Hi George!
I know I have asked before, but the cartridge seems to be jamed in the player
which is mounted under the front passengers seat. It is a panasonic player, any
ideas on how to remove the cartridge?
I've never looked at that particular changer, but in general:
If the CD cassette fails to eject under it's own power, you will
probably have to take the changer out of the car, and remove the
cover. Probably a combination of tiny phillips screws, and plastic
clips. Possibility exists that you will destroy it in the process, but
if it's not working anyway you have little to lose, and your CDs to
gain. What has most likely happened, is that a CD is stuck 1/2 way
in/out; maybe warped due to heat, maybe crud in the mechanism. Should
be pretty obvious once the cover is off. You will need to locate the
motor that operates the gear drive that loads/unloads CDs, and work it
manually, while assisting with your fingers or whatever tool seems
appropriate, to put the CD back into the cassette. Hook up power, and
it should eject. Probably a good idea to clean things up a bit while
you have it out; use a vacuum to remove dust and debris, and a q-tip
moistened with rubbing alcohol to clean the lens, and any obvious
accumulations of crud. Anything beyond this is far beyond the scope of
a DIY project for most folks. I can't advise taking it to a shop; it
will undoubtedly cost as much or more than a new changer to repair.
Extract your CDs as best as you are able, toss the changer into the
dumpster, and go shopping for a new one. Several manufacturers make
changers in the $200 range that connect thru your FM radio. I can
heartily recommend the Alpine 6 disk changer that also does .mp3s,
(CHA634?) but you will also need a compatible Alpine head. The pair
can be had for around the $400 mark if you shop online, or on ebay.
Oh, one more thing that is worth a try, just because it's so simple:
Disconnect the car battery for a few minutes, then reconnect it and
try to eject; possibly the changers microcontroller is confused, and
cycling the power will reset it. Good luck!
ByeBye! S.
Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101
