CD player says NO DISC to some CDs

fieldmouse

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My old ,but quite good quality Sony CD player won't play some of my CDs. It comes up with NO DISC when I put them in. Anybody out there know why and how I can solve the problem ? Any advice would be appreciated.......thanks
 
I very much doubt it's fixable, but hopefully it may be a known fault and someone will sort you out :smashin:

I wouldn't hold my breath though :(
 
I had the same problem with mine, had to buy a new player.

One thing you might try is a CD lense cleaner. These are CD's that have fine brushes on them, and something to make the player go to the specific track that has the brushes. The brushes then gently brush any accumulated dust off of the laser reader lens.

That didn't work with mine because the CD couldn't read the CD lens cleaner.

Steve/bluewizard
 
I had that same problem a few times on my age old technics cdp. The warranty had long since done. I remove the cover and cleaned the lens with a cotton bud and cleaning solution (spit :D).Works every time and still to this day.
In failing that, then a new cd player. :smashin:
 
I too used the cotten bud approach on my old Marantz CD50SE but eventually looked to replace the whole CDM4/19 Laser assembly. In the end i picked up another player as i could not track down a new assembly :thumbsdow

It's an option to repair it yourself, but may be easier to buy a new player if you are not very handy with DIY electronics.
 
I'd recommend Don's approach, but using isopropyl alcohol (aka rubbing alcohol) rather than spit :)

Get the alcohol cheap at a chemist or as an av/audio cleaner on the high street. It's a very simple fix. If that doesn't work then used cd players are dime a dozen on EBay. If you've got a spare dvd player, or can hook your existing one to the hi-fi, try that instead.
 
I've done it over the years with various players, sometimes it works sometimes not. My old first gen Arcam Alpha 7 survived a few iso cleans but has now given up, but it had loads of use, on the other hand my Limit 9000se refused to read 90% of discs and cleaning did nothing and was hardly used over 6-7 years, played 150-200 discs max.

If i could find replacement transports i would have a bash at fixing them. If i got stuck my brother could do it so i'm lucky.
 
One caution about isopropyl alcohol or any alcohol, it doesn't react well with some plastic. It works great on vinyl, as in record albums, but if you use it to clean your computer or TV screen, or to clean the interior of your car, it will get foggy or cloudy.

I think I would trust a few drop of plain water to dampen the small paintbrush or cotton tip before cleaning.

I did try that with my old player, but ... no joy.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Goog point Wizzard, though I've had no problem with the stuff - though admittedly I usually use spectacles lens cleaning spray. If using water, I'd recommend distilled and not tap water, certainly if in a hard water area.
 
Both good points from Blue wizard and Skinumb. I did use IPA (isopropyl alcohol, not the beer) but ran out when the cdp went gaga. No chance of getting any that time of night and i couldn't wait till morning so i gave it a try with a bit of spittal.

If my mum could clean the dirt of my forehead with a lick of spittal on a hanky, then it's not going to hurt the cdp.

IPA is great stuff. It gives a deep clean, but can get foggy if left to dry. If wiped dry with a lint free cloth or cotton bud it should be ok. Used on anything other than glass or plastic it does leave a cloudy look and will need to cleaned off with something else.
 
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Hi,

Found your thread when our Sony hifi started to only read one in ten of our CDs. I relaise this suggestion won't help oyu but it may help the next person:)

I used a cotton bud dampened, not wet, with acetone (nail varnish remover) and cleaned first the lens, then the rest of the shelf. it now reads all the CDs perfectly:) Don't know how long it will last but it's worth trying before you buy a new one!

Good luck:thumbsup:
 
This does sound like the laser is on it's way out. Mine refuses to play certain discs until it is warmed up then plays them with out problems.
It's well worth trying to clean the lens first, if it was an expensive cd player it might be worth tracking down a repair specialist as they maybe able to do an economic repair.
 
Vodka worked for me:) No, I didn't drink it and then think to hell with the cd player...although that's an option:laugh:! I just dipped a cotton bud in a small amount and cleaned the lens. I guess we forget how much dust there is in our rooms!!!!
 
Hi,

...

I used a cotton bud dampened, not wet, with acetone (nail varnish remover) and cleaned first the lens, then the rest of the shelf. it now reads all the CDs perfectly:) ...

Good luck:thumbsup:

Acetone is even more reactive with plastics than Alcohol, so I would use this with extreme caution. It works as nail polish remover because nail polish is a plastic paint which the Acetone dissolves.

I think the saving grace might be that Acetone evaporates extremely fast.

