Radio Woes
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Radio Woes - 4/28/2008 11:52:46 AM
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Overcast72
Posts: 14
Joined: 4/27/2008
Status: offline
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Have a 2003 Durango - factory CD player in it. It works mostly fine - with one very annoying problem... The CD player skips like mad.
I've picked up a CD cleaner - ran it through a few times - didn't seem to help at all. I tried a brand new CD-R in it last night, not a thing wrong with it, and it stuttered and wanted to skip a few times. It seemed to read it ok on the second try, it started playing, but way too choppy to keep that noise going on.. heh
Judging from the other spots I've seen in the D, I'm guessing whoever owned it was a fairly heavy smoker and there's a good chance there's a layer of Nicotene residue on the Laser Lens. I've cleaned computer CD-Roms a number of times and DVD players once or twice... with various results.
Question - has anyone ever attempted to open one of these factory strereo's up and clean the lens? I figure at this point, there's little - if anything to loose. If it doesn't work out, I'll get an aftermarket Radio for it, at this point - if I want to listen to CD's at all - I would need to do that anyway.
I have a feeling it's not the Stereo itself, I suspect it's a bit better quality than that. My old Caravan had a fantastic radio in it, so I'm doubting it's the overall quality of it.
Anyone have any tricks or suggestions before I give this a try? At this point, I don't think I can really mess up the radio much, all things considered. It sounds good otherwise, and I'm happy with the thing in every other way. I'd prefer to repair it. A factory replacement, even from a junk yard wouldn't make much sense, considering I can get a new Kenwood at Best Buy for 60 bucks, and a lot of options if I double that.
Thanks~
< Message edited by Overcast72 -- 4/28/2008 12:00:33 PM >
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RE: Radio Woes - 4/28/2008 5:48:36 PM
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Thunder_D
Posts: 9
Joined: 2/26/2008
Status: offline
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No tips or tricks, but I was just wondering: does this skipping happen with original CD's also or just CD-R's?
I used to repair car stereos and people still call me up sometimes. I don't work on them anymore but I have noticed some players just don't like CD-R's... If you hold a CD-R up to a light you can sort of see through it and the reflective side isn't as shiny as originals. I'm guessing some players can't get enough reflection off of a CD-R to read it, but that's just a guess.
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'02 Durango SLT+
VR3 AM/FM/CD/USB/SD Bluetooth HU
PAC steering wheel remote interface
Dual Orion 2250's
Audio Controls crossovers and Epicenter
Polk Audio components
Kicker 15's
Additional Optima Bluetop
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RE: Radio Woes - 4/29/2008 6:16:46 AM
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Overcast72
Posts: 14
Joined: 4/27/2008
Status: offline
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It's happening with originals too. I had some lightscribe CD-R's which have a pretty thick coating and it didn't seem to want to read those at all. So I bought some new memorex CD-R's and the same.. it seems like it might or might not read them. I'm sure a dirty lens can cause no end to problems there.
I was curious about how well it would deal with CD-R's and I'm REALLY tempted to just go aftermarket and get one that can play MP3 as well. I'd save $100.00 in a year over worn regular audio CD's, considering I would just keep one or two around, hehe.
I am going to try pulling it and cleaning it - just waiting for a day or two until I know I have time to get into that and a little extra time to run up to Circuit City or Best Buy if the worst happens... Or if I just get too tempted and say the heck with it, and go get aftermarket anyway.
< Message edited by Overcast72 -- 4/29/2008 6:25:23 AM >
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RE: Radio Woes - 4/29/2008 7:05:49 AM
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Thunder_D
Posts: 9
Joined: 2/26/2008
Status: offline
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Yeah, it could very well be a dirty lens. It would be worth trying to clean it, seeing as how it's not working now you can't really hurt it any.
