MAIN UNIT PROBLEMS

hi there.
it might just be a bit of dust on the inside laser.
Step 3 Laser Lens Cleaning

1. Locate the lens on the disc drive.
2. Make sure that there is no dust on or near the player and area you are working on. ...
3. Dip one end of a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol.
4. Lightly dab the swab on the lens. ...
5. Let the lens dry before replacing the top plate of the DVD player.
6. or just buy your self a disc cleaning laser disc.
7. How do you clean the laser on a DVD player?
   To maintain your DVD player, occasionally unscrew the player's case, so you can get at the lens to clean it. You need a screwdriver, canned air or a soft brush, a foam swab or camera-lens cleaner, and lens cleaning fluid from a camera store
   
   read up some more at this link.
   

How to Maintain Your DVD Player dummies

Hi,

There are numerous possibilities as to what may be causing this. It may be that the laser pick up inside the unit has failed or is misaligned and cannot read the disks or there is some other component failure inside the unit itself. Without seeing the unit on a bench for diagnosis it is impossible to say.

However there are two main things you can try yourself that may resolve the issue.

1) Unplug the unit completely from the mains supply. Leave the power disconnected for at least 5 minutes. Power up again and check to see if the disk is recognised.

2) If this fails the next thing to do is clean the laser lens. Often the cause of this behaviour is that the lens has become opaque with a grimy residue or dust particles are impeding the laser.

The most effective way to resolve this is to open the unit and gently clean the lens with a Q-Tip and some isopropyl alcohol.

The other option which is easier to do but may not be as effective as the Q-Tip method is to use a laser cleaning disk such as this one.

Simply insert the disk as you would any CD or DVD and it performs a cleansing action to the laser lens.

Hope this helps. Thanks for using FixYa.

No disc error can be a DIY like the following steps.

Assuming that the disc is good.

1.Cleaning the lens. - Sometimes because of dust the lens can't read any disc.

Try clean the lens by soft cotton buds. Be careful while doing this.

2.Replacing the ribbon - Check the ribbon connected to the lens from the main board for scratch, damage. Once it has an open line then of course the lens can't read the disc. Also try to erase the contact by pencil eraser.

If you've done the steps above and the symptoms still there then the next step requires you a little knowledge in soldering technique and reading the ohmmeter.

3.Checked the motor - Check the motor that spin the disc with an ohmmeter. You can test it using the ohmmeter (x1) even it is connected on the lens assembly.

Good motor - reading should be fairly high and it will spin.

Bad motor - reading will drop to low resistance and will not spin.

Hint : 50% of my repaired unit the above parts are commonly caused of the problem.

If you confirmed that you have a defective motor then replace it with a new one. Before replacing the new motor you have to check the clearance of the disc holder with the old one. The clearance should be the same as the old because if not the lens will not read the disc if it is too far or too close.

If you already cleaned the lens, and confirmed that the ribbon is good as well as the motor then I've advice you to send it to repair shop because the next step should be done with an expert because it is quite technical diagnosing the fault between the pick-up lens and the main board.

Thanks for using fixya.

Hello there,

It wont read your discs simple because the lens could hardly read them because it is dirty and probably needs cleaning. Try running a disc cleaner and let it spin for like 30 seconds. Then try playing those discs again. If this does not work, then you might need to clean the lens manually by disassembling the wii, taking out the casing and cleaning the lens with a swab damped in an alcohol. Just gently wipe the swab on the lens surface in a circular manner and let it dry. Then put everything back and try playing those discs again.

By the way, this video might give you an idea how to disassemble the wii.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enjsDKaKujw&feature=related

Hope this helps. Thank you for using FixYa. Merry Christmas.

Try TDK's lens cleaner disk? If it plays, that means keep on using it may get dvd to play again. It cleans the lens also by running it many times will drive off moisture condensation on the semiconductor circuit. It works if lens needs cleaning, dvd woill play soon. And it works if circuit condesation needs to run the circuit hot using the disk many times.

