Pioneer Elite 99 Laserdisc player stopped working (1 Viewer)

[Sam R. Aucoin]

Tonight, while watching a movie, my Elite 99 laserdisc stopped working. The tray opens and closes, it accepts commands from the remote by displaying and attempting to do them, but it will not spin the disc. Although I hear what seems to be the laser mechanism moving into position, the disc does not begin to spin and it projects a "U1" code in the upper left corner of the TV.

Before searching for a replacement, does anyone know what could have caused this?

Shortly before this occurred, the disc I was playing (one from the Wyatt Earp expanded edition) began a whirring noise that I have read indicates the disc is not entirely flat. I went up to the player and slightly (and I mean slightly) moved the tray up and down, thinking that might solve the problem (it has, believe it not, in the past). This time, it made my player quit working.

I would really appreciate any input, including suggestions on whether it would be cheaper to purchase a comparable player or send this one off to be repaired. If a send-off is a viable option, where, exactly, does one send a laserdisc player to be repaired?

Thanks,

Sam

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Just did a quick search on Google groups and came up with these:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...net%26rnum%3D1
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e..com%26rnum%3D1
In regards to getting the unit repaired, I would contact Pioneer for a local authorized repair shop:
http://www.vicinity.com/pioneerservice/startprx.hm

 

[Phil A]

Go to http://www.newsville.com/news/groups/alt.video.html and post the question in the laserdisc area. Kurtis Bahr regularly answers questions. I might see him next week and if at my advanced age I remember, I will ask him. I have no idea what it means, since anything that I fix is confined to an obvious bad solder joint, but if I had to take a wild guess it is something to do with the spindle motor. I know the part number is VXA 1986 since Kurtis told me I should go out and get a spare which I need to do.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Sam,

This sounds very similar to the problem I had with mine. It turned out to be the brake was dirty. I found out that if it’s dirty it will slip and the motor won’t be able to get the disc spinning, or takes a long time to stop the disc – maybe both.

It was an easy fix – I was able to do it myself after taking off the top cover. It’s a little round, rubber thing somewhere around the spindle, if I recall (it’s been a long time) – surprisingly small for it’s function. Once I figured out what and where it was I cleaned it with some alcohol and a Q-tip, and bingo, I was back in business.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Kurtis Bahr]

Need to know more information to be able to repair or diagnose. "U1" is a miss Clamp Error. Did this stop playing in the middle of a movie or was it when you inserted a movie. If the motor tries to spin then it could be a dirty clamp surface (this is what the other preson cleaned, it is the clamp surface that holds the LD during braking or playback. The unit breaks by changing the magnetic field in the motor to make it want to spin the opposite direction, this causes the spindle to slow down and then when the tach tells the electronics the spindle has stopped the motor drive is stopped). Anyway, since your saying the disc never tries to spin then you have either a bad spindle motor or a bad laser pickup or associated electronics. I repair these and have a test spindle motor and laser pickup I can install to determine what is really wrong.
This can be fixed much cheaper than buying a new one. I repair these as a hobby. Write me at [email protected] if you have questions.

 

[Philip Hamm]

[Philip Hamm dons his old dusty no longer used "Administrator" cap for the first time in months - curiously it is cone-shaped]

Thank you very much Kurtis Bahr for joining the Home Theater Forum.

[takes off the Admin cap - that's much better]
I have a CLD-99 myself and it's a darn good player. I'd fix it.

Sounds like you need a new spindle motor. If you don't mind the shipping, have Kurtis fix it. Or find a local authorized Pioneer shop. Or, alternately, call local VCR repair shops and ask if they're familiar with LaserDisc players. There's a local shop near me called Burke TV & VCR Repair that is not an "authorized" Pioneer repair center, but they can get parts and know LD players very well. They replaced the spindle motor on my CLD-D704 for $180 a couple years ago.

 

[Jeff D]

You've got the best advice you can, Kurtis is the man.
Welcome to the group Kurtis, AVSForum and HTFourm members will be better off with you around!
Sam, if you want to try cleaning your player here's a link to Kurtis' how-to: (It's for a 504, but the general idea is the same, the parts may be a little different.)
http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&....aol.com#link2
If you do try this, check the top half of the clamp Make sure that's clean too. It's a bit tough to get around inside there, but I've found it helpful to clean that too.

 

[Leon Liew]

I am facing the same problem here with my LD player. It
just refuse to play. As mine is a BMB model with karaoke
function not Pioneer. As described in this thread, it seems
my player problems are similar here. So I went out and
bought a used Pioneer CLD-D390 LD player just in case.

 

[Sam R. Aucoin]

Sorry for the late response - I have been on vacation.

