Sega CDX plays carts, but discs don't spin

[uglyjack]

Hi,
I just got my CDX which can play carts just fine, however, when I have a CD game in the system it has trouble spinning the disc. It gets a rotation or near rotation a few times and stops and never really even gets up to speed.

The system boots to the SegaCD welcome screen and says 'checking disc' until it decides there is 'no disc' in the system.

The LCD display says 'game' and then puts up '00' when trying to read the disc, but disappears when the system says 'no disc'.

I dont know much, so I was guessing it(cdrom) is not receiving (enough) power. Any links or information would be very appreciated. Thanks.

-jack

[omnedon]

Try a real CDX power supply, with at least 1500mA rating.

They are hard to find.

[uglyjack]

Thanks for the quick reply. I am using an authentic CDX supply. It has the SEGA logo and then the next two lines say, "Class 2 power supply for use with Genesis CDX." It has an output of 9.5V DC 1.5A
I have an adjustable power supply somewhere and so I'll try to see if I can make it work with that, if it has the correct settings options.

Edit: My adjustable PS will not work, and I don't have any lying around that are close to the 1.5A

[FABombjoy]

Well, the laser must work to some extent if it spins the disc - that typically won't happen unless the laser reports a positive result on disc focus. It does sound like it could be a spindle motor issue if the disc never seems to spin up correctly. Have you tried the easy stuff, like cleaning the laser & trying other games or music CDs?

[uglyjack]

Multiple games and audio CDs produce the same result.

As for cleaning the laser, I'm not sure what the best/safest way to do it is. I have taken a can of air to it, but I doubt that's the best I can do. What do you suggest to clean the laser. I am reading on the net that there is a special lens cleaning solution and lens cleaning cloth. Is a q-tip and isopropyl alchohol suitable? I used it successfully on my DRE'ing PS2 laser, but wasn't too worried since I'd been with it for so long.

When it's attempting to read the disc I do hear noise from it, I'm not sure what the noise is. Also, every time I take a disc out the laser is in the same spot. I'm not sure if this is normal, or if it means the laser is having trouble moving.

Thanks.

[FABombjoy]

Alcohol & q-tip works fine. What kind of noise is it? Like a repetitive noise (tick tick tick), or a few squeaky bursts?

[uglyjack]

Cleaning laser didn't fix it.

As for the noise, I would say it's more like squeaky bursts, similar to the sound a normal cd player may make. I looked at a little more closely and every time it made that noise it looked as if the disc was trying to spin.

I'm thinking I'm gonna have to open this sucker. There is one FAQ (http://www.multimods.com/CDXFAQ.html) I keep stumbling upon when googling for info. It doesn't make it sound too difficult to get it open. But after it's opened I would be lost..

Thanks for the help so far.

Edit: I took the bottom off of the system and found the copper shielding. It has a bunch of finger prints all over. I'm starting to think I'm not the first to try to get this system going again. A small black metal ring fell out. It's about a 1/4 inch in diameter and cracked in one place.

[uglyjack]

Ok, so once I made it past the copper shielding I think the finger prints stopped, everthing else seemed like I was the first one to take it apart that much.

I took it apart completely, cleaned it the best I could and looked for obvious things, and found nothing, no giant clump of hair in the motor or gears.

Also, I manually moved the laser out of the position it was in, when I powered it back up the laser moved back to where it had been previously.

When I re-assembled the system it worked just like before I opened it.

Is there anything more advanced I can try to do with it open? Thanks.

[fishsandwich]

No help from me but I feel your pain. My CDX does that same thing... used to work great. I've heard of at least two other cases of this condition as well.

[RugalSizzler]

Ever tried taking it apart enough for you to see exactly what occurs while the disc is spinning. Maybe there is something trapped in there or it might be melted?

Another thing is that somebody said motor issue and personally that was the first thing I said to myself when you said it gradually stops spinning.

The last thing is that maybe you put something in it that was dirty and the laser is dirty. I would research on how to correctly clean the laser eye.

Never use outside products to clean fragile items like that unless you are absolutely sure. The laser that spins in all CD devices produce a small amount of
electronic noise and radiation also.

I was thinking you could use some air spray to see if any dust kicks up.

[uglyjack]

I took it apart completely, and air-sprayed it out.
I don't believe I can have it too open while running because there are two pcb boards connected by a set of 20 pins or so, and to see the laser motor and parts you need to have those two pcbs pulled away from eachother. So to have it open and on-I dont think it would work.

I didn't see anything preventing the laser from moving--no melting.

[omnedon]

CDX's are truly a pleasure to service and test. ;-) It so nice to have to completely re-assemble to test.

Or not.


Sorry man. Replacement lasers for those are a bitch to find, and still no guarantees it would solve your problem.

[InsaneDavid]

I know I must sound like a broken record because I found it was what was wrong with most JVC X'Eyes but after all the other stuff that's been tried it might be worth a shot... There should be a little switch / button held down when the disc lid is closed. As I've never maintenanced a CDX before I can't tell you where it is or what it looks like. Anyway, when this is depressed it tells the system that the lid is closed and disc spin/read can be utilized. This is also the trigger that stops a disc from spinning if the lid is opened while the system is running. It's possible that yours is shorting out, either from poor contact or a worn switch, which is making CD read stop.

I'm curious if the CDX has a "door open" signal, if it does and you don't see it then disregard my idea as it isn't the problem. But if "no disc" and "door open" are tied to be one in the same then it's worth looking in to. Hell, the JVC X'Eye displays "door open" no matter what, it just flashes when it's open - which is why it took me so long to figure out the problem with that console.

Again, I've never worked on a CDX so this might not even be related, but it's worth checking.

[Computolio]

Is there a potentiometer on the lazer assembly? Try messing with it and see what happens.

[ASSEMblerEX]

Is there a potentiometer on the lazer assembly? Try messing with it and see what happens.

Odds are it's one of the many capacitors and not the laser.
Unless you use it heavily, I doubt the coils are bad.

[closetQueen]

hey Computolio
let me know how it's going with your console I've the same problem! Might be worth it to send it to repair as it's the combo sega system ever.

Anyone else know what power adapter i can use for a Japanese Champagne Saturn? In the US?