Pioneer Laserdisc fix help

Cut out the ARC Suppressor, It looks like a diode and is near the fuse. Put in a good fuse and it will work fine.

Kurtis

Probably wasn't much of a surge that took that out, this is way to common of a failure. Probably just high in-rush when turning on. I believe they go pre-maturely. Just buy a wall plug of power strip with surge protection and it will be better than the part inside the unit.

I am tagging along on this thread because I also have a 504 with startup issues. The machine will load a disc fine, test mount and release fine. I can hit the side B button and send the carriage up to B side position.

When I press play, or the carriage reaches the top of the B side position and triggers autoplay, I can see the laser carriage roll into start position and it sounds like the spindle motor whirs up momentarily.

But then everything stops and I get a U1 error. The carriage returns and all parts go back to standby mode and the disc ejects. I have tried different discs with the same result.

By the user manual, it sounds like the spindle motor is not engaging in time, or the tilt plate/sensor is NG. Does anybody have any ideas?

Thanks all!

A couple possible issues. First, did it used to work?
1) The upper guide has a separate adjustment to center the pickup with the spindle motor. If this is too far out the pickup cannot read the ID tracks at the inner tracks and the player will stop as you experience.
2) The 504 is famous for the plastic pins break that hold the pickup movement gears in the proper place. Due to gravity Side A will continue to work fine but when you flip to side B the loose gears separate slightly due to gravity and the small movements needed to finely track the LD jump and tracking fails. Put you hand on the pickup and try to move it forward and back. It there is excessive play you will see one or two of the side gears jump up and down. It they do you need a new Motor/gear holder.
3) hardly ever seen is that the power supply could be weak in the reverse position and having issues getting up to speed.

Kurtis

I bought the unit last summer and put about 60 hours on it before it suddenly stopped working. There was no period of intermittent failure, I just put a disc in and it quit playing part way through. I don't remember if it was during a flip.

I just found the service manual, so I am just getting up to speed on what stuff is and where it goes. There are a couple things I can't identify.

1. The main upper support frame has a little black wire connecting it to the frame of the servo mechanism. It that just a ground wire?

2. What is the little white plastic thing on the spindle frame, called "D lever assembly" [part VXA2205]? It seems to couple with a part just called "A horn" [part VNL1689] on the Servo section when it lifts.

In my case, neither A nor B will play. When I press play on side A, everything goes into position and the disc mounts. But after a brief spin, the spindle motor stops and throws a U1. If I press Side B, the carriage appears to travel normally up the guide, into place and then throws the U1.

I cleaned the optics and the contacts on the pickup's ribbon cable. The pickup seems very snug in the track. What part number would I look for?

Thanks again for all the help! I will bring Bessie back!

Guy

The black wire is a ground wire. Don't worry about the other parts.

If this happened all at once and the player did not have any shocks applied to it then you are down to the pickup is bad or power supply. A hard shock and break the plastic adjusted that center the pickup to spindle motor foe side A. But this takes a hard drop.

Almost all times this is the pickup itself bad. Some have an early failure occurance and if they go past that point they commonly last years.

Still could be the power supply but not as likely.

Pioneer no longer stock pickups for sale.

It also just occurred to me with a thunderclap of "Duh" that one environmental change was the sudden onset of the most brutal cold winter we have had in years. Although my garage has some heat, it doesn't really get above 55F. Could that be affecting the spindle lubricants?

Thanks again!

The problems you describe do not sound like lubrication issues. Cold usually will not take out an electrical component unless you plugged it in immediately while there would be condensation inside while warming up. Still think it is the pickup or power supply. It could be the spindle motor but I have not seen many of the 504 spindle motors go bad.

Recently aquired CLD-D505 with known problem, disc not spinning up for initial id. What is most likely prob.-- bad spindle motor or dead eye assy?

If it does not try to spin after the tray completes the load then the first thing to look at is the pickup. This is taking the assumption the tray closes and the laser assembly completely lifts up. This means no sound like a motor straining then the tray re-opens. Take off the top. The tray will close, the laser mechanical assembly will raise then the pickup will move to detect a LD. Make sure all that is working properly.

Took top off, gently cleaned laser. It does try to seek discs;LD and CD but no motor spin and displays 'no disc' on front display.

