happened like last year, but suddenly my CDX-M630 dosent display any colors and when she flips down (like the pic below) non of the lights are on and non of the buttons work. i have to use the remote and i have to hit the RESET switch to eject the disc. still plays CD's and i have to "guess" which station im on to begin to enjoy it. anyone think/know what it is? I'm thinking its the internals. can i send this to a dealer or just a local audio shop to get it fixed? thanks.


pic: (of it working)

 

Youre not going to like to hear this but SCRAP IT. GET A NEW ONE! Sony sucks. Itll be pretty cost effective.

 

low is right... and its not the internals that are messed up, its the ribbon cable that connects the face to the headunit...they tend to break fairly easily, thats why you only seem to lose the lights and controls when you fold the face down. Its a fairly large problem with motorized face head units, especially cheaper units . Sony has a terrible reputation in the industry so I would definitely replace it with something from a more reputable company.

 

Well is this something I could buy a replacement ribbon for it and have someone put it on? My dad recieved this from his now-passed sister a few years ago and I love it so replacing it is out of the question. I wouldn't mind spending $50 to get a new ribbon cable installed though. Is it an easy DIY or a cert'd-tech only thing?

 

its something a technician would have to replace...and honestly trying to find a part for a unit that old is going to be pretty hard. I understand you wanting to keep it for its heritage and all but you are going to have a very hard time getting it taken care of

 

x2! Look I really wouldnt want to mess with it. And I can repair a lot of audio equipment. Its really no DIY job because you have to be more than precise with your soldering. Then on top of it finding that cable is going to be darn near impossible. Bro, if its sentimental put it in your closet and break it out in 3 yrs or something (thats what I did w/ my first deck). But buy new or live with the problem.

 

and there is a very slim chance that I may have that exact deck with a working motorization meaning a functional ribbon cable in my barn at my parents house. It was a pull from a install I did, the cd player in it does not work but everything else does... I ran it on the bench for some time to be sure it was working, and tried to clean the laser eye but it just wouldnt read CDs no matter what i tried. Next time I am down that way (in about a week) I will see if I can find it, if I can its yours and you can take it with your existing deck to a technician and he can pull the ribbon cable off of the working one and fix yours...viola'...a fully functional deck and you will only be out the technician's fee to swap the cable

 

I've got that exact same air freshener

lol sorry no help on the head unit tho!

 

thanks for the replies guys. sure enough it is the ribbon cable on it, i just went and looked at it. it was hanging by one little wire thingy.


as for the air freshener, i love those ones. they last for months and now im on the blue one.

 

its a common problem...unfortunately there is no way around them with a motorized face...thats why so many manufacturers are getting away from motorized faces, sure they are fun to play with and many are adjustable to give you the best possible viewing angle, but a simple flip down face has no ribbon cable to break and lasts years longer than a motorized unit...a flip down face unit uses contacts on the face and the unit that send the signals between the two when the face is up b/c they are touching, when you flip the face down, the face is powerless b/c the contacts are no longer touching.. thats why almost all flip down face units have an eject button behind the face... the only motorized face deck that never ever gave me any problems was my Alpine CDA-9835, but for the money that deck cost it had better have given me trouble free service

 

Still going to try and have it fixed. I love this unit and I'm not one of those hardcore music guys who spend a lot of $$$ on HU's when this one works just fine (or will be). In a year or two when it jams up and I'm done buying visual mods for my truck, then I will go to work on sound systems.