Best Lubricant for Worm Drive CD Players?

My portable CD player gave a No Disc Error so searched the forum and found

formatting link
$20disc$20error$20message/sci.electronics.repair/J4VPWf16c4Q/NWm6L8JHKQwJ

Seems this error message is quite common with Worm Drive CD Players and is due to sticking. Problem goes away when clean and relube the worm and laser slides.

Next did forum search as to the best lube to use for these CD players but only got more confused because of the range of products recommended.

formatting link
$20CD$20players/sci.electronics.repair/qCkU9OlaNFA/m-Ems8SBBRcJ

Since these recommendations were posted ~ 12 years ago am wondering what Lube recommendations have worked the best? Would like to use something that will last for at least 10 years.

Am interested in any comments or suggestions.

Thanks

Ken

Reply to
KenO
Loading thread data ...

formatting link
$20disc$20error$20message/sci.electronics.repair/J4VPWf16c4Q/NWm6L8JHKQwJ

to sticking. Problem goes away when clean and relube the worm and laser slides.

got more confused because of the range of products recommended.

formatting link
$20CD$20players/sci.electronics.repair/qCkU9OlaNFA/m-Ems8SBBRcJ

recommendations have worked the best? Would like to use something that will last for at least 10 years.

Teflon lube if you can find it...

John :-#)#

--
    (Please post followups or tech enquiries to the newsgroup)
  John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
John Robertson

formatting link
$20disc$20error$20message/sci.electronics.repair/J4VPWf16c4Q/NWm6L8JHKQwJ

due to sticking. Problem goes away when clean and relube the worm and laser slides.

only got more confused because of the range of products recommended.

formatting link
$20CD$20players/sci.electronics.repair/qCkU9OlaNFA/m-Ems8SBBRcJ

Lube recommendations have worked the best? Would like to use something that will last for at least 10 years.

What would be the result if no lube?

Whenever I renovate a pot that has "failed" in an amp due to compacting grease levitating the modern flimsey wiper , I clean out and reassemble. None of those amps have come bouncing back ,

Reply to
N_Cook

You have to decide if you want oil or grease. For the slide, I use grease, mostly to keep it from dripping away. For the rotating parts, I use oil.

I use white lithium grease, molybdenum disulfide grease, or teflon grease. Whatever happens to be handy. Don't use anything really thick, such as wheel bearing grease. A thin layer is enough. More grease just collects dust.

For oil, I use clock oil (not watch oil). It's advantage is that it does not change viscosity with temperature and does not evaporate over time. It's probably overkill for the purpose, but I have some, so I use it.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

All good suggestions. Moly grease is probably a good choice:

Reply to
Sofa Slug

The slides of the reel drive motors in Sony broadcast VTRs have a similar i= ssue. We tried paste wax which worked quite well. Remove the rail, clean th= oroughly and apply the paste wax. After it dries buff it up and reinstall. = Being dry already means it won't gum up and any dust falling on it won't st= ick. For oil I use Nye Oil II synthetic which won't gum up either.

G=B2

Reply to
stratus46

Some plastics and some oils/greases will interact , but you don't know which until a few years down the road.

Reply to
N_Cook

formatting link
$20disc$20error$20message/sci.electronics.repair/J4VPWf16c4Q/NWm6L8JHKQwJ

formatting link
$20CD$20players/sci.electronics.repair/qCkU9OlaNFA/m-Ems8SBBRcJ

For many years, I have used a light synthetic machine oil in an aerosol can from Electrolube. The product is called "CMO" which stands for clear mechanical oil. It has excellent 'cling' properties - especially on the chromed slide rods found in CD players. It is also good on rotating parts such as spindle motor bearings, and on sled drives where they are worm drive types, such as in Panasonic / Technics drives. It does not attack plastic, and seems to lubricate that quite well, too

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

Hi Arfa,

"I have used a light synthetic machine oil..."

Thanks for the tip!

Do you have any suggestions how to get the lube to the worm gear and sled a= reas without taking everything apart?

Also any tips for cleaning the lens?

After posting decided to check Sam's "Notes on the Troubleshooting and Repa= ir of Compact Disc Players and CDROM Drives"

formatting link
dfaq.htm#cdgicdp and found "The following should be performed as general pr= eventive maintenance or when erratic behavior is detected. The lens and its= suspension, turning mirror, drawer mechanism, spindle, and sled drive shou= ld be checked, and cleaned and/or lubricated if necessary and appropriate..= .portable CD players with pop-up doors. These types can collect a lot of du= st, dirt...Cleaning the objective lens and turning mirror (if accessible) a= re the most important general maintenance that can be done. Even minor cont= amination of their optical surfaces can easily result in 50 percent reducti= on in the returned signal - and all sorts of problems."

Appreciate any tips concerning Cleaning Portable BoomBox CD Players. you ma= y want to post at Tips Cleaning Portable BoomBox CD Players?

formatting link

Thanks again for your help!!!

