I bought a CD-6 off E-Bay. Recieved it today and everything works except the cd player. When I press the LOAD button it says INITIALIZING on the screen, and I can hear the little motor running inside, then it says CD-ERROR. I press it again and it say SLOTS FULL. I press EJECT and it says CD-ERROR. I'm I doing something wrong, or does it sound like I got hosed?
Thanks Dan

 

I just got back from on electronics repair shop and the told me the cd player was not brand new, it was used and they said that it looked like it had been taken apart because the screws were all scratched up. He removed the faceplate and saw that the magazine mechanism was all jammed up. He said it looked like from a jammed cd. He said that it was very highly unlikely that this happened during shipping. He also said that he couldn't fix it.
I contacted the seller and he said now says it was used for 3 weeks in his 2002 F-250, but I still don't know if I believe that because it was manufactured in Jan. 2001. He basically told me I was out of luck because he still claims it worked when he shipped it. He did tell me that I could put it in my truck and take it back under warranty, which brings me to this question. I have a 2000 F-150 that is still under warranty, but the cd-6 never came in a 2000 F150, do you think it is worth a shot trying? Technically everything still qualfies for a warranty. What do you guys think? I would hate to be out of all that money I just spent on it. Thanks guys I would apprieciate it.
"Down In The Dumps" Dan

 

I read about a similar occurance on another website (between two Super Duty owners). Seems odd considering the vehicle they come in, but the in-dash changer is EXTREMELY sensitive to shock and is often damaged during shipping. It's very possible that it worked when he shipped it, but was damaged in transit.

A side discussion of the above-referenced post was the ethics involved in attempting to obtain service on the damaged stereo. Caveat Emptor seemed to be the general concensus.

 

First of all I would see if it was insured for shipping , if it was file a claim . then I woould contact ebays Safe HArbor and file with them. If his ad said working and it doesn't do that . tell him you are contacting ebay. and if it was sent USPS to you that you are also contacting the Postmaster about mail fraud. if he still doesn't refund then the feedback route is also there.

 

Mine did the same thing when I got it... really pissed me off for a while there, but I was able to fix it myself.

It turned out that the mechanism inside the CD-changer module had become dislodged, and was no longer travelling on its internal 'track'. A simple persuasion of the misbehaving 'trays' and all is well, and has been ever since.

I don't have pics, because I wasn't thinking of documenting the proceedure at the time. Anyway, if you are willing, you can actually seperate the changer module (top, right behind the insertion slot) from the rest of the head unit by taking out several screws. Be careful when seperating the modules, as there is a ribbon cable connecting the changer module to the rest of the unit.

Once seperated, you can then take apart the changer module. Be very careful here, just in case you have parts start flying, rolling, or dropping out (there are some small springs in there). Then it is a matter of using some mechanical knowledge to see if anything simple is amiss, righting the wrong, and putting everything back together again.

If you want, you can send it over and I'll try to take a look at it. However, I do think that this is usually a symptom of shipping, and that means there is nothing guaranteeing that 1) I could fix it, or 2) it would get back to you in a fixed state.

Good luck, and let us know what you find!

~rick

 

I took the radio apart like you said. It does look like the cartiridges are all bent out of shape, I see all the little screws and let me tell you, it looks pretty scary to me. I can knd of move it around, but I'm scared of ruining something else. I have to go to work now, so I might try after work. This really sucks if these are so suseptable to vibration. What is going to happen when I go offroading?

 

I had this problem when I bought one for my ex's sport trac. I put it in her truck and it gave the error crap. To see if it was something about the truck, I installed it in my F150 for s&*ts and giggles. To my surprise it worked immediately. So I took it back out and reinstalled it in the Sport Trac. It worked fine. Can't tell you what the hell I did to fix it, other than putting it in a different vehicle, but it worked, so I was happy. This looks like a common problem though.

 

I took it a part, got everything back on track, and reistalled it, it still didn't work, then me with bad temper pulled it out of the dash and gave it a few good wacks on the top. It then began accepting cd's. I was so happy, but my luck soon ran out. After loading 6 cd's and playing them, it was only showing 1-5 full and it showed slot 6 empty. It would not eject the sixth cd. It was stuck in there. I took apart for the 10th time, got it out, made sure it was back the way it was supposed to be and it would not work at all again. It shows all 6 slots full when there is nothing in it. I tried installing it in another vehicle but still no luck, so I did what I didn't really want to do. I installed it in my roomates 2002 F-250 and took it back to the dealer to get it fixed under warranty. I didn't want to do that, but I figured the unit was less thatn a year old, so technically it is still under warranty. Hope noone has a problem with me doing that. I can't throw that kind of money down the drain.

 

That was my original thought when mine first was acting up, but the CD-6 was never in the Lightning...

If I hadn't been able to somehow get mine working, I would have tried the same route.

Good perserverence (sp?) though!

 

I got my CD-6 back today from the dealer. They just gave me a brand new one. Installed it and works great.
Dan

 

lucky guy, so who'd you get yours from on ebay? I bought one on ebay, it was damaged in shipping (the front cover was actually cracked) and it gave the same error crap. Seller disappeared (apparently he pulled that crap on some others on ebay) and UPS wouldn't insure it. Plus I waited too long ot file a claim with ebay so didn't get squat. Now I have it sitting in a box in my closet, no use for it now, installed an MP3 player instead.

 

Good deal Dan!

 

Hey mattadams, take it back to Ford if you know someone who has a truck under warranty. You'll get a new one. The guys handle on ebay was 1faststang or something. I don't think he did anything, I really believe it was damaged during shipping.
Dan

 

I wish I would have found this post earlier.....I bought a cd 6 off ebay and received it today....player does not work at all....it gives me the same error as dan's player did....well i am not sure how to handle it...i have emailed the seller and threatened filing a claim on them and all that stuff......I would like to get this warrantied but I no longer have any warranty.....if anyone is willing to help me out i would love to work something out...in the mean time I will try various things to get the player to work again...

thanks Curt G.

 

I got one off eBay and it did the same thing.......it has to be the shipping.

Anyway, I fixed it myself, rather easily.

Take the top cover off the radio, and sitting in the front seat holding the radio in your hands, connect the wires to the unit.

Turn the key on and let the player initialize.

Once that's done, hit the load button to insert a CD. When the CD goes in the unit, hold it in there until it goes thru the motions of ejecting it.

You're going to have to reach in there, through the open top to grab the CD, and keep it in the changer. Make sure it stays in there..

Once it's in there, place the CD on the spindle and press the buttons to play that CD.

Once the CD starts playing, hit the eject button, and it will eject normally.

Now hit the load button again, and the CD should load normally, as will all 6 of them.

Test all of this before putting the cover back on.

It seems the changer has to "re-learn" how far in the CD goes, and where, before it will work correctly.

This may not work for you, but it did for me.

I hope this helps.