Car Stereo Blues
 

So yesterday, driving the Grand Am, I went to switch CDs in the stereo. This is a JVC KD-G220, I bought it back in '03 (I think) after my other car stereo was stolen. It was a great excuse because that old stereo controlled a changer (which I still have) but lacked a function I wanted. The JVC supports MP3s on CD (I love this feature).

So, back to the story, I go to put a CD in and it has difficulty loading it in (kept spitting it out). It finally loaded it, now it's STUCK. Sometimes it would start playing, sometimes it wouldn't.

So... Last night.... I tore the dash apart and pulled the CD player out. Right now it's in pieces all over our kitchen table. Good news, got the CD out, better news, I found out what went wrong, bad news, not sure I can fix it :mad:

The unit has one motor to spin the disc and then a 2nd motor that does EVERYTHING (loading/unloading the disc and moving the laser). The laser rides on a worm gear. When it returns to it's resting position (most inside travel, closest to the spindle) part of the rig that rides the worm gear has a tab to engage a a lever allowing the multi-purpose motor to operate a different set of gears for loading and unloading. Well, that part that allows the laser to ride the worm gear is loose, thus, it lack the power to bump that lever and do the rest of it's job!! That piece is loose because the tab it sits in is worn.

Tonight, I am going to buy some epoxy that will work on metal-to-plastic and see if I can get it to bond (not holding my breath). Otherwise, it may be new radio time for the Grand Am. That bums me out....

Man, that sucks. I hope the epoxy does the trick for you. I've contemplated putting an aftermarket DVD player in my car but have a few more mechanical modifications I'd like to do to it first before dropping the coin on one. Good luck!

Man that does suck hopefully u can fix it, & I got a DVD in mine & I love it

I hate how one little cheap piece of plastic can wreck an expensive radio. I had a pretty nice JVC in my truck and the tabs broke of the volume control. I fixed it twice then i finally just drilled some holes in it and used a toothpick to turn it up or down.

If the epoxy does not work, off to get a new car stereo. I have some BestBuy Reward Zone points I can put towards it. Average replacement cost looks like $100. But, I like this radio, how it works and it's not like it's DESTROYED, it's a tiny 2 cent piece that is worn down.

Not holding my breath on the epoxy fix, but I have to try.

Currently attempting to epoxy things to fix the stereo. I hope to know later today if this was successful or not.
Here's the radio I'm fixing:
AM/FM CD Receiver - KD-G220 - Introduction

Yesterday I window shopped at BestBuy and if I can't fix it, this is what will probably end up in the Grand Am:
Pioneer - 50W x 4 MOSFET Apple® iPod®-Ready In-Dash CD Deck with MP3 Playback - DEH-3300UB

This car has over 210,000 miles.... I almost don't want to spend the money on it BUT, I figure most (if not all) the stereo gear will get re-used in the '84 Camaro when I get it restored. So it certainly is NOT going to be wasted.

Fixed!!
 

Don't under estimate epoxy!! I epoxy-ed things back together (were stuff was wearing away). Put it partly together and manually cranked the gears, tests good.

Put it ALL back together, connected it up in the Grand Am.... Tested ejecting and loading, playing, all GOOD!

Now, it still might break again.... Hard to say.... But for now, it looks like it's working. So later tonight or tomorrow I will put my dash and everything back together.

Glad it worked out, I've been through a few radios and the thing that annoys me most was I spent $250 on a DVD/CD/MP3?IPOD/AUx etc etc radio and 3 months after having it it stopped reading discs, so I went back to the $100-$130 Dual brands and have not had any problems like that yet, the one i recently got though upset me, i put it in and the first super cold day we had the letters on the screen quit popping up and has not been back up yet, I got the ! year replacement but I really dont wanna tear it all apart and take it in then tear it apart again rewire and put back together so dealing with it for now lol.

Well, this stereo I put in the car, actually I thought was 2003, I think it was more like 2004. Either way, I drove a LOT of miles with it in ALL weather, no problems until this past week. When I got it, the radio, install kit, wiring harness and antenna adapter was all of $150 to my door (I did the install all myself).
To replace it, I would have just had to buy a new head unit (I started looking at a Pioneer for $100). So, it's not a HUGE expense, more of an annoyance.

yeah i just put a jvc back in my monte to sell the car