CD Changer Skipping

New 10/01/2004

Opened up the CD player today and I found some grease on both the outside of the case and inside. This came from a torn shock dampener of which there are 4, 2 on each side. The springs help to maintain the player chassis in the mounts as they are just a slide in mounting.

Enclosed are a couple of pictures of the mount and one of the grease leaking out of the torn one. The player has been repaired before by Ford under warranty and has the address of the repair place in the Chicago area.

So it's either get a new one or get this one repaired. Personally it looks pretty easy to replace the shock dampeners if I could find them.

Paul Nimz

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All-

Here's a link to my quickie writeup on the CD changer http://www.geocities.com/squall_line_79/shochanger/
and how to switch it from vertical to horizontal mount. Let me know if you have any questions or want any clarification, and I'll edit and submit a final version to Larry for v8sho early next week.

Note: Haven't photoshopped anything yet. I have some pictures of the outside of the case, and planned on adding arrows if necessary, but didn't include them for now.

Paul- I'd clean the laser and then check the rubber suspension pieces and springs inside the unit for your skipping.

Dan, probably the same for you, too.

I'd also recommend moving the changer, and I'm working on fabricating new mounting ears and a write-up for mounting it under the package tray.

-John "In a better mood" Breen III

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This would be good info! My CD player just developed an affinity for skipping around right hand corners, particularly on highway ramps. I was thinking about removing it and mounting it to a piece of closed-cell foam or something, but I'm not sure where to begin with detaching it from the car...

Dan Carman

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Wow, what a mess...

It's good to know that the shock dampeners are grease filled. I'll add that to my information page.

I'm also a little surprised that my diagnosis was correct, since I've never worked on these things before.

Paul, for reference, was the boot torn, or did it look like it dried out and cracked apart? That is, does it look like an age-related failure, or an extreme shock/stress related failure?

-John Breen III

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The boot is torn and all the springs were intact. Where the screwdriver is pointing you can see the silicone grease oozing out of the boot. Fairly viscous stuff.

I called the repair place and they won't sell the parts but insist I send the player in for repair. :(

Isn't there a Sony player out there that works? I know, I know search V8sho.com........

Paul Nimz

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I think it's a Clarion, actually. And there's that one website that Larry got his from, it's a 10-disc.

I'd imagine that you could track down a few people on the list that have paperweight changers that you could salvage a boot or two from. I know Larry replaced his, don't know if he ditched it or not, though. Based on his complaints of skipping, he probably had the same boot damage you have.

-John Breen III

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Actually IMHO skipping more than anything else cause by stupid location. Over a wheel well?? C'mon. Anyway my original lives on in Eric's side exhaust Red SHO mounted of course under the package tray where it belongs, if not in the console.
Uncle Lar
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I've hear this argument a couple of times, but in all reality, how much cush difference is there between the two locations? Seems to me that the two locations are pretty solidly linked. I do wonder if the package tray location would aid in the cold season changer performance?

Rich Larsen
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Don't know. Do know that since relocation, only time it has skipped at all is when the lens got dirty after about 2 1/2 years of use. AT least in SW9, you hit a tar strip in the road and the old location would skate all over the place. I'm pleased with the result. Can only speak for mine though.

Uncl Lar
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I wonder if the better performance is due to a horizontal mounting versus a
vertical mounting. I can see though that a small portion of motion is displaced by getting it further away from the wheel well.
I would imagine that the package tray location would be closer to the cabin temperature giving that location another advantage. I will have to look at the site again. Is there space to mount a changer there even with a '96 sub-woofer in place?

Rich Larsen
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* Ed Note - as the subwoofer is a viable issue, I would use some sort of shock absorbing mount If the unit were on the same rail as the SW. Low Frequency has long sine waves and at volume could conceivably cause the laser to skip. IMHO*

U.L.

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Rich-

There's room if you install it on the metal frame around the trunk opening, rather than the package shelf itself. Of course, if you mount it to the package shelf, I'm not sure you'd be able to get to the disc magazine anyway, as I think it's a little bit higher up in the trunk than the rest of the body work.