If you decide to go aftermarket, I would highly recommend a mass-storage mp3 unit. My HU has the SD card slot and has saved me all kinds of money and hassle versus CDs. USB would be the same, I just happened to already have SD cards and like the idea of nothing hanging out of the dash. It's great not to have to burn and keep up with CD's anymore - if you decide to change your playlist it's just drag & drop. The only problem I've run into is that with 2GB of mp3's per card I can't ever decide on what to listen to!
Good luck with whatever you decide.
< Message edited by Thunder_D -- 4/29/2008 7:16:48 AM >
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RE: Radio Woes - 4/30/2008 9:02:09 AM
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Overcast72
Posts: 14
Joined: 4/27/2008
Status: offline
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Well - maybe you can be even more help :)
I have cleaned it a buncha times with the CD cleaner - it works for a while, then decides it wants to skip all over again. i'm starting to wonder if it's more than dirt..
At this point, with the price and ability of these new aftermarket decks, I think I might just get aftermarket in any event. I was looking at some Circuit City offered - mainly some Pioneers, couple JVC's, and a Sony or three. Seem ok - but being a fan of smaller business when I can - I called a local Auto Audio Place.
He said they primarily carry Clarion and Kenwood, they shy away from Pioneer mainly because Pioneer gives them more trouble on it's warranties - and this place puts a full warranty on the system, installation and everything for a year.
In addition to that - they are coming in a bit cheaper for the whole installation. While Circuit City's is free - after the price of the harness, adapter, etc - it's still cheaper to go to the local guy.
I liked the Clarions I found in my price range (100/150 ish for the unit itself) and also noted they supported USB where the others in that price range did not. USB would be fantastic - I wouldn't even have to concern myself with CD's at all. Just a couple thumb drives and I'm completely set. So I'm leaning towards that.
Between Kenwood and Clarion - what is your opinion on those brands? I read a couple reviews on Crutchfield on that specific Clarion - Clarion DB285USB - and they seemed pretty good. The last clarion I had - a very long time ago (1992ish) was just complete junk - but it was used too, so I don't really have much to base an opinion on.
The guy at the local dealer told me what I've heard before - that some of the formerly great brands are more like 'Budget' audio anymore...
At this point - I agree with you, I'm gonna need to go USB. If it has that, I could care less if it even plays CD's, lol
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RE: Radio Woes - 4/30/2008 7:57:21 PM
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Thunder_D
Posts: 9
Joined: 2/26/2008
Status: offline
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Sorry, I can't really be much help on brand recommendations. But since most consumer electronics are mass-produced offshore by just a handful of manufacturers I would guess that all brands in a certain price range are going to be about the same.
Going local with something like this is probably a good bet too, because the local guys will be more likely to remember you if you have a problem and give you an overall level of service the big chain stores don't offer.
The only thing I could suggest keeping and eye out for is the flash capacity. I did a little research on that model didn't find out if there's a limit or not. But you don't want to invest in a big flash drive only to find out the unit can't read it.
Good luck!
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RE: Radio Woes - 5/2/2008 6:45:22 AM
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Overcast72
Posts: 14
Joined: 4/27/2008
Status: offline
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ok, I'll look into that - but overall I'm not too worried. I have a couple of flash drives now, and the smaller ones are practically a dime a dozen, even if I carry 3 or 4 in the console, it would still be far easier than CD's.
I did manage to pull the factory stereo out last night - and was kind of surprised - the CD player is modular and easily unplugs with just a single ribbon cable.
After some more 'analysis' of what it's doing - it seemed to be worse in the mornings - each morning it would skip bad, but after 10 minutes or so, it would start to play decently. In my IT experience - that's also popular with cooling fans - and usually, it's because the lubrication is about gone, but once it heats up some, the grease will spread out a bit and start to give it better lubrication.
I'm thinking the rails the laser slides on might just need some lithium grease - although, at this point, the aftermarket is really tempting me bad... :) -- so I might go check prices at the local shop. Although Crutchfield may be impossible for them to beat. Particularly when Crutchfield tosses in free shipping, free deck install kits, and all the needed wiring for free... But I'll give them a chance at least.
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