Great video, easy to follow; thanks for taking the time to do it! I just got one of these, and thanks to your video; I was able to open the CD unit, clean it, grease it and now it works like a charm...
Fixed mine the other day too - once i replaced that middle gear all it needed was an IPA clean up of the laser, and some generous lithium grease applied to the gear train
Thanks for making this. I've had one of these for years and it's finally given out, so I'm thinking about trying to do the gear replacement. Really valuable to watch this. I think the replacement gears in Japan actually come with a slightly larger washer replacement as well so maybe even an idiot with no experience at this kind of thing can do it.
Well, I've since got a lot more familiar with these and it's interesting to re-watch this, knowing what I know now. :) I now have three Japanese drives, an NEC CDR-35D drive, and a Turbo-CD drive. The NEC CDR-35D is a beige PC version of the Turbo-CD drive and actually works with PCE/TGCD if you swap IC108 (NEC microcontroller with custom internal ROM that differs on the CDR-35D). Most recently the Turbo-CD drive was sold to me as "working" but the laser was stuck on the outside, just like yours. I used the spindle hub from a Japanese drive to trick it into spinning discs by manually homing the laser with the lid sensor rigged, just like yours (have to back it off the limit switch then drop on the disc/hub). After a few times the laser just started homing and playing, just like yours, but went right back to "stuck" the next day, just like yours later did. When it was working on day 1 it seemed reliable and did not make any funny noises so I knew the POM gear was likely intact. No amount of of external fiddling on day 2 would get the laser to move on its own but it wasn't making a noise so I knew the POM gear was probably still OK. I had to take it apart and turn the gear manually to free it up on day 2. Sure enough, it was yellow and swollen but not cracked or missing teeth. The manual turning got it to load games and play audio again but it would freeze or glitch or skip where it worked fine before. You couldn't even listen to an audio CD on day 2. Sure enough, it was frozen up again on day 3. It was pretty hot on day 1 (from the package being left out in the sun) so I think the lubricant would solidify and seize everything up when it idled/cooled. Though I know how to clean/lubricate these things and have even done a Discman laser swap before, I didn't want to go any further without contacting the seller who old it as "guaranteed to work." Still waiting on word. Seeing that you had almost identical behavior that was attributable to lubrication makes me more confident in my assessment that heat was changing the lube viscosity. I'm considering a diagnostics flow-chart for these things. :)
Hey dude, definitely sounds like the grease in the mechanism has solidified. If your gear is not missing any teeth then a clean up and application of new grease should do the trick! If you go through with that I'd definitely replace the gear anyway, it'll break sooner or later!
Love your video. I also bookmarked it as I'll probably need it. I already have my PC Engine and Interface Unit, just waiting for my "Junk" CD-ROM2 to arrive from Japan. I'm also waiting for my System Card 3.0 and a brand new gear i also ordered.
Awesome man, thanks for watching and I hope the vid helps. if you have to change that middle gear just be prepared for the nightmare of putting that plastic washer back on the spindle ;-)
+Chris Mifsud Allright thanks a lot I have a contact and importing a unit with cables + a loose PCE is a little bit cheaper than buying a PCE with cables on ebay.
I also brought a junk CD rom2 and a couple of replacement gears. it turned out it just needed a clean and works perfectly. so I have two gears on the way just to sit in a drawer!!
Hi! I've a cdrom2 too and my issue is that when i try to turn on the 0 appears but then turns off and after many tries i get it reads some discs and then again fails. Some idea of what could be? When it reads a disc sounds well and spins
That sounds like the capacitors on the main board might be leaking and not providing the required throughput to power the components. If you open up the machine you could take a look and see if any of the capacitors are swollen or leaking. If so it would just be a case of replacing those knackered capacitors.
Mine's got a different problem. The center spindle is simply refusing to spin altogether. Totally stationary, so of course the attempt to read it fails immediately. This only happened after I opened the thing up and closed it again without any mods, so I must have done something wrong but I can't see any dislodged cables that came loose from their solder joints.
Thanks for sharing. I replaced the gear and was doing great until I dropped the rubber washer into the console for about the tenth time and couldn't find it. I've looked everywhere but can't find it. Nightmare.
ahh dude what a pain, I reckon you could make a replacement if you get a small elastic band you could tie it round the spindle perhaps, or even try a big elastic band and cut a bit of it into a square, push a pin through the centre then stretch it over the end of the spindle gently so it will sit in the groove on the spindle.
you could even try a small square cut from a plastic bottle? doesn't matter if you make it too big to start with, you can trim away the excess once you get it seated on the spindle.
+Arnold101Knight I understand you 100% now. The spindle will not activate until the lense gains focus on the CD surface. Once you have replaced the middle gear, if the CD still does not spin, the lense maybe dirty, or maybe needs to be recalibrate. You won't know for sure until you replace the gear!
+Arnold101Knight I'm not sure about replacement lenses etc, but I do know that whilst I had my unit, when it wasn't working, sometimes I saw a lazer, sometimes I didn't. I think it depends on where the lazer is/if it's in a place where the beam is ready to come on. Seriously man, just worry about the gear and greasing the tracks, so the lense array can move accurately. if the CD doesn’t spin after that, then, look into replacement lense options, recalibration etc.
