SEGA CDX Problems Reading CD games.

Retrogamer

Troller of Old Men,
20 Year Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2002
Posts
2,188
Let me give you a full progress report before guesses are made.

Was presented a CDX unit that was not reading CD games, Genesis carts play fine but CD does not spin and screen says "no disc"

Unit has original OEM power supply.

Upon opening the unit I took note that the copper shielding inside had many fingerprints on it denoting that someone had been inside before, however there is no evidence of any solder work done, leading me to believe they were just in there to try adjusting pots. There is no evidence of leaky or bulging caps either.

I wired a battery to the spindle motor and it spun freely with no issue so the motor is good. the laser shaft assembly also moves easily so it is not seized.

Further testing upon being reassembled, the door close switch is working as the screen notifies me when I open the disc cover.

One interesting thing is that if I force the laser to the outer track position and turn the system on the disc will spin clockwise for two seconds then reverse for a second then stop, this will sometimes result in an unending "checking disc" message or a "no disc" message.

I am guessing that the unit needs a new laser assembly, but if someone did in fact fondle with the pots it would be incredibly hard to find the correct pot designation.

Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated
 

RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Posts
8,788
If you need a laser assembly I might have a brand new after market one. Purchased them when I owned a cdx.
 

awbacon

Kyokughen Trainee
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Posts
4,220
I’d try to find some photos of the internals of the CDX to attempt to identify where the pots should be, but I’d someone was in there playing around more than likely it’s due to a cd read issue and the best course would be a mech replacement. Which isn’t fun considering how stupidly tight the CDX is packed in there. I pray mine never has issues
 
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