Sega CD laser question

[byonddrivn]

Hi,

I recently bought a Sega CD as a backup to my existing one and was told it functioned. When I tested it myself it didn't. I was having 2 issues, the first being a scraping noise and also it telling me "no disc" when I had a disc inserted. I found the scraping noise was coming from the disc riding on the bottom of the unit and saw the little black disc that supports it had been pushed down on the metal spindle. I pulled up on it until I heard a satisfying snap and it seemed to reset itself. I still have the no disc problem so I cleaned the laser, still got the no disc problem. I've bought a new laser and installed it but to no avail. I think the little support disc being off has screwed tings up with the laser distance. I've spent a couple of weeks off and on trying to troubleshoot this and have finally given up and need some help. I've read maybe tweaking a pot might be the answer but the only thing I find to adjust on the laser is the orange adjustment pictured here and that just seems to adjust the disc spin speed. Any ideas?

 

 

 

[Jeremy Popp]

Hi,

I recently bought a Sega CD as a backup to my existing one and was told it functioned. When I tested it myself it didn't. I was having 2 issues, the first being a scraping noise and also it telling me "no disc" when I had a disc inserted. I found the scraping noise was coming from the disc riding on the bottom of the unit and saw the little black disc that supports it had been pushed down on the metal spindle. I pulled up on it until I heard a satisfying snap and it seemed to reset itself. I still have the no disc problem so I cleaned the laser, still got the no disc problem. I've bought a new laser and installed it but to no avail. I think the little support disc being off has screwed tings up with the laser distance. I've spent a couple of weeks off and on trying to troubleshoot this and have finally given up and need some help. I've read maybe tweaking a pot might be the answer but the only thing I find to adjust on the laser is the orange adjustment pictured here and that just seems to adjust the disc spin speed. Any ideas?

 

 

 

 

I cannot offer much help, but can confirm it's a pain in the butt trying to solve these issues. Here is a really good thread on another site that might be useful:

 

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?22027-Sega-CD-systems-repair-thread

 

I have a sega CD that has the same basic issues you describe. I've purchased 2 lasers without any change, and also adjusted the pots on my original laser with no change. A buddy of mine let me take apart his sega cd and swap the entire disc assembly with ribbon cable and it read a disc for the first time. So I'm assuming it's something in the assembly, not the laser (in my case at least). I should have done more swapping testing on his unit, but didn't want to mess with something that was working well. You can test the spindle motor by attaching leads to the buttom and using a battery to see if it spins (mine does). I've spent countless hours on mine, and just assume I need a donor disc assembly. Hope that helps!

 

BTW, if you have another sega cd unit, and the lasers/assemblies are the same, I'd swap things around and troubleshoot that way. See if your new laser plays in the working system maybe...

 

Jeremy

[byonddrivn]

 

I cannot offer much help, but can confirm it's a pain in the butt trying to solve these issues. Here is a really good thread on another site that might be useful:

 

Thanks. I didn't mention that I checked out that post and I didn't read it all since it's 38 pages long. I registered with that site as well but don't have posting privileges for some reason and I've tried contacting them twice. They need to get up to speed like the good people at atariage or something. I do have a functioning Sega CD but have been hesitant to rip it apart since I don't want to screw it up. I feel your pain, something is weird about the unit I have but just can't figure out what. Maybe I'll revisit the issue on my own soon but I think I'll need the assembly as well.