Ken

Reply to
KenO

Gaining access to deck parts depends a lot on the make and model. Some are very easy to get at, others are very hard. Some are just 'in the middle'. Not very helpful, I know, but that's just the way it is. To clean the lens properly, you need very pure electronics grade isopropyl alcohol, and a supply of cotton buds (Q-Tips). You need to get the optical head to a place where you have easy access to the lens. Then take one of your cotton buds and dip it in the alcohol. Now roll it on the back of your hand until it is moist, but not dripping. Clean the lens by gently rotating the side of the bud around the surface. Be careful not to get too 'brutal' with it, as the lens suspension is quite delicate on some lasers. Once you have cleaned any dust and surface 'film' from the lens, swap to a dry bud, and polish the lens surface with a gentle circular motion. This is about the limit of what can be done to clean most lasers. It will not be enough in some cases. If the lens is very dusty, then there's a good chance that the laser internals (critical angle mirror, pickup diodes) are also coated in dust, and this can lead to a significant decrease in laser performance. On some lasers, I have had a degree of success in this regard, by holding the lens to one side with a scalpel tip, and then directing a blast of compressed air down into the optical cavity below the lens.

On lubing worm drives, I usually find it necessary to actually strip the drive off the deck, and clean all of the old grease off, before reassembling and relubing. I do this because I find this type of drive a lot less forgiving of any stiffness than the more-often encountered three gear and rack drive. A good example of this is the worm drive found in many Panasonic / Technics players. The sled will often stick on these, and yet when you get it apart, the worm drive still feels quite smooth. Never-the-less, when you go on to clean it properly and then relube, 99% of the time, the problem will have gone away.

Be careful what you strip apart on DVD decks. They are extremely critical of laser tilt and skew, and there are often adjustment screws to move the slide rails around. If you disturb any of those screws, and don't know the correct procedure to realign them, you will render the deck useless.

Cleaning of lasers and servicing of decks in boombox players, is no different from tabletop models. For the most part, you will find exactly the same decks and lasers in them, as you do in their big brothers. Ones with a pop-up lid are easy to get at. Ones with a drawer, often are not. Nature of the beast, I'm afraid.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

Arfa,

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

"lubing worm drives, I usually find it necessary to actually strip the drive off the deck, and clean all of the old grease off, before reassemblin= g and relubing."

Questions:

  1. What do you use to remove the old grease?

  1. Basic Information how to strip the worm drive off the deck? Have never = taken any CD player apart. Have searched the Internet for the parts/repair= manual for my portable CD Player but have not found it. Hope that the mec= hanics of these worm drive CD players are similar or same. To date the onl= y images I have found are for an automotive worm drive CD player (Tweaking = the Chrysler Infinity IV CD Player to Read Recordable CD-R Discs
    formatting link
    ). Just found a worm drive image for a = Sony Discman "Squintasaurus: cybernetic dynamically adjustable vision enhan= cement system"
    formatting link

Thanks again for all your help!!!

Ken=20

Reply to
KenO

formatting link

Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning the old grease off. This chemical is the electronics tech's friend. It will clean most sticky / oily things and is friendly to plastic. It evaporates without leaving a residue, and is pretty harmless to humans. Most workshops keep a supply. If you know any printers, they tend to use a very pure IPA for ink cleaning, and have the stuff by the barrel, so you can usually cadge some if you take your container along. Try to choose something airtight.

The mechanics of most decks are pretty similar. There are two main varieties. The three gear plus rack type, and the worm drive type. Another variant that you still see from time to time is the Philips swinging arm deck, but these are quite rare now.

Once you have either of the two main types of deck out and in your hand (observe static handling procedures i.e. a conductive bench mat and wrist strap) it is usually pretty obvious how they come to bits. Work methodically and observe carefully any screws that you remove, and also any suspension springs or rubbers. There may be several different lengths of screw on a deck, and it is important to put them back where they came from. Likewise, suspension springs and rubbers are often different between ends or corners of the deck, to compensate for the extra weight of motors etc. Just the other day, I had a DJ CD player in from a music store who had ordered in a replacement laser, and 'had a go' themselves. It didn't work because firstly, they hadn't removed the protective laser short, and secondly, because they had put the 'light' springs to the front. The weight of the spindle motor was collapsing these springs, so the disc clamp dragged on its holder.

If you are in any doubt about your ability to remember how to put things back as they came off, take pictures.

About the only other thing to be very careful of, is any flexiprints connected to the laser or motors. These are quite easily torn, and the connectors that they go into can be quite delicate. There are several types of connector, including at least two basic ZIF types, as well as tight push-ins.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

formatting link

Except acrylic. IPA will craze acrylic *instantly*. It's pretty gentle on the typical nylon or PET stuff you get in plastic gears, as you say.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Phil Hobbs

formatting link

Yes indeed. But as you say, such plastic is seldom encountered in consumer electronics goods.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

Arfa,

Thanks again for the tips.

" There are two main varieties. The three gear plus rack type, and the worm drive type."

Which of the 2 is the easiest to get to the gears that need cleaning and relubing?

Are there parts type illustrations of the rack type, and the worm drive type on the Internet?

