Problem Disassembling Aiwa 7 CD Player Apart Model LCX-70M

[whirligig]

The CD changer on our Aiwa LCX-70M refuses to move or play any of the CD's in the changer. I was able to it take apart and remove the CD's, replaced the belt on the sled motor. But the problem I'm having is that I can't access the changer motor to replace it's belt. The service manual gives an exploded views of the assemblies  but no instructions on how to take the thing apart in an orderly manner. The only detail I have is the alignment of the gears for the sled tray. There doesn't seem to be any youtube videos covering 6 or 7 CD players. Granted these things are mechanically complex. Any suggestions this community can offer will be appreciated.

[whirligig]

I was able to remove the stocker assembly by first latching up the change arm by turning the loading motor by hand, then raising the stocker assembly by turning the stocker motor until the assembly is is flushed with the top of the side chassis, and finally removing the side chassis screws then prying the stocker assembly out of the main chassis.

Belts are all changed now after a trip to my local electronic store. Now to clean the seven switches in the player....

[bobcat2000]

...after a trip to my local electronic store. Now to clean the seven switches in the player....

Good to know you can still find a local electronic store.  The places I used to go to get my parts were all belly up.

[whirligig]

...after a trip to my local electronic store. Now to clean the seven switches in the player....

Good to know you can still find a local electronic store.  The places I used to go to get my parts were all belly up.

Yes, we're very fortunate that Torrance Electronics is going strong. Our local Frys just closed its doors and Radio Shacks has been gone for more than 4 years now.

Well anyway, I still need to figure out what's wrong with my wife's Aiwa.  I've cleaned all the switches, replaced the belts, and put it back together. The unit will cycle thru the 7 trays then it settles on tray #1 which I can load and play but the other 6 trays will receive CD's because the stocker just sits at disk 1. I think I may have to remove the cam and guess where it should go. The service manual does not have any info on the cam positioning. The other it might be is a bad photo interrupter.

Anyone out there know how these 7 CD stackers work?

[bobcat2000]

I google Aiwa LCS-70M and found this video.

It is not in English but I can see clearly how the cd is being loaded from the back to the front.
Maybe you can compare the video to see what may help.

Maybe physical problem like the grease is dried and harden on the rail so the thing is not sliding up?

https://youtu.be/kP__lDyvsIg

[bobcat2000]

The last one looks like he was trying to replace the laser unit.

This one looks like he is trying to fix the changer unit.

https://youtu.be/wFciUr0Nq94

[whirligig]

Thanks for the video links. I wish I could understand Portuguese. Anyway the videos are worth a look to at least check for placement and routing.

Here's the good news. I just got the thing working and it's working well. After replacing the belts and cleaning the seven switches, this unit would go into a self test cycling through the all of the CD trays but then it would get stuck opening it's tray and stopping. Pressing the Open/Close button, it would close then reopen and stop again. My thoughts at first was the cam assembly wasn't clocked properly. After back and forth on re-clocking the cam, I either got nothing or the same problem as above. The cam assembly has starts out as a single track that splits into two track where the drive unit with the optical sensor swings up to play and swings down to clear the sliding tray. The other track is for the stocker assembly that holds the 7 trays. It moves up and down on the cam to allow the tray mechanism to grap one of the 7 CDs in the stocker assembly. At the base of the cam assembly is a cam lobe profile designed to activate the three feedback switches mounted on a PCB on the floor of the CD chassis. The assembly will only go in one way where the cam lobe is low enough to get passed the three switches without touching their levers. Knowing that, I figured one of the 4 photo sensors is dirty. I cleaned the only photo sensor accessible at this point and that is the one that checks if the CD is on the tray or not. Having everything back together, I tried to get the unit into a Test mode. Somehow the unit went through and entire initialization test and recognized 7 trays. At this point, I was able to load some music and give it a listen.

[bobcat2000]

Awesome!  So, it was just dirty.  The light couldn't shine through.

I had the same problem with my paper shredder.  I thought there was a switch to engage the motor when I put the paper in the slot.  I took it apart trying to look for the switch.  It turned out it did not use any physical switch.  It used three photo sensors.  The lens inside the housing were covered with dusts blocking the light from the other end of the slot.

[whirligig]

Yes, I think that was it. A dirty sensor that couldn't tell there was a CD in tray.

I watched the second video and it was most helpful. I did more work than I needed to. I like the way he pried the stocker assembly out of the chassis. I was way too timid to do that and ended taking more stuff apart than needed.

Thanks, I just avoided making E-waste out of this unit and the wife is happy.