Car Stereo not working right

[Ted]

Hello to all the great and good HFCers on this Board,

I have a '98 Honda Accord. It is in very good condition for its age, but my CD player just went on the fritz for the first time.

I have tried brand new CDs, and CDs of all conditions and origins without positive results.

I can hear the CD spinning.

It sounds like it is not able to read the CD.

In the "old" days before the burgeoning of digital IIRC you could insert a device looking just like a CD to "clean" the system/optics for the laser reader.

All help, advice, and suggestions are much welcomed.

Ted U

[JohnnyB]

Hello to all the great and good HFCers on this Board,

I have a '98 Honda Accord. It is in very good condition for its age, but my CD player just went on the fritz for the first time.

I have tried brand new CDs, and CDs of all conditions and origins without positive results.

I can hear the CD spinning.

It sounds like it is not able to read the CD.

In the "old" days before the burgeoning of digital IIRC you could insert a device looking just like a CD to "clean" the system/optics for the laser reader.

All help, advice, and suggestions are much welcomed.

Ted U

They still make those CD lens cleaners, but that doesn't guarantee that using one will fix it. It might. However, in many cases a CD drive gets too out of adjustment (or something fails) to render it inoperable. I'd say it's worth buying and running a CD lens cleaner a few times to see if it clears it up. If it doesn't, replace the unit or have a mini-plug input added that enables you to play your iPod through your car stereo.

[Ted]

Thanks JohnnyB, I had a feeling you would have the answer. ~Ted U

[belgian]

Nowadays those are so cheap, just replace it.

I had an expensive (500€ +) blaupunkt set in the car, the disc changer started to fail, and replaced it with this cheap Sony.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MEXBT3900U-In-Dash-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B004H8FTOI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

It even sounds better.

[Armitage]

Lasers in CD players have a limited life and skipping on new CDs is the first sign. Unless you do it yourself, it's probably not worth fixing and cheaper to replace the unit.

[HAMERMAN]

Any accumulated dust sitting on the laser makes it harder to focus, as a last ditch effort you can try blowing into the CD loading slot with canned air.

[unfun75]

Try eBay for an exact factory replacement. Should be very cheap at this point.

Don't know your trim (EX, LX, etc.) but here's one on eBay right now that is cheap:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1998-2002-Honda-Accord-Factory-CD-Player-Radio-39100-S84-A410-OEM-/290914533293?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1998|Make%3AHonda|Model%3AAccord&hash=item43bbdb7fad&vxp=mtr

[Ted]

Thanks for the info fellas!