Automobile CD changer problem

[Don McCarter]

My car has an Alpine Sound System with an in console
6 Cd changer.
The problem is the changer started skipping some
of the Cd's and then giving an "empty mag" error.
After getting the error I can eject the cartridge then
reinsert it and a couple of the 6 CD's will play.
It plays 1 & 5 or 1 &3 or 1,2 and 6, different
CD's on each insertion.
I am looking for a clue as to what the problem
is before taking it to the dealer for repair.

Thanks,
Don

[matt.r...@worldnet.att.net]

Don McCarter <dmcc...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> My car has an Alpine Sound System with an in console 6 Cd changer.
> The problem is the changer started skipping some of the Cd's and
> then giving an "empty mag" error.

I am taking 'skipping' to mean that it refuses to play some of the
CDs (it finishes playing #1, loads #2, puts #2 back right away,
loads #3, and starts playing #3) instead of meaning that it plays
the CD but you hear clicks or dropouts in the music.

I would GUESS that you have a dirty lens (easy fix) or possibly
the optics are a little out of alignment (harder). I have fixed
a CD player that was refusing to recognize CDs (that played fine
in another player) simply by cleaning the lens. An in-console
car CD player is probably subject to having drinks, etc, spilled
into it.

Having the optics out of alignment is something that is harder
to fix but I suggest it because the changer is getting bounced
around in a car. You'd hope that the designers would have
anticipated this but you never know.

One thing you can do yourself is to take the cartridge out and
take the CDs out of it. Make sure the CDs are not scratched
or dirty. Make sure the magazine is clean and that the CD
trays in it move freely. Look down in the slot for the magazine
and make sure it is free of dustballs, errant change, keys, etc.

You might look at the CD repair FAQ at
http://www.bithose.com/serfaq/REPAIR/F_cdfaq.html for more information.

Good luck!

Matt Roberds