Sony CFD-66L

[lupogtiboy]

I just got this box from eBay for the princely sum of £15, however it came with some issues.

1 - The tape deck didn't work. I've 're-belted' it, and it works, however, it does something strange. If you play a tape, in either direction, it will play fine for about 10 seconds, then seems to speed up to chipmunk speed! I've not really done anymore to the deck other than change the belts, so I've no idea why it's doing this. Any ideas?

2 - It has a vertical cd player, which is pretty cool. However, it's dead, completely dead. No life at all. I did check all the connections are fitted correctly, which they seem to be, but nothing happens at all. The fuses on the power supply are both ok, I've not had a multimeter on it yet either to see if there is any power going to it. I have the service manual, but it doesn't really show much. Any ideas?

Other than that, the radio works fine, no crackling on the volume, and apart from a little yellowing and a bit dirty, it's not in bad condition.

Thanks in advance

 

[dubout]

Problem 1: This happens when the tape gets pulled through the pinch roller. Clean the pinch roller and the capstan with alcohol. Engage play while the tape door is open and press a q-tip with isoproylalcohol against the pinch roller and then the capstan. This may take a few rounds. If that doesn't help you can try using sand paper (obviously only on the pinch roller, NOT the capstan!).
Problem 2: No power at all to CD must be the switch or, if you have bad luck, the motor is dead. If it is a problem on the board I am afraid I can't be of any help.

Good luck!

 

[lupogtiboy]

Thanks for the tip about the pinch rollers, I'll give that a try later!

I guess I need to pull the whole cd-player mechanism out and check it over for dry solder joints or cracks. I have cleaned and re-lubed the sled, and it will move back and forth if you rotate the gears, but with power on, there is absolutely nothing. I have sprayed both the function switch and power switch with cleaner, both seemed to be working fine anyway, but it all helps.

 

[lupogtiboy]

The plot thickens! I took the cd player out completely last night, no dry solders, it's pretty clean inside tbh. Put it all back together and noticed the door open switch had a tab that was bent out of shape. Managed to get it back straight, reassembled everything, popped in a cd, and voila, it powered up! However, it didn't actually read the cd, but it span and then shut down. I know this isn't ideal, but I upped the laser power a little bit and to my amazement, it read the TOC! Fiddled around a bit more, and I actually got it to play a whole track! So, I think in the grand scheme of things, it does need a new laser mech and the door open switch set-up or replaced completely, but I'm happy with the small steps!

I also tried to clean the pinch rollers on the cassette deck, they were pretty filthy, but it's still doing what it was doing. I guess I'll invest in some decent belts rather than the cheap Chinese ones and see how that goes....

 

[dubout]

Does the tape always speed up after the exact same time of about 10 seconds? The spindle pulls the tape fast, the pinch roller slows it down to the correct speed while it is running. So unless the motor changes it's speed after 10 seconds I still think the pinch roller is the culprit. But I am no expert, maybe someone else knows another reason that can cause this behavior.

Good thing with the CD! I had a similar problem just recently, should have thought about that, too.

 

[lupogtiboy]

CD is now fixed and working 99%! It was the door open switch all along, bent out of place, so I've straightened it out and it works every time now. I need to re-belt the cassette deck again with some decent belts, so I'll turn the laser down back to where it was and see how it works then. Really happy I got this going, I know it's technically an egg box, but I love it's looks!

Pic, not of mine though