Mini-disc player.

HELP. My beloved mini-disc player- MZ-E900 which I have been using since the year 2000 has finally given up. I was listening to a disc the other day when a out 1 hour Into the disc it just stopped. I thought it was the gumstick battery but I didn't get the usual beep-beep. A y way I tried another gumstick but no luck. I then tried an AA in the sidecar but no luck. Do not have a 1.5 adaptor so cannot try that. When I press play the red light comes on, the motor starts up for a couple of seconds and then just shuts down. Any ideas what might have happened please.

 

Hi Mr X. Thanks for reply. I don't use the remotest all because it has internal memory that once you have selected your settings they are stored. Did try remote a d with different batteries- no luck. No internal battery eithergumstick or AA in sidecar. Don't understand what's happened. Playing one minute a d then just stopped. Can't complain after 20 years service. I hope it's not the laser.

 

Most likely lubrication has dried up causing the laser sled to get stuck. I've had this happen and fixed it by opening the player up, cleaning off old grease/oil on the sled rails with a Q-tip and ISO. Let it dry and apply fresh grease/oil - the laser sled should now move freely again. I use lithium grease or high quality watch oil - a little goes a long way!! Take care not to make a mess with too much ISO and/or lubricant. Your player should now work again. Yours is an E900, but the transport should be the same as the R900. Let's hear how it goes.

Look at these on how to open the player:

(3) TeardownTube - episode 45 - Sony MZ-R900 MDLP Portable Minidisc Recorder - YouTube

(3) Sony MZ-R900 Minidisc Recorder Repair (Fixing Old Junk) - YouTube

 

Hi John. Thanks for reply. It's just strange how it just suddenly stopped 1 hour into a disk. It hasn'nt hardly skipped before. Once the back is off is it difficult to get to the laser sled? There is a model railway shop not too far away from here. I'm sure they will have some suitable oil a d grease. Then I have to pluck up the courage to open it up. Never opened a thing like this before. Cannot complain after 20 years of service. Thanks again for your help.

 

Hi Derek, If you haven't done this type of work before it could be difficult and you might be better off just finding another player. If on the other hand you're used to using your hands for similar small scale work, I think you'll enjoy the challenge. The videos will show you the scope of the challenge.

Once you get the front and back off you'll see the laser sled and the rail it travels on - and also the worm gear that pulls it. You will be able to see any build-up of dried up lubrication on the rail. Go ahead and clean it with ISO on a cotton swap - and wipe it with a dry swap. Then apply a small amount of fresh lubrication. Also good to give the bearings and cams on the small motors inside a small drop of oil each. I use the needle eye end of a small sowing needle as a dispenser - gives you good control over the amount of oil you apply.

Watch the two videos a few times all the way through, and you'll know how to go about the disassemble/reassemble procedure. The disassembly part on the first video starts at 7:45. On the second video it starts at 2:30.

I have used this oil with great results:

MOEBIUS 8000/4 WATCH OIL - 1ML BOTTLE - SWISS MADE 3664315001007 | eBay

Lithium Grease is also good for the sled rail:

Lithium Multi Purpose Grease Lubricant High Melting Point Bike Car Wheel Crank | eBