It's not 100% working, but it's much much better. Though it was cleaning a tiny surface by rubbing it many times in different directions. Then thinking I was done and doing it a few more times later on.

I know I got my found on the sidewalk blu-ray player working by cleaning
it with a q-tip. It played DVDs fine, but not blu-rays. Cleaning the
blu-ray lens got it going, it's been fine for a few years, though I don't
yet have many blu-ray disks so that laser isn't getting much use.

Michael

That's fun. I may just find myself picking up things ... and fixing them.

Ian

Attacking the lens with a Q-tip is the last resort, the lens mount is very
fragile.

I was careful. It moved, but in a normal way, so was able to swipe at it I lot of my repair time was spent staring at the unit before making moves, lol.

On Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 4:18:29 PM UTC-4, Dave Platt wrote:

I usually get it at Fry's, in the electronic-tools section.

Online... Amazon or eBay would probably work.

I'd also like to find something that won't leave lint like a qtip has.

There are foam-tipped swabs (look a bit like Q tips on steroids)
designed for just that purpose.

I had no idea CD books are done with a less expensive method similar to
home burned.

These days, burning is used for a lot of smaller CD production runs.
I haven't priced things lately but I suspect it's more economical for
any single-run batches of less than a thousand copies.


No Fry's near me. But Microcenter is like Fry's, and has it, turns out.

Foam-tipped swabs - will have to keep an eye out now that I know they exist.

I'm sure burning is cheaper for smaller runs. Can even be done at home by a starting artist musician (which is several of my albums.)

Found some 99% on Amazon for $ 14.05 for 3 pint contaniers.

http://www.amazon.com/99-Isopropyl-Alcohol-Antiseptic-
Solution/dp/B00BWYNIDO?ie=UTF8&psc=1
&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

Need to order other things to make up about $ 50 total for free
shipping. As my wife likes certain Yuban Gold coffee that is not in
the local stores any more, I ordered lots of that and the 99% for the
free shipping.

It seems to be 99% as I put equal ammounts of that and some Walmart 90%
in some open containers (about half a teaspoon) and kept checking on it.
The 90% still had something left in it after all the 99% was gone or
almost gone.

Thanks for the link Ralph! I don't normally buy from Amazon so shipping adds up, but my sister buys there all the time, so I have her get select items for me.

Jeff

Alcohol is hydroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air). Your 99% will
go down to 91% if you leave the bottle open. Fortunately, it takes
some time so you don't need to be fanatical about replacing the cover.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azeotrope
Note that 70% alcohol is what you want for a disinfectant because some
water is needed to kill of hydrophylic bugs.

I should probably buy some 99% alcohol for lens cleaning, but have
been getting away with using the 91% stuff without streaking.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=99%25+alcohol
Ugh... about $8/pint



Wouldn't have guessed Alcohol is hydroscopic. Or that water in 70% is needed to make the bugs go belly up (or blow up).

I was thinking of asking on Freecycle for a thimbleful, if I decide I need it. I'd certainly offer if I'd bought a pricey bottle and someone asked.

On Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 11:19:23 AM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Hope your power is on and staying steady that way!



Can you see in the photos, where the glass mirror would be?

I have no idea. The photos are too small and cover too large an area.
Look for something like this:
http://g01.a.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1Cm2ZKXXXXXXWXFXXq6xXFXXXJ/Original-Replace-For-font-b-Pioneer-b-font-DEH-P7400MP-font-b-CD-b-font-font.jpg
The mirrors are behind the lens.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/cdplay.html



The box with the lens looks very much like that first link of an optical pickup. It moves up and down a spirally thing. I cleaned the circular glass button in the middle which I assume is the lens, including the edges. I couldn't get access from above and had to reach from the side from an opening in the casing.

However, that box has a screw on the other side when I turn the player over.. (It's one of the photos of bottom.) So I'm guessing the mirror glass is in there. Where exactly is the mirror in that link? In the second link, nothing is marked mirror. There are two flat squares that look like they'd be it.

My worry is that there are adjustments, and they'll be messed up just by opening the box. Seems like it should be openable without damage, but I'd want to know it's usually not a problem to open the box.