Kurtis replied via private email and we are going to try something between us. If that fails, or if the cost is too high, I will be in the market for a "new" one.

Guys - thanks for all of the replies.

Regards,

Sam

P.S.: BTW - I tried the approach linked above, and still no go - I attempted to play the LD with the cover off. The LD is lifted, the clamps are in place, and the disc begins to spin, but it then shuts down within 2 seconds and displays a U1 code on the player display. Thus, I surmise that cleaning alone will not be sufficient.

 

[Rachael B]

Sam, my CLD-99 did the same thing and had the U1 message. It just came back from the shop with a new spindle motor, which cost me about $200. Best wishes!

 

[Gregg Loewen]

Hi Kurtis, glad you could find us.
FWIW, Kurtis has worked on 2 of my players now.

Gregg

 

[Philip Hamm]

I'm with Rachael. I recently put $180 into a new spindle motor on my 704. They wear out. Wouldn't it be better to spend $200 on a repai and have your 99 like new than take a chance on Ebay?

 

[Sam R. Aucoin]

I agree with those suggesting replacement of the spindle motor vs. Ebay. But here's the rub (this is basically the explanation of the problem I sent with my player to Kurtis):
I tried the "cleaning method" that Kurtis had posted for someone on Google. Unfortunately, the metal cross-bracket with the four screws that holds the top "plate" (I don't know what else to call it, but it is the circular piece that is attached to the metal bracket containing ball-bearings that fits flush against the LD or CD whenever the spindle motor presses the LD or CD upwards) that the LD is pressed against by the spindle motor had one screw that was stripped, and another that was missing. Therefore, the only way for me to remove the top, circular plate was to rotate it so that the three plastic "wings" holding it to the metal bracket, were turned far enough so that the top plate fell (I caught it, of course) when the three "wings" reached the three opening in the metal bracket. This let me access the spindle motor and the rubber portion that is pressed against the LD/CD. Even though the rubber portion appeared clean and had a "new" feel to it, I still scrubbed it hard using a laboratory grade Q-tip (it does not fray like over-the-counter brands) doused with isopropyl alcohol. The Q-tip barely turned gray. When I tried an LD and a CD, it still did not work.
Note the following:
1. Whenever I press "A" or "B", the laserpickup turns over the way it seems that it should.
2. Whenever I insert either an LD or a CD, the machine seems to properly raise the LD or CD so that it is pushed tightly against the top plate.
3. I NEVER see the laser light come on - although it may be shielded in some way, it seems that I should see SOME reflected light, while the top is off, that indicates the laser is, in fact, "on".
4. I noticed that even before the machine stopped working, the command to "open" was taking longer and longer to actually open the drawer until this major failure.
5. With the cover off, I noticed the following:
A. For LDs, when I press close and then play, the machine appears to properly press the LD upwards against the top plate. But (as I said above), the LD only spins (at most) two revolutions before the machine's motor stops spinning the disc and displays a "U1" code on the display (it also displays this code on the TV when it is hooked up).
B. For CDs, when I press close and then play, the machine again appears to properly press the LD upwards against the top plate. In this instance, however, the CD actually spins quit a bit (almost 3 seconds) and appears to get up to full speed before the machine finally does what it does for the LD - stop spinning the disc. The other difference is that for the CD, the display flashes a "U0" code, rather than a "U1" code.
Now - does the above STILL sound like a bad spindle motor? It seems if the spindle motor was bad, it would not spin at all. But then again, I don't know what the hell the problem is - that is why I sent it to Kurtis
Regards,
Sam

 

[Jeff D]

Um, #3 is very bad to do! I don't know why the removed those little warnings they put on the first few generations of CD players. Lasers can damage your eye. I don't think it's visible light either. (I'm not sure on that last part)

There are even issues with the top clamp that could be the cause. that wouldn't be a bad guess if the top plate isn't correctly mounted or attached. Balance is also an issue if the metal plate has problems. If the top piece isn't clean and doesn't allow movement that too can cause the player to stop. That was why I suggested cleaning the ball bearing area. Balance problems would show quicker on a larger disc. Along with that a LD is heavier so the spindle motor would have to work harder to get up to speed quickly. A CD is light and would spin up quickly, in 5 seconds the head might acutally be trying to read the disc's TOC.

Whatever it is, Kurtis will find it. =)

 

[Philip Hamm]

It seems if the spindle motor was bad, it would not spin at all.

No. The spindle motor will still spin if it needs replacement, you'll just have problems like you are experiencing. My 704 would not read CDs at all but worked OK on most LDs when the spindle motor went bad.

That top clamp doesn't sound healthy either.