I have that radio in combination with the stock subwoofer gain amp in the car, and the sound is great for a stock system.

I'm having the same problem. It clicks about 10 seconds, give an ERR then spits the disk out. It started out just doing it occasionally, but it least the disk would play, then it progressively got worse, and now it won't even play. I took it (CD assembly) apart, but couldn't find anything obvious. Sounds like I'm not alone.

Thanks for a place to Whine!!

-MarkH

How often did the player get used and I have heard enough cd players do this factory or aftermarket to tell you that you need to get a new one.

I get the same clicking, but almost always when I want to eject a CD. The indicator will go out, so teh unit thinks the disc is out, but whatever mechanism that actually forces the CD out seems to be where my problem lies. Often if I turn the radio and car off, and leave, to totally kill power to the unit, it will eject the next time I try.

I think I'm gonna go aftermarket soon.

Yeah, you guys aren't alone, happened to be too. The CD player would click a whole bunch of times, and if I was lucky, I could usually get it to play, but sometimes it would also spit the disc back out. Other times, it would just eat the disc and not spit it out, and the eject button was very unresponsive. This happened whether or not I was using a pressed disc or a burned one.

I went around on eBay and picked up another stock unit that looked identical to the CD player with 7-band eq that I previously had, but apparently there have been some internal improvements over the years (stock unit was the original CD player w/ 7-band eq, manufactured in 1995, "new" unit was made in 1999 and came from a Grand Prix).

The steering wheel controls still work fine (despite the fact that the steering wheel changed in 1996), and I seem to get more and cleaner output, especially at the bass end, so I'm thinking maybe AC Delco revised the amplifier circuits in the head. Also, the sound of the CD player'* mechanical noises are different than the old one (though the old one may sound different just due to age and wear). I pulled apart the old unit, and found out that the CD player is a separate removable unit than the rest of the head, and it is manufactured by Sony. As for the electronics for the rest of the head, I didn't pay attention to them.

Sorry, I slapped that puppy back together and it'* been sitting in my bedroom at home (100 miles away) ever since. Next time I make the journey home I'll be sure to snap some shots for ya.

I had the same problem in my 95 SSEi. It'* plagued me for five years, and got worse over time to where it would get stuck for up to an hour. I was ready to buy an aftermarket, but then, after reading some of these reponses, decided to take it apart and see what could be wrong. I was able to fix the problem. :o There is two little switches on a little circuit board on top of the CD unit, inside the receiver box. They were dirty, so I cleaned them with a Q-tip and some methanol. Now the CD plays and ejects just like it was new.

For those with some patience, and some tools, this is not so bad. To do the job, you need some tiny sockets, (I think down to 4mm or so), and some jewelers screwdrivers.
Here'* the steps I took:

1) Remove the complete unit from the car.
2) Pull the face plate off, held on by clip pressure. Use a small screwdriver to lift the plastic edges, and work your way around. There will be several ribbon cables attached, but just leave attached.
3) Now, remove the CD unit, held in back by two large screws with either a torx wrench, or small socket. There are two more very small goldish colored screws, one on the top, and one on the side, near the face plate end of the box. Now the CD unit should come right out. Disconnect the ribbon cable at the CD unit end carefully.
4) On the top of the CD unit, you will see a circuit board about 3/4 inch by 2 to 3 inches long. This has two small switches on it. The switches face down, so to clean them, you need to remove the board. To do that, the top plate needs to come off, and several tiny screws need to be removed, two holding the circuit board on the top,and two or three holding the top plate to the CD body. Once the top plate is lifted up, there is one more screw holding the circuit board from the back. Once that is removed, the circuit board should come off, and you will see the two tiny switches which control the solenoid that engages the eject mechanism. While you're removing the top plate, watch for springs on the sides, and make a note of where they were so they can be put back. Also, watch out for the microstrip that the board is attached to, so as not to tear it.

To test the switches, take an Ohm meter across the switches, and push down on the plunger. It should read close to 0 ohms when the plunger is pushed in. If it'* not, it'* dirty. To clean, I took a Q-tip soaked in methanol, and with the switch in a vertical position, plunger facing up, pushed up and down several times with the Q-tip, to allow the methanol to get into the switch, then I exercised up and down several times, and wiped off the excess, until it was dry. Once done, I could get a consistent 0 ohms with the plunger depressed.

I don't know how long this fix will last, but at least for now, my CD player works like new. The best fix would be to replace the little switches, but I think they may be hard to find. An interesting side note, there'* alot of Sony chips in the box. :P

Good advice.