Checked Google Images using keywords worm drive type CD players no "" got nothing wanted and when used "" got Your search - "worm drive type CD players"

- did not match any image results.

Thanks again for your help

Ken

Reply to
KenO

I can't really answer what you are asking, as there is no answer. Think of it this way. What you are asking is "How easy is it to remove an engine from a car ?" Well, if it's a 20 year old Ford, easy. If it's a 2 year old BMW, almost impossible.

The same is true for CD decks. Some with standard gears are incredibly easy to get to. Some have the gears on the underside, and are not. Some worm drive ones have all of the moving parts above the deck, and are easy. Some have it all under the deck and are not. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube where you can at least see the parts you are talking about e.g.

formatting link

showing a straightforward worm drive type with the worm accessible on the top. A Technics / Panasonic worm drive deck on the other hand, has all of its drive below the deck, and it is necessary to remove a PCB which is soldered to the spindle and worm drive motors, before you can begin to get at the moving parts.

It is very rare to get jamming problems associated with the gears on three gear plus rack types, except when some foreign crap gets lodged in the teeth of one of them. For the most part, this type of drive has the gears either just clipped in, or retained by another piece of plastic that itself clips into the deck. Take a look at this one

formatting link

You can see the gears quite nicely from about 8 minutes in this vid. You can actually see them working. This is a very typical Sony deck found in many manufacturer's players.

If you put "Sony KSM laser deck" into Google Images, you will see loads of photos. "Sanyo laser deck" will get you a bunch more. As will Kenwood, Philips, Pioneer etc.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

Thanks again for your detailed explanations!

"Some worm drive ones have all of the moving parts above the deck, and are easy. Some have it all under the deck and are not."

Is it possible to tell if all the moving parts are above the deck or below before taking everything apart?

Ken

Reply to
KenO

Arfa,

Forgot to ask, in addition to difficult to access CD player mechanics are there some that are so poorly designed and made that it is not worth even taking them apart to clean and relube?

Ken

Reply to
KenO

Have received a nonworking Sony model ICF-CD810 CD Clock Radio (

formatting link
)to try to repair before ad= vancing to anything more valuable.

Did some searching to find out if there were problems with the CD player bu= t found nothing so far.

Did find this "SONY ICF-CD810 Reviews Its users give the SONY ICF-CD810 a v= ery good score for its user-friendliness.They find it very reliable., Moreo= ver, most of them share the same opinion If you have a problem, or need hel= p, the Diplofix forum can help you choose between the SONY ICF-CD810 and an= other product. According to its users, it is very efficient., They nearly = all agree on this point. On average they find that it is very good value fo= r money"

formatting link

Does anyone have any tips concerning the ICF-CD810 CD player or something s= imilar?

Ken

Reply to
KenO

To answer all your questions in one place. Generally, it's not possible to tell if everything is either above or below the deck, except by experience. You might assume that with top loaders, everything is below the deck, but often, they use a conventional deck with most of the mech above, but then cover it with a thin metal plate, which is the bit you see through the slot. To service the gears ets on one of these, the deck would have to come out. OTOH, if this deck type was fitted in a conventional drawer-type player, then you may need only to open the tray to get at everything. Conversely, if a deck with all the gears underneath is fitted to a top loader, it may be possible to get to its underside without removing it. The reverse is true if such a deck is fitted to a conventional drawer-type mech.

There actually aren't all that many basic deck mechanisms. Many different manufacturers use decks from Sony, Sanyo, Panasonic / Technics and Philips. Certainly, there are many others that might be encountered, but in general, the vast majority of consumer CD players are covered by those few makes. Probably no more than 12 or 15 deck / laser types total.

As to whether units are worth taking apart to repair, it's really not the issue as to how cheap and nasty they are governing the deck that's fitted. You are just as likely to find the exact same Sony deck and laser fitted to a 30 quid Tesco-sonic (or Walmart-o-matic for leftpondians!) as might be fitted to a 300 quid Teac. The issue is whether it's worth wasting the time getting to the deck to see if a 'service' fixes it, bearing in mind that such action will only get a (lasting) result in perhaps 50% of cases.

I really can't comment on whether or not it is worth it for you. If you are attempting to learn, and whether or not the unit fixes is of no consequence, then it probably *is* worth it for you. As a repairer who is in it to make a living, that's not generally the case for me. There are occasional exceptions where an item has sentimental value for an owner, and they are prepared to pay an examination fee that they understand that they might lose.

As to how to proceed on your Sony, you need to figure first what exactly is happening (or not). Does it play at all ? If yes, does it have poor 'playability' i.e. sticks, skips, doesn't like some discs etc ? Does it manage to get through all tracks if left alone, or will it not get past a certain track ? Does it struggle more to play home-burns than commercially pressed discs ? Much of the technique of fixing CD players, is down to an accurate diagnosis, and one of your best workshop tools in this regard, is the mk 1 eyeball. If you can be a bit more specific about the nature of the problem that it has, I might be able to offer some more detailed pointers.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.