CD changer skips..

Hi all,

The 6-disc changer in my 1995 HSE jumps all the time unless the car is not moving, or the road is silky smooth (unusual in Kent ). It's worse when cold, seems better when it's warmed up/ been on a while.

Any fix/ maintenance I can do? Or am I expecting too much from 15-year old audio equipment?

Take the cartridge out and give the machine a gentle blast with an airline to remove debris and dust. Clean the connections to the back of the remote unit too. Are you getting a 'thump, thump' when you change a track or any of the sound settings?

Thanks for the quick reply.

I'm not getting any unexpected noises from it or through the speakers, all I have noticed is that it sometimes misses the first second of a song when I select the next track on a cd!

Any dampness in the boot could settle out as condensation onto the disc surfaces, which will clear as it warms thro`.

Certainly sounds like dirt or damp (hadn't thought about that) so the airline trick should see to both. Don't blast it too hard though otherwise you could damage the delicate laser assembly. Or even use a hair dryer on an extension lead!

Be VERY careful sticking an airline into your changer!!

Perhaps a bit old fashioned (I usually am) but have you played a cleaning disc in it to clean the laser?

Had same problem for nearly 3 months :doh:
but now fixed.
Go to Maplin and buy a laser disc cleaner for £4.99
pop it in and 1 min later perfect results.

Wish I had looked into it sooner

Thanks for the suggestions all!
It had dawned on me that it may just be a build-up of dust etc in the unit. The bootspace is such a great place for it!!!
The car is not damp inside, but I'd imagine theres a hell of a lot of condensation at this time of year.
Will clean it the best I can and run a cleaning disc through it

David_Cooper said:

Will clean it the best I can and run a cleaning disc through it

Click to expand...

Don't take it out or try cleaning it with anything (airlines etc) just put the cleaning disc in and it will do its job.

If it is really dirty inside just use the disc cleaner a couple of times, it will work and rectify the problem of skipping.

Thanks v8, I'm yet to even run a disc through it, (busy at work) but will definately do that first.
Would love an easy fix

Ran the cd cleaning disc through it and it's definately improved things but still jumping!

I've done some experimenting with it today, I've noticed it doesn't really jump due to road surface.. it's when it's turned up loudly!
So.. only thing I can think of is the sub (above the changer) is causing it to skip?

Could still be dirt in the system. Overuse of cleaning discs can damage the lens and not clean out the residual dirt. When I said use an air line, I obviously didn't mean to blast it in the slot and hope it worked but more the automated equivalent of blowing into it without losing your breath i.e. short blasts from a safe distance. Have you checked the unit mountings aren't slack in any way?

Yup I realised you meant to use the airline carefully, I've not checked the unit properly yet- think I will this weekend if I get a chance I do have an air gun attachment so this should be ideal really, with the compressor turned right down. Does the multichanger come apart.. or would I destroy it?!
Probably a good opportunity to vacuum the bootspace out properly including behind the panels and in the spare wheel well.

Fixed!

I took the unit out to clean it and noticed that only one side was bolted into the cage..

Anyway, I removed the front of the multichanger, hoovered out all the dust/ dog hairs etc and bolted the thing back in, this time secured at both sides.
Now it works perfectly, no skipping on rough roads and I can turn it up as loud as I wish
Thanks for all the tips.