It's 2012 Mazda 3 iGT Hatch.

My point is that the drive is NOT easily replaced. No clue on parts
but unless the CD drive mechanism can be identified, finding
replacement parts is going to be difficult.


Yes, replacement parts would be hard to find unless a company lists them by car model. I did find a number of Mazda 3 radios on ebay. It's always risky that they didn't test them well, or who knows what. Some were cheap but the better feedback ones were over $100, and often $160 or so. Some cheap ones seemed to be because the faceplate was scratched which of course isn't a problem for me. So if I get too frustrated... that's my backup plan.



Read the repair faq section on "CD players in vehicles".


I had before posting here. Did I miss a section or anything in particular?



I know this car was a smoker's before me for 4 years.

Bingo. 90% rubbing alcohol works well to remove the tar.



Okay!



So if most of the time problems have been smoke on the lens, do you
mean actual smokers? It'd been hopeful for me, if that's the case.

Yes, but there are plenty of other sources of oil, grease, tar, soot,
and such. Just look at the windows. Do they remain perfectly clear
when you're driving? Of course not. Well, some of that also gets
into the CD player and makes the optics looks much like your
windshield.



Good point about the windows getting dirty on their own.




Taking a photo sounds like a good idea. It'd be very hard to
take a photo since it has to be in the box, where the beam isn't
directly visible. Maybe the more cleaning that I've done
will do the trick.

I don't take a photo. All I do is check if there's anything coming
out of the laser or if it looks wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df70YVAg-iI
Fast forward to 2:10 for what it looks like. Not all digital cameras
can see 780nm light. (DVD are 650nm and BluRay are 405nm).

There are also photo diodes on a stick that can be used to measure the
laser output. For some odd reason, I can't find the magic buzzwords
and URL. Anyone?


Good to know. It'd be impossible in this case to see. But for that non-car one I want to fix.


Oh crap. Power outage... save, post, and run...

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

- Sam's write up says there may not be a turning mirror, if there's enough vertical space to skip it.

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm#cdcompop

- The pickup seems worse in hotter weather. Is there a logical reason for this?

On Fri, 3 Jun 2016 22:18:25 -0700 (PDT), curls
wrote:

Jeff

Alcohol is hydroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air). Your 99% will
go down to 91% if you leave the bottle open. Fortunately, it takes
some time so you don't need to be fanatical about replacing the cover.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azeotrope
Note that 70% alcohol is what you want for a disinfectant because some
water is needed to kill of hydrophylic bugs.

I should probably buy some 99% alcohol for lens cleaning, but have
been getting away with using the 91% stuff without streaking.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=99%25+alcohol
Ugh... about $8/pint


Wouldn't have guessed Alcohol is hydroscopic.

Yep. The water absorption for ethanol and water stops at a 95.6% mix
(by weight):
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/phaseeqia/nonideal.html
or for denatured alchohol at 91%.

Incidentally, water absorption in ethanol fuel is a potential problem
in high humidity marine environments:
"How Ethanol Gas Attracts Water from the Air - Demonstration"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeCyFxoWPpo

Or that water in 70% is
needed to make the bugs go belly up (or blow up).

Yep.
https://www.quora.com/When-is-70-isopropyl-rubbing-alcohol-better-than-91

I was thinking of asking on Freecycle for a thimbleful, if I decide I
need it. I'd certainly offer if I'd bought a pricey bottle and someone
asked.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Alcohol is hydroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air). Your 99% will
go down to 91% if you leave the bottle open. Fortunately, it takes
some time so you don't need to be fanatical about replacing the cover.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azeotrope
Note that 70% alcohol is what you want for a disinfectant because some
water is needed to kill of hydrophylic bugs.



Well, good to know. Also that 91% is good enough for this job. Stuff I wouldn't even think to think about, turns out to be very relevant.

I tried to find and clean the mirror. No success getting in far enough.

Now it often reads when first loaded. But has trouble after it's loaded, and stopped, on finding it to read again. Can't imagine what causes that?