I'm trying to repair an old 3DO game unit (Panasonic FZ-1) that
failed several years ago due to a problem in the CDROM drive
(Matsu****a-Kotobuki CR-560-B). It had gone unused for several years
before that. Before it failed, the seek sound seemed to be louder than
normal. (Though perhaps I just forgot how loud it was before!)

As it is now, the drawer responds to the open/close button but the CD
just sits there and never spins-up.

I've disassembled the unit and removed the controller board from the CDROM
drive. I've tested each of the motors by applying power to them
individually. Only the sled motor and its mechanisms seem irregular. They
seem to make a grinding sound but otherwise seem to work fine. The sled
motor itself is somewhat noisy and shaky when run alone outside the unit.

I've tested each of the contact switches and they all seem to be working.

When I power up the unit with the cover off, I can see that the sled never
moves, the laser never shines, and the lens never tries to focus.

After disassembling and reassembling several times, the CDROM drive
suddenly started working again. On power-up or drawer-close, the sled
moved to the start position, the laser turned on, and the lens started
focusing. When I put an audio CD in, it spun up and played. I thought I
was home free. Unfortunately, when I fully assembled the unit it went back
to its previous behavior!

I've been able to get it working a few more times, though it would
stop working again as soon as I opened and closed the drawer.

I'm really at a loss as to what is going on here. I can't seem to get it
to correlate with any particular component. I've read the FAQ quite a few
times and my particular situation doesn't seem to be covered. I know the
pickup works, the motors work, the switches work, and the controller board
works (though any of these could perhaps have an intermittent problem).

Anyone have any ideas?

Anyone know where I could find a replacement reader if I can't get this
fixed? The drive seems to have a nonstandard data/power interface so I
can't just plop any old IDE CDROM drive in there.

Thanks,
Jeff