Don0r4sTyLE Double check the ribons and make sure there are no breaks on them. Have you made sure the gears are greased and not stuck? If that's all ok, theres a possibility that you have bad capacitors somewhere, or, your lazer needs calibrating, or, your lazer unit is dead. Try searching for this on youtube. (turbo Grafix CD Capacitor Replacement, Stuck Laser, Laser Wont Read ...) Have you tried to use the CD-Rom2 without the interface unit like I did in my video?
Don0r4sTyLE no worries dude, I'm not an expert unfortunately, the CD-Rom unit in my video is the only one I've tried to fix so I was lucky when I took a gamble on buying it as spares/repairs. When doing this kind of thing you just have to eliminate the possible problems until you find what's causing the trouble. Try looking for videos that show you how to test a cd laser, that could help in identifying if the laser has a problem or if the problem is elsewhere.
FDM is not detailed enough and UC resin is notorious for being brittle. Best approach is to use an original or a UV resin 3D-printed gear to make silicon mould for two-part resins, but the gear is small enough that you need a vacuum or pressure chamber for a good result. Because others are already selling the gear, that may be going a little too far. ;)
Ric's guide to metal while fixing consoles! Love it mate...
hehehe, cheers fella, glad you enjoyed it ;-)
Great video, easy to follow; thanks for taking the time to do it! I just got one of these, and thanks to your video; I was able to open the CD unit, clean it, grease it and now it works like a charm...
Brilliant fella, really glad you've managed to get yours sorted and that the video helped you.
Fixed mine the other day too - once i replaced that middle gear all it needed was an IPA clean up of the laser, and some generous lithium grease applied to the gear train
Cool, it's so great to bring these things back to life. It's such a great little console. wish I owned one back in the day!
Thanks for making this. I've had one of these for years and it's finally given out, so I'm thinking about trying to do the gear replacement. Really valuable to watch this. I think the replacement gears in Japan actually come with a slightly larger washer replacement as well so maybe even an idiot with no experience at this kind of thing can do it.
Trust me man, I've had barely any electronics experience and I managed it. If you can get a larger replacement washer you'll be laughing :-)
Thanks a lot for share this video and the tutorial. Now I believe that is possible I can fix my console too.
Well, I've since got a lot more familiar with these and it's interesting to re-watch this, knowing what I know now. :) I now have three Japanese drives, an NEC CDR-35D drive, and a Turbo-CD drive. The NEC CDR-35D is a beige PC version of the Turbo-CD drive and actually works with PCE/TGCD if you swap IC108 (NEC microcontroller with custom internal ROM that differs on the CDR-35D).
Most recently the Turbo-CD drive was sold to me as "working" but the laser was stuck on the outside, just like yours. I used the spindle hub from a Japanese drive to trick it into spinning discs by manually homing the laser with the lid sensor rigged, just like yours (have to back it off the limit switch then drop on the disc/hub). After a few times the laser just started homing and playing, just like yours, but went right back to "stuck" the next day, just like yours later did. When it was working on day 1 it seemed reliable and did not make any funny noises so I knew the POM gear was likely intact.
No amount of of external fiddling on day 2 would get the laser to move on its own but it wasn't making a noise so I knew the POM gear was probably still OK. I had to take it apart and turn the gear manually to free it up on day 2. Sure enough, it was yellow and swollen but not cracked or missing teeth. The manual turning got it to load games and play audio again but it would freeze or glitch or skip where it worked fine before. You couldn't even listen to an audio CD on day 2.
Sure enough, it was frozen up again on day 3. It was pretty hot on day 1 (from the package being left out in the sun) so I think the lubricant would solidify and seize everything up when it idled/cooled.
Though I know how to clean/lubricate these things and have even done a Discman laser swap before, I didn't want to go any further without contacting the seller who old it as "guaranteed to work." Still waiting on word.
Seeing that you had almost identical behavior that was attributable to lubrication makes me more confident in my assessment that heat was changing the lube viscosity. I'm considering a diagnostics flow-chart for these things. :)
Hey dude, definitely sounds like the grease in the mechanism has solidified.
If your gear is not missing any teeth then a clean up and application of new grease should do the trick!
If you go through with that I'd definitely replace the gear anyway, it'll break sooner or later!
Love your video. I also bookmarked it as I'll probably need it. I already have my PC Engine and Interface Unit, just waiting for my "Junk" CD-ROM2 to arrive from Japan. I'm also waiting for my System Card 3.0 and a brand new gear i also ordered.
Awesome man, thanks for watching and I hope the vid helps. if you have to change that middle gear just be prepared for the nightmare of putting that plastic washer back on the spindle ;-)
+Chris Mifsud
Hey Chris, I'm actually shopping for a PCE and an Interface Unit, does it work even if the CD-ROM2 isnt attached to it?