Keep in mind that I use IS0-Alcohol all the time as a cleaning agent, so I'm a big fan of it. But, I do have personal experience with it etching some types of plastics. That said, for other types of plastics, it is an excellent cleaning solvent, and generally safe, IF you don't drink it. Not only that common Drug Store/Apothecary isopropyl alcohol is very cheap, cheap than a lot of common cleaners.

Typically Iso-alcohol is more likely to have a problem with softer plastic such as car interiors, or LCD computer/TV screens, and not so much of a problem with harder plastics. But there are always exceptions.

I had an old combination DVD/VHS player that started having trouble reading DVD's. I tried the standbys of CD/DVD cleaning disks to no avail. I then opened it up and tries to clean the laser read head, again to no avail. Eventually I had to buy a new player.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Both good points from Blue wizard and Skinumb. I did use IPA (isopropyl alcohol, not the beer) but ran out when the cdp went gaga. No chance of getting any that time of night and i couldn't wait till morning so i gave it a try with a bit of spittal.

If my mum could clean the dirt of my forehead with a lick of spittal on a hanky, then it's not going to hurt the cdp.

GREAT ADVISE IT WORKED THANKS!

IPA is great stuff. It gives a deep clean, but can get foggy if left to dry. If wiped dry with a lint free cloth or cotton bud it should be ok. Used on anything other than glass or plastic it does leave a cloudy look and will need to cleaned off with something else.

I had that same problem a few times on my age old technics cdp. The warranty had long since done. I remove the cover and cleaned the lens with a cotton bud and cleaning solution (spit :D).Works every time and still to this day.
In failing that, then a new cd player. :smashin:
 
I'll add one additional point, though it seems unnecessary now. Occasionally I'll have a CD or DVD/BluRay that won't read. Upon close inspection I can see flaws, usually surface debry, on the disc, or perhaps fine scratches. CD (and similar) are extremely resistant to scratches, but they are not immune.

This contamination can come from a variety of sources. For example I have a CD that cam in a cardboard sleeve rather than a jeweled case. There is glue on the inside where they glue the cardboard together, and it gets on the CD. Recently I cleaned it and moved it to a jeweled plastic case.

Which brings me to my point. Just as you can clean (ie: wash) Vinyl, you can clean CDs. If found that good quality mild car polish works well. I also have some CD/DVD cleaner/Polish that is more abrasive than the car polish. Rub it around lightly over the effected area with your finger, then wipe it clean.

Currently I use an old bottle of Turtle Wax 2000 Polish, works fine. I've also used Nu Finish car polish. Again, it has been my experience that these are less abrasive than Polish made specifically for CD/DVDs.

I think I'm currently using a product called Scratch Out CD/DVD cleaner and polish.

There are other Auto Clear Coat scratch removers that might also work.

Sound like you've got it solved though.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Before you ditch this cd player try playing cds on your DVD player. My CD player won't play any new CBS cds' but will play everything else. As for the CBS cds I play them on my DVD player without any problem. I suspect that some part of my [and your] CD player needs a clean or that the lazer is weak but I don't fancy paying to have the engineer out as the player is hi spec and would probably cost a lot to have upgraded.
 
old thread i know but might as well ad my contribution :)

iv'e always used lens cleaning fluid and a cotton bud for cleaning the laser lens
apply a small amount of liquid to the cotton bud and gently clean the lens then with the clean bud end gently wipe away any residue
job done :)

what you really should be doing is scoping the lasers output to see how well the pattern looks and adjusting the gain / bios to get the best pattern the laser can produce but to do this you will need at least a 10meg oscilloscope ( i used to use a 50meg one for this ) and work out where the test pins are on your particular cd transport
iv'e seen plenty of good cd transports swapped out rather than being tweek'd to optimum performance

i know this can't be done by your average hifi enthusiast but if you know anybody who has a scope and some idea of what there doing it could save you shelling out for a replacement

on the other hand iv'e also seen a lot of cd transports that are just beyond tweeking
 
I had the same problem with my Sony PMC-R35L and I managed to replace the laser unit with one i found in a beyond repair JVC RC-BX530 and all cds now play fine.

Only now there is a problem... The unit does not output sound fo the tuner mode, only cds and cassettes. Any plans?
 
I'd suggest that's totally unrelated to the laser unit and you've disturbed something else while doing the repair.
 
I'd suggest that's totally unrelated to the laser unit and you've disturbed something else while doing the repair.
That is exactly what happened, i took apart the machine again and the main board connection to the control panel had wrinkled up pins . i straightened out the connectors and the unit now preforms perfectly.
 

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