As far as the mounting, I'll relate a story about using a discman on a motorcycle.

I slid my discman into the glovebox on my motorcycle, and ran a cable across to the tape deck to run sound through my bike's stereo. I found, through trial and error, that there were certain positions that would cause the discman to skip lie I was in an earthquake, and others where it was rock-solid.

I believe that the way the laser is mounted in the discman is the cause of this phenomenon. The laser travels outward from the center of the disc at a 45 degree angle towards the rear left corner of the discman. If the discman was situated in such a way that the laser travel was completely vertical, it would skip forever. If it was mounted vertically but the laser travelled in a horizontal plane, it was solid.

I'm sure that the same phenomenon applies to the SHO changer. The laser is travelling somewhere along a plane that might or night not be horizontal. The more vertical the travel, the more prone it is to skipping.

When you mount the changer horizontally, the laser is always going to travel in a horizontal plane. It would then be more affected by the car's movement when sliding around a turn or coming to a quick stop than it would be affected by bumps in the road.

Of course, I could be way off, but I have a feeling that a horizontal mounting is still less prone to skipping regardless.

-John Breen III
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Absolutely, I don't have mine dead centered. Wanted to make sure I still could still have plenty of space to shove stuff back there.

Uncl Lar

How about a picture, oh Master of the Web? ;-)

-John Breen III
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OK Lord, you can take me now, I've led a full life and now I'm agreeing with John..........Yikes Cats sleeping with dogs next???:}
I suspect John you are correct but have no scientific evidence to support your theory, just 2 1/2 years of skip free operation.
And yes, it's not mounted directly underneath the package tray, it is on the forward most cross support. Easy access.

Uncl Lar
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I can't believe it either. Here I am involved in a mutual agreement! No weeping, wailing or nashing of teeth. No politics or religion. Surely something is amiss here. ;-)
Thanks John and Uncle Lar. This sounds like a good mod to plan in the near
future.

Rich Larsen
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Rich-

Per the e-mail I sent out with the link to my webpage, I'm working on the mounting "ears" to attach the changer where it needs to go. I don't have any factory hardware, so I don't know if the factory hardware would help, but I should have a lead within a week or two.

Only thing I've determined so far is that the screws into the unit are #10-32. It will probably involve a template and a drill, and likely some self-tapping screws to hold it to the car. Don't hold me to that, though.

Getting a picture of Larry's mount location would help the project move forward a little quicker, of course. ;-)

-John Breen III
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I was thinking there was a shot of some ones changer mounted there already on the site, but if there is I couldn’t find it. So hopefully Uncle Lar will share some pics. If you would keep me informed of your design it would be greatly appreciated.

Rich Larsen
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Here is where I put mine. I wanted it up and out of the way. My car did not have the factory changer, at least no evidence of it anyway. I had to get an adapter (and an adapter for the adapter) to get it to work with the stereo controls. Haven't had any issues and nothing has smacked into it.

Joe
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The changer I choose was the Pioneer 6 Disc because it was thin and relatively inexpensive ($125).

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_4047_38162,00.html

The adapters I used are for the Pioneer IP-Bus only.

http://www.peripheral-aamp.com/periph_products/cd_changer_autos/ford_lincoln.htm

I used the FDPILX - Ford to Pioneer adapter and then I found that I also needed FDHTS - Ford "T" Harness as well. Total bill for both adapters was $100 at my local electronics store. I thought about just going with one of the FM modulated types and saving the money, but I hated having the remote laying around and the screen stuck to the dash. Plus I didn't have to run any wires except in the trunk. I think the money was well worth it. I installed it all in about 5 minutes. I did have to tap into 12V power in the rear next to the antennae. If anyone would like pictures, Ill be happy to post.

The only downside is that the 'shuffle' feature does not work.

Joe Wede
97 ES
FPS chip coming sooooooon

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Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

U.L.

*Attaboy Squally!!!*

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