I've read a lot of posts here by people who've had problems with
various types of CD players. I have a Sony Mini HiFi Component
System. Model Number HCD-RX33 from the back of the unit or MHC-RX33
from the brochure.

The CD player skips all my CDs. These CDs play perfectly on another
CD player. I already tried a CD cleaning kit for the unit and even
got a compressed air can to blow any dust off the laser. Neither of
these helped. In fact, the cleaning CD even skips.

I read that other people have advised a variety of things such as
unscrewing the top of the unit and attempting various repairs. My
question is - once I get the top of the unit off, what appears should
I attempt. I've never opened up the insides of a CD unit before, so
any gentle help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

This is a problem involving cleaning the laser optic, or replacing it. The
RX-33 is a little difficult to get into.
Are you comfortable with mechanical dissassembly and re-assembly?

Mark Z.


"candc" wrote in message
om...
I've read a lot of posts here by people who've had problems with
various types of CD players. I have a Sony Mini HiFi Component
System. Model Number HCD-RX33 from the back of the unit or MHC-RX33
from the brochure.

The CD player skips all my CDs. These CDs play perfectly on another
CD player. I already tried a CD cleaning kit for the unit and even
got a compressed air can to blow any dust off the laser. Neither of
these helped. In fact, the cleaning CD even skips.

I read that other people have advised a variety of things such as
unscrewing the top of the unit and attempting various repairs. My
question is - once I get the top of the unit off, what appears should
I attempt. I've never opened up the insides of a CD unit before, so
any gentle help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Yes, I would be comfortable with attempting to take the unit apart. I
don't have any specialized tools for repairing electronics, though.
But, I do have most of the basic tools. The way I look at it, if I
don't attempt a repair, it would proably be too costly to take the
unit into a Sony repair shop. So, I'm game to give it a try...

Turn on the power and open the tray. Remove the front lip of the tray.
Unplug the unit from the wall outlet. Remove screws at the sides, rear, and
top front.
Lift up top section partially and remove screws on the left and right sides
which were hidden until the top section was lifted. Remove CD mechanism
cover.
There are two or three connector wire cables which will need to be
unplugged. Observe closely how these plugs/cables work. There will be a
little mechanism for locking or clamping the cable end in place on the cable
which goes to the main board. Raise the white tabs on each side and pull the
cable out of it's connector. Observe the polarity and make sure to plug it
in the same way when you put it all back together.
There's a bigger flat wire going to the main CD board underneath the cd
deck. It just slides out of it's connector. Once again, pay attention to
it's polarity so you get it right on re-assembly.
There may be another wire/plug going towards the rear of the unit; it should
be self-explanatory.
The laser lens may be cleaned using a cotton swab moistened but not dripping
with isopropyl alcohol or window cleaner. Clean it GENTLY in a circular
motion, rolling the swab as you go. Follow with a dry swab to get any
residue.

"Re-assemble in reverse order". (I always love it when the manufacturers
say that)

Good luck, post again with any questions.

I may be dropping out of the newsgroups for a while, though. I'm getting hit
with dozens of viruses every day, and I'm going to have to get a handle on
this.

Mark Z.



"candc" wrote in message
om...
Yes, I would be comfortable with attempting to take the unit apart. I
don't have any specialized tools for repairing electronics, though.
But, I do have most of the basic tools. The way I look at it, if I
don't attempt a repair, it would proably be too costly to take the
unit into a Sony repair shop. So, I'm game to give it a try...