Car CD-player skips - would cleaning disc help? (1 Viewer)

[MickeS]

I didn't think this qualified for any of the hardware forums, so I hope someone here knows.

The CD-player (factory version) in the Chevy S-10 I'm driving is skipping all the time, so I can't use it.

Would one of those lens cleaning discs for CD-players help? I don't know how those work, or what the cause of the skipping might be. Any help would be appreciated.

/Mike

 

[Jeffrey_Jones]

Hello,

Cleaning would probably not help. It sounds like it could be an alignment problem that would require $ to fix. You could always try to clean it but I wouldn't expect any miracles.

Car CD players are subjected to horrible conditions including constant vibration and extreme temperature changes. Most manufactures use relatively inexpensive CD players with poor shock dampeners. More expensive CD Players use silicone dampeners that last longer and are less affected by temperature changes (less skipping).

My suggestion would be to cut your losses and purchase an aftermarket CD player. If you need it, many manufactures even make double din units designed to fit in larger openings.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[David Susilo]

I test around 600 CD drives a month, try the lens cleaner, it can do wonders. Get the dry brush type, made by Maxell. That's what I use a lot. I keep my car CD player lens clean using the cleaner once a month.

Considering your situation, try running the cleaning-track around 20 consecutive times. If this does not improve anything, then replacing the head unit will then be a better bet.

 

[KeithH]

Mike, trying a lens cleaner certainly can't hurt. However, your factory unit may have run its course. If so, you can get a decent aftermarket unit for under $200. The factory unit on the '97 Honda Accord I once leased started skipping after two years. Truthfully, I didn't bother with a lens cleaner because I didn't like the factory head unit anyway. I ended up buying an Aiwa head unit that played CD-RWs for only $150. For under $200, you could get an aftermarket head unit with more features than your factory unit probably offers. Good luck.

 

[MickeS]

Thanks for the advice guys. I don't own the car though, I'm only borrowing it for a few months, so I can't get a new unit (well, I could I suppose, but I have better things to spend my money on than someone else's CD-player ).
Looks Like I'll invest in a lens cleaner (how much are they, around $10 right?). I'll let you know how it went.
/Mike

 

[David Susilo]

Should be around $10. Don't need to buy the fancy kind, they work exactly the same.

 

[Ryan L B]

try to spend around 20 or 30 dollars and get a portable one

 

[MikeH1]

Stay away from Clarion(DZ 615). I bought one last summer and it skips like crazy. Its very sensitive to minor scratches on discs and has been a nightmare. I traded it in and they gave me a new deck (the same model) but alas, the same problem. The salesmen told me "they (Clarions) all are sensitive like this but thats what you get for good sound/build quality". I almost burst out laughing in his face.

Also, after an hour of listening and it warms up it starts clipping. This doesn't really bother me cause I know it's not powerful but is annoying because it only happens once it starts running warm/hot.

In my experience I have found factory decks to usually not be as skip prone than aftermarkets but can sometimes have awful sound.

I remember Denon being in the car-deck business some years ago but haven't seen one in ages. Did they get out of car audio?

 

[Clinton McClure]

The factory CD player in my Celica skips like crazy and I believe it is made by Clarion. (I may be wrong though.) I had it replaced once and the new one skips as much as or more than the previous.

 

[David Susilo]

AFAIK, Toyota's CD players were made by Fujitsu Ten, Mazdas: Panasonic, Hyundais: Clarion.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Thanks David. I thought I had read somwhere it was Clarion, but I was not sure. Regardless of who makes them, the factory players in the 2000 Celica GTS models are pretty shoddy players.

 

[David Susilo]

Clinton,
I don't know for sure, just based on my personal experience opening these things up, hence the AFAIK
However, how's the Celica. Thinking of getting the TRD edition. I don't care about gas milage, but corner handling and fit are extremely important to me.
PS: I never personally used the Clarion mentioned above, however, none of my Clarions is prone to skips (all of them are the second lowest-end ProAudio series)

 

[Clinton McClure]

I like my Celica. It's a 2000 GTS model. Corners like a dream and rides like it's on rails. Mine is still sitting on factory springs, but I bet it would be even better if the center of gravity was lowered about two inches. Best of all, though, are the seats. I love the way they wrap around and hold your body in place during tight corners.

 

[David Susilo]

My apology to the poster since this is way out of topic.

Clinton, I heard that the TRD edition is lowered. Is it true? Supposedly the chip is specially designed by TRD, with outrageous side-skirt, spoilers, mufflers (they are soooo ugly I love them). However Ihaven't seen a single TRD Celica anywhere in Toronto (and it is supposed to be sold starting September last year).