I would try purchasing a can of compressed air and blow it inside to dust of the glass laser lens. They can get dusty and won't read. If cleaning doesn't help, it may have a faulty laser circuit that will need to be replaced.

Hi try cleaning the lens.
If the lens is dirty or opaque, the player may read only few media types, for example only recorded DVD-R .
You can first try cleaning the lens with a Cleaner Disk. If that does not work clean the lens with isopropyl alcohol and cotton stubs. Disconnect power and remove top cover to clean the lens directly. Be careful because if you put too much strength and displace the lens pickup you may make things worse.

If all that does not work, the lens pickup must be replaced.

HI.This will occur when the optical assembly becomes unstable. this ((Whole One Piece)), assembly incorporates the spin/load motor, optics housing /arm, tracking device and tracking rail and both lens. This is housed in the loading dock assembly(Drive). This 'NO Disc' or CD NOT PLAYABLE, code is the result of a failed or burned out lens. It is possible that you have a dirty lens cap. you can try using a cleaning disk in this case to confirm actual lens failure. if the cleaning doesn't restore normal reading capabilities, this will confirm my diagnosis.

You will need to have the optical assembly replaced in this case. once replaced, your unit will be able to read and track once more.

"No disk" is about as fatal a CD read error as ther is. Before we assume the player is at fault let's look at our media. A CD should be handled and cared for like any opitical device. Dirt, fingerprints and scratches are tolerated somewhat but the CD standard isn't impervious to problems.

Do you get any constant results with any CD, say one that always works vs one that never works? Compare them visually for problems on the one that doesn't. I use a clean soft cloth with glass cleaner to clean my media.

This is the entire troubleshooting section for the unit.

Care of CDs
When a CD becomes dirty, wipe it from the center out with a
cleaning cloth. After playing a CD, store it in its case. Do
not keep it in hot or humid places.

Troubleshooting
If your unit fails to perform properly, check the following guide
and the relevant sections of the Operating Instructions.
There is no sound.
•Are the speakers and AC power cord connected properly?
The unit shut off suddenly.
•Possibly a short circuit in the speaker terminals.
Disconnect the AC power cord from the AC power outlet
and re-connect the speaker cords correctly.
The unit blacks out when the unit is turned off.
•Is ECO mode set to on?
Erroneous display.
•Reset the unit.
Poor radio reception.
•Check antenna connection. Adjust the antenna to find the
best reception.
•Move unit and antenna away from other electric appliances
and cords.
The tape does not run.
•Is the deck in pause?
Poor tape sound.
•Check for dirty heads. Clean them if needed.
•Use type I (normal) tapes.
Cannot record.
•Is the erasure prevention tab of the tape broken off? If so,
cover the detection slot with adhesive tape.
The CD player works poorly.
•Is the disc correctly loaded?
•Is the disc dirty?
•Is the lens affected by condensation? If so, wait
approximately one hour and try again.
Resetting the unit
If an unusual condition occurs in the display window or the
cassette deck, reset the unit as follows:
1 Press POWER to turn off the power.
If the power cannot be turned off, disconnect the AC power
cord, then plug it in again.
2 Hold down s and press POWER.
Everything stored in memory after purchase is cleared.
Condensation
Moisture may form on the CD pickup lens when:
•The unit is moved from a cold spot to a warm spot
•The heating system has just been turned on
•The unit is used in a very humid room
•The unit is cooled by an air conditioner
When this unit has condensation inside, it may not function
normally. Should this occur, leave the unit for a few hours,
then try to operate again.

If when you insert the disk you hear a whirring and clicking noise, CD spins, and does not read, then that is a problem with the DVD lens.

The DVD lens try to focus on the DVD track, by moving lens pickup and spinning the disk, but cannot read the tracks because the lens is dirty or defective.

Try first cleaning the lens with a DVD cleaner disk. And also if you can see the lens from the outside try blowing some canned air on it.

If this still does not help, then the lens pickup may be faulty, in this case you often replace the whole DVD drive unit inside the DVD player.