I tried pushing power switch and play switch at same time with a LD in place; spindle motor turned slightly and f5 error displayed. Tried again but could not duplicate action.

Ahh, found that F error code is a focus error, as that i cannot see any kind of light emission from the laser, it probably is the pickup assy...............oh well..........

Alas, you were right. Bringing the unit up to house temp did nothing. I have to think it's the pickup, it happened so suddenly and everything else still sounds right.

Thanks for all your help!

I would also say it is the pickup. If you want you can send me an Email at kbahr@comcast.net and we could talk about either a repair or another unit I have.

I was fussing around some more with the CLD-D505;lookong at the pickup assy from a different angle- without a disc loaded, after i hit play-the pickup assy will go to seek a disc and the laser will glow for a moment-still no motor motion. What are the possibilities that are most likely? Bad motor or power supply to motor?

The electronics has to detect a disc is present before it will spin the spindle. So even though the laser glows that does not mean it has the capability to focus on a disc surface. That focus much be achieved before the unit will try to play the LD.

Thanks Kurtis, i did notice that the glow from the laser seems dim in contrast to others that i have seen. I'm in Arizona so even if i considered having you attempt repair, the cost of shipping alone both ways would exceed the value of the player and would be money that could be applied to a better, nicer player should i ever come across one.

I think I have one of these that you can have for free if you pay for shipping. It also has a problem but if anyone wants it PM me.

Just picked up a 504 at a flea market. Get it home and the tray closes, the laser searches, everything seems okay except the disc won't spin. I get this awful mechanical/grinding sound, almost like a small motor straining.

Did some searches (that's how I ended up here) and there are mentions of a ribbon going bad, but I don't see one. How deep would I need to get into this thing to find it (assuming that is the problem)?

I just found another Pioneer CLD-D504 on CraigsList. By the time I called the the guy to arrange pick-up, it had died. This is starting to look like a universal end-of-life issue. I just won't buy another 504.

@Gamereviewgod:

The ribbon people mention is a flat, wide cable attached to the optical pickup assembly that rides up and down its little ghetto amusement park ride around the LaserDisc to play side B. It takes a beating because that thing flexes every time the merry ground... goes around and

Also, this process relies on several little motors, gears and belts to make the whole thing happen in the right order. It seems like the most common problems are stretched or rotten belts, tired or burnt out motors and dried lubricant on gear paths and slide rails. A failure of any one of these systems can stop all the others from working.

I am just in it far enough to know I am over my head!

Thanks. I'll look later today. I'm bettin' I can't return this thing, so there's no hurt in digging deeper. Was hoping to finally have a flipper so I didn't have to do it manually. Oh well.

Sound is coming from the "spindle" thing on the bottom, the part that would actually spin the disc. Got a bunch of dust out of it with some compressed air, but it still won't work. Couldn't get it apart to look inside either. Oh well. Guess I'll try for a refund...

I think that 504s may be more likely to die this far into their lifeline. If you can afford it, you might be better off looking for a 604/59 (two versions of the same machine) or a 704/79 (ditto).

704/79s still bring some respectable $$$, but 604/59 series can usually be found for a lot less, and, IMHO, are much better (and more sturdily built) than players further down the chain.

The 59 has V-DNR, the 79 has the Legatto link conversion

The common issue with the CLD-504/605/505/605/406/606/59 is that the plastic piece that holds the laser movement motor to the laser pickup breaks and the unit will not play. Usually you gt that replaced and they work. I normally replace them with the one from the DVL series as it can take a bigger shock. Sometimes you just have to unjam the drawer and then they will work. The 79/99/703/704 ship much better.

Your problem is NOT the ribbon cable, you are getting to far into the trying to play cycle for that.

You need to take off the top and watch what it really doing with a disc in it. That will help determine the issue a lot.

Kurtis

Technically, the 59 has DNR (which is called "Picture Control"), because there is no "V" (not Variable). And Legato Link is found on the 59 as well as the 79.

Neither of which would probably concern the guy with the 504.

The picture control on the 59 is really sharpness, not DNR.

For Legato Link you really should go to the 99 or 704 (unpublicized in the 704 but it has Legato Link) to get the D/A circuit to make it worth while. 59, 79 have the cheaper D/A found in the 504 and 605.