CD player skips and wont play some tracks

I have a portable CD player in the garage. Its not worth even trying
to fix it, but I'm just curious why it plays a music CD for awhile,
but suddenly it will skip, then it just quits playing. It's not the
CD, it does it on any CD I use, and they always do it on the same
songs. I know it's the player. I know the basics how a CD player
works, but not the specifics. What would cause this? My guess is a
misalignment of the laser, but then I'd think that it would be a
problem across the whole CD disk ?????

I'll find another cheap Cd player at Goodwill for $5, but I'm just
curious why it does this.

Thanks

LM

 

[William Sommerwerck]

One cause of skipping is a decline in laser output. It's possible that, as
the unit warms up, the laser output drops... and so on.

 

[Mark Zacharias]

<letterman@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:rhoot45e0obl6q9dgf2iq38abp8tnr0bmk@4ax.com...

I have a portable CD player in the garage. Its not worth even trying
to fix it, but I'm just curious why it plays a music CD for awhile,
but suddenly it will skip, then it just quits playing. It's not the
CD, it does it on any CD I use, and they always do it on the same
songs. I know it's the player. I know the basics how a CD player
works, but not the specifics. What would cause this? My guess is a
misalignment of the laser, but then I'd think that it would be a
problem across the whole CD disk ?????

I'll find another cheap Cd player at Goodwill for $5, but I'm just
curious why it does this.

Thanks

LM

Could be the laser, but just as easily could be hair, carpet fiber or some
other mechanical issue with the laser feed mechanism. This is usually a
stepper motor with a wormscrew shaft, though it could also be a small belt
drive mechanism. Obviously a cleaning is in order, but I would confirm that
the feed motor etc is working properly as well. Doesn't take nuch to stop
one of these motors, since in Play mode they run at a pretty low voltage.
You can try seeing if it can access the outer tracks at all, although
directly accessing these tracks runs the motor at a higher voltage while
seeking, meaning you might still get to the outer tracks and still have a
problem in regular Play mode, but it's worth a try. Could be illuminating.

Mark Z.

 

[James]

<letterman@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:rhoot45e0obl6q9dgf2iq38abp8tnr0bmk@4ax.com...

I have a portable CD player in the garage. Its not worth even trying
to fix it, but I'm just curious why it plays a music CD for awhile,
but suddenly it will skip, then it just quits playing. It's not the
CD, it does it on any CD I use, and they always do it on the same
songs. I know it's the player. I know the basics how a CD player
works, but not the specifics. What would cause this? My guess is a
misalignment of the laser, but then I'd think that it would be a
problem across the whole CD disk ?????

I'll find another cheap Cd player at Goodwill for $5, but I'm just
curious why it does this.

Thanks

LM

If it always does it at roughly the same time into the CD it's likely a
mechanical problem with the tracking. Cracked pinion on the sled drive
mechanism is common on some models, or hardened lubricant and dust on the
sled. Lots of possibilities.

James

 

[JB]

<letterman@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:rhoot45e0obl6q9dgf2iq38abp8tnr0bmk@4ax.com...

I have a portable CD player in the garage. Its not worth even trying
to fix it, but I'm just curious why it plays a music CD for awhile,
but suddenly it will skip, then it just quits playing. It's not the
CD, it does it on any CD I use, and they always do it on the same
songs. I know it's the player. I know the basics how a CD player
works, but not the specifics. What would cause this? My guess is a
misalignment of the laser, but then I'd think that it would be a
problem across the whole CD disk ?????

I'll find another cheap Cd player at Goodwill for $5, but I'm just
curious why it does this.

Thanks

LM

Have you tried a cleaner. I would think dust on the laser lens would be a
regular problem. These are usually plastic, so if you scratch it, pitch it.

 

[Samuel M. Goldwasser]

"JB" <nospam@goofball.net> writes:

letterman@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:rhoot45e0obl6q9dgf2iq38abp8tnr0bmk@4ax.com...
I have a portable CD player in the garage. Its not worth even trying
to fix it, but I'm just curious why it plays a music CD for awhile,
but suddenly it will skip, then it just quits playing. It's not the
CD, it does it on any CD I use, and they always do it on the same
songs. I know it's the player. I know the basics how a CD player
works, but not the specifics. What would cause this? My guess is a
misalignment of the laser, but then I'd think that it would be a
problem across the whole CD disk ?????

I'll find another cheap Cd player at Goodwill for $5, but I'm just
curious why it does this.

Thanks

LM

Have you tried a cleaner. I would think dust on the laser lens would be a
regular problem. These are usually plastic, so if you scratch it, pitch it.

The first thing to do is to clean the lens, but not with a lens
cleaner, they sometimes help but are often worse than useless
and just spread the dirt around, if not actually damaging the lens.
If you are just marginally more than curious then, it takes 5 minutes
but you have to open up the player.

But this sounds more like a mechanical problem, possibly as simple
as the need for cleaning and lubrication.

See the CD player repair guide at the Web sites below.

--
sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
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