+Jean audette
Yes it does. You get the save game facilities and AV out (or RGB if modded) all work without the actual CD-ROM 2
+Chris Mifsud
Allright thanks a lot
I have a contact and importing a unit with cables + a loose PCE is a little bit cheaper than buying a PCE with cables on ebay.
I also brought a junk CD rom2 and a couple of replacement gears. it turned out it just needed a clean and works perfectly. so I have two gears on the way just to sit in a drawer!!
Hi! I've a cdrom2 too and my issue is that when i try to turn on the 0 appears but then turns off and after many tries i get it reads some discs and then again fails. Some idea of what could be? When it reads a disc sounds well and spins
That sounds like the capacitors on the main board might be leaking and not providing the required throughput to power the components.
If you open up the machine you could take a look and see if any of the capacitors are swollen or leaking.
If so it would just be a case of replacing those knackered capacitors.
Mine's got a different problem. The center spindle is simply refusing to spin altogether. Totally stationary, so of course the attempt to read it fails immediately. This only happened after I opened the thing up and closed it again without any mods, so I must have done something wrong but I can't see any dislodged cables that came loose from their solder joints.
Thanks for sharing. I replaced the gear and was doing great until I dropped the rubber washer into the console for about the tenth time and couldn't find it. I've looked everywhere but can't find it. Nightmare.
ahh dude what a pain, I reckon you could make a replacement if you get a small elastic band you could tie it round the spindle perhaps, or even try a big elastic band and cut a bit of it into a square, push a pin through the centre then stretch it over the end of the spindle gently so it will sit in the groove on the spindle.
you could even try a small square cut from a plastic bottle? doesn't matter if you make it too big to start with, you can trim away the excess once you get it seated on the spindle.
there is a seller on ebay that sells a kit with the washer...
Do you have a link? All I found was spare gears.
Many thanks. I may have to give that a go if I can't find any alternative.
Ordered a “junk” CD-ROM^2 from Japan myself to pair with a TG16 CD dock. Considering a paint job too if I can get it working.
I haven't got round to doing mine yet hehhe, I'm deffo gonna have a crack at s paint job once I've have a bit of practice. Thanks for watching!
thank you so much!
No problem, cheers for watching!
Where do you get the replacement gear?
www.ebay.com/itm/312659654772
Just grab em off ebay matey, there are shops around the Internet as well but most seem to have sold out.
a custom 3d clear case would be nice
Oooh, I hope my duo-R still works, I haven't played it for 8years :(
+elijahmodnar1 Hey dude, I'm sure it will work, the Duo R and RX models are more durable than the earlier incarnations of the PC Engine CD based units
Arnold101Knight
Dude, the spindle will not spin if the middle gear is missing!
+Arnold101Knight No, the middle gear connects the motor to the spindle. Without the middle gear, the spindle will not spin.
+Arnold101Knight I understand you 100% now. The spindle will not activate until the lense gains focus on the CD surface.
Once you have replaced the middle gear, if the CD still does not spin, the lense maybe dirty, or maybe needs to be recalibrate.
You won't know for sure until you replace the gear!
+Arnold101Knight I'm not sure about replacement lenses etc, but I do know that whilst I had my unit, when it wasn't working, sometimes I saw a lazer, sometimes I didn't.
I think it depends on where the lazer is/if it's in a place where the beam is ready to come on.
Seriously man, just worry about the gear and greasing the tracks, so the lense array can move accurately. if the CD doesn’t spin after that, then, look into replacement lense options, recalibration etc.
darkthrone \^^/ good stuff! nice console too :)
micolino83 thanks for watching and commenting, glad you enjoyed the vid ;-)
Bought this unit for my IFU-30 Interface Unit. It powers on but doesn't read discs and the laser does not move. What to do? =( The gear is ok.
Don0r4sTyLE do the discs spin at all?
RetroRic no it does not spin. It shows only 00. Maybe there is no power to the laser unit. I took it apart and nothing suspicious out there. :(
Don0r4sTyLE Double check the ribons and make sure there are no breaks on them.
Have you made sure the gears are greased and not stuck?
If that's all ok, theres a possibility that you have bad capacitors somewhere, or, your lazer needs calibrating, or, your lazer unit is dead.
Try searching for this on youtube.
(turbo Grafix CD Capacitor Replacement, Stuck Laser, Laser Wont Read ...)
Have you tried to use the CD-Rom2 without the interface unit like I did in my video?
RetroRic I will try your suggested options and upload a video on youtube.
Don0r4sTyLE no worries dude, I'm not an expert unfortunately, the CD-Rom unit in my video is the only one I've tried to fix so I was lucky when I took a gamble on buying it as spares/repairs.
When doing this kind of thing you just have to eliminate the possible problems until you find what's causing the trouble. Try looking for videos that show you how to test a cd laser, that could help in identifying if the laser has a problem or if the problem is elsewhere.
3d print the gears
FDM is not detailed enough and UC resin is notorious for being brittle. Best approach is to use an original or a UV resin 3D-printed gear to make silicon mould for two-part resins, but the gear is small enough that you need a vacuum or pressure chamber for a good result. Because others are already selling the gear, that may be going a little too far. ;)