Yamaha GX-505 not detecting CD's

[robbo78]

Hi Guys,

I'm after some advice. My Yamaha GX-505 system is not picking up CD's like it once did. I put one in the tray, hit play and all it makes a soft cliking noise and a whirring buzz type noise, then opens the tray after failing to detect the CD. I have to repeat this process 5 or 6 times until the unit will finally play a CD (but it tends to skip if the unit is knocked gently). The problem has gradually been getting worse over the last 12 months. I've used a cleaning CD to remove any dust but it has not corrected the problem

Any ideas what may be wrong with the unit. I really like this stereo and don't want to part with it - can it be fixed?

Cheers,

Greg Robertson
Benalla, Victoria, Australia

 

[MDS]

It could probably be fixed. The problem would likely be that either the laser or the tray mechanism is out of alignment.

If it happens mostly with CD-R and not commercially pressed CDs it could simply be that the laser cannot read CD-R due to their lower reflectivity than pressed discs.

 

[Alex2507]

I've got an older non progressive scan dvd/vcr combo that I'm not in love with. It was doing something similar so I took the case off of it to be able to see what it did when I put a disk in it. It went through a series of "moves" 3 or 4 times before the screen on the unit finally said 11 tracks.

After unplugging the unit and taking more stuff apart to be able to get to the tracks and the laser I used an alcohol imersed Q-tip to go over the laser eye. I could see where the grease on the tracks had been pushed away from the areas that make contact so I used the other end of the Q-tip to move the grease back to the contact areas or glide surfaces if you will.

A test showed that the player only had to go through the "moves" 1 time to show that the disc had 11 tracks. I have yet to play a dvd on it and maybe alcohol is the wrong thing to use. Don't use Windex. When the cover is off and the unit is unplugged I still treat electronics like live snakes. Something about capacitors being able shock you even when the unit is unplugged. There is also a static discharge issue. I figure if it's already broken, why not?

 

[robbo78]

Hey Guys,
Thnks for taking the time to reply to my post. Fortunatly the player handles CD-R disks well so I will rule that out, reckon I might open the case and have a look and see if anything is amiss around the laser.
Robbo