my 96 has not played cd-r discs for a while now. i removed the player from the car and took it apart to clean it. on the side of the laser there is a small round potentiometer. it looks like a little phillips (or X-head) screwdriver fits into it. i turned it clockwise a bit and rigged the player back together enough to test in the car. i tested it and then it wouldn't even play original discs. i noticed then that i could access the potentiometer from the side of the player (the metal sides of the radio player were off). i turned it a little more then inserted a cd-r disc and it worked no problem. i put in an original disc and it worked no problem. i tested a bunch of different discs (old and newly burned) and all worked first try. hope this helps.

 

that sounds good..mayb pictures will help for anyone

 

damn. well when mine started ejecting cd's rapidly, i just pulled it out and threw it out the window, or i would try this trick. id love to have a stock radio back in my dash.

 

i am going to try this soon!!! i was also going to pull out the radio since a few of the lights burned out... so maybe ill change them out to blue LED's while i am out this and try to fix the lens...

 

desired_speeds just swapped the CD part with a working one from a radio that had broken buttons. Worked a treat, haha. Out of two half-working ones, we got one perfect one and one that became a big paperweight.

~Cheers~

 

Gotta try this.. not that i use the cd player anymore, cause the ipod adapter works like a charm... but.. i still want the capability. The list for the summer mods and tweaks grows even larger...

 

Once in a while I get a "CDPED" error. I eject the CD and load it back, it plays ok. Happens when I start the radio with the CD selected. It happens 100% of the time.

Any idea guys?

But when I start the radio with an FM station and then switch to the CD, then, most ofthe time, I am OK.

 

Warning (from my experience with electronic work).

By lowering the resistance of the potentiometer on any laser unit, you risk burning out the laser. This is because a higher current will run through the laser (usually a zener diode) circuit (that spins up the power necessary for the laser). It may or may not be able to handle it, and it will have a max handling limit.

If you want to adjust the resistance in order to be able to read CD-R's etc, I recommend doing so carefully by noting your starting resistance and then dropping it 5 ohms max each time. It will be a pain to adjust it so accurately. Adjust and test, then repeat again if necessary. When it works stably, stop adjusting. Alternately, raising the resistance will lower the power and therefore the unit will not be able to read discs. Also, units that can read multiple formats, i.e. CD and DVD, will have a potentiometer for each (one for CD and one for DVD).


Note that the adjustment could work for a while and then start to "misbehave" again because of the aforementioned stress on the circuit, a difference in CD-R discs, etc. Or you may never have a problem again.

You can find many articles on laser read issues relating to Playstaion 2 consoles. The problem is the same here.

I've noticed that an adjustment of 14 ohms or so on PS2 units are sufficient.

 

i failed... at one point i got my hopes up... the player actually played a CD... until i ejected it and put in a CD-R... then stopped working from then on again with me messing with the settings all over the place... nothing...

 

here are some pics for those that want to attempt this...

 

Hey DARKLEGEND and KaMLuNg. Great information! My player hasn't been able to read a RW CD for years. Plus, it is a matter of luck whether it will play a purchased CD.

Lat night, I used both of your posts to attempt the adjustment. Removing the trim and Player was very easy. Took very little time. What did take a lot of time was removing the panels from the player and adjusting the pot. Trying to remove the side panel, to reveal the pot, was the most time consuming. It was around midnight and I had to use the interior lights and a flashlight.

I first tried rotating the pot clockwise. No affect. a bit more clockwise, a couple more times, but the CD would still not play. So, I tried counterclockwise, but by now I had lost the starting position of the pot. So I took a guess, and IT WORKED!.

Reassembly went quickly and by 12:30 the dash was back to normal.

The CD player has worked all day. Finally, I can listen to my recorded CD's

Thanks again.

BTW. Bought the 3.2TL new in 1998. It now has approx. 220,000 miles. I've had few problems. Nothing major.

EGR valve warning lamp, which came on at less than 100K. It's still on. I check the codes occasionally to make sure nothing new has shown up.
Fan motor thrust bearing went out. New motor from autoparts store cost $44.
Speed Sensor failed at 210,000 miles, bought a used one on EBAY for $25 and saved about 3,000 mile on the ODO.
All door handles have lost their return springs.
Replaced door speakers because the cones rotted. Disappointed that I could not listen to my CD's after installing 2 ways. UNTIL NOW.
Changed the Cam belt at 110,000 miles as a precaution.


Still get 24/25 MPG.
Did 115 MPH a few weeks ago, easily
Change the oil every 3 - 5K miles.

Damn good car!