legacycentral bbs

My '93 legacy wagon came with the factory cd player....it powers up (makes a noise like it's trying to read a track or load) but when I go to put a cd in, it won't grab it and will eventually spit it back out. I'm pretty sure there is not another cd in there. When I hit eject, it makes the ejecting noise but nothing comes out. Is it worth my time taking the thing out, taking it apart to see what is going on, or should I just get a nice used one from Blackbart?

Thanks in advance!!!

I once pulled a factory CD player out of a junkyard card, took it home, and found that it didn't work. The symptoms were similar to what you're describing. I spent about a minute taking it apart and discovered that there was a penny that had somehow slipped inside. I performed a pennyectomy and then it worked great.

Maybe there's something lodged inside yours too?

Your mileage may vary, but in my case I spent a total of maybe 15 minutes on it.

I'd just locate one from Frank & go that route. Of course you can use a newer player too, but you'd need to get the harness for your year player & the plug for the newer player. Metra Electronics part numbers are:
70-1780 (your '93 Legacy)
71-8901 (into a WRX radio)

Thanks guys. I think I will take it apart first...a penny saved..

Also I'm thinking about after market as well. I saw someone's interior where they had removed the cd player, moved the OE head unit down and mounted the aftermarket player on top. Does that sound feasible? I'm assuming he did so to save the clock feature...I'll have to look at the wiring diagram and see if there is seperate wire to power the clock.

Thanks again.

I did something like that on my old Legacy GT. I wanted to be able to play cassette tapes, so I kept the stock head unit and added a Jensen MP3/CD player. I hooked the stock head unit into the Jensen's aux in.

abracc wrote:Thanks guys. I think I will take it apart first...a penny saved..

...is a penny that was pulled from the CD player.

Aftermarket CD players can be purchased for $100 or less these days.

Took out the CD player today. Opened it up and didn't see anything in it. So plugged it back in and watched while I tried to put a disc in....wouldn't bite so I helped it in from above and touched the top of the arm that holds the cd in and it dropped and played!!!! Took couple of tries but it finally started grabbing and playing...so I put the cover back on and tightened it down...installed it and running just fine now. Thanks for your guy's help. I appreciate it!!!

Glad you had simple success! Congrats!

So am I...thanks...

Well done.

Have no idea what the problem was...maybe lack of use for a couple of years??? Almost like my ex-wife... I didn't say that...

Yeah, it probably just seized up from disuse. Happens. I've "repaired" computer hard drives that hadn't been powered up in years by just tapping them with a screwdriver.

Well, I spoke too soon. Didn't work again this morning...

Did you caress it & speak to it nicely?
Maybe you should promise to play some Barry White...

Hm. Must be a slight misalignment or something. Back before CD players were practically free people used to take their CD players in for "tune-ups" periodically to realign everything. You might find someone who can do it for you for this unit, but it might not be worth it...

dropdfocus wrote:Did you caress it & speak to it nicely?
Maybe you should promise to play some Barry White...

Maybe a swift kick in the .....

Okay...I'm starting to get a little p.o'd here... Now the thing works just fine. Does anyone know if temperature would make a difference? This morning it was about 12 degrees and it's around 20 now, but the car has been in the sun all day and it just works fine....

Yes, temperature could definitely be making the difference. Parts change size with temperature and lubricant changes viscosity.

Condensation on the CD or the laser lense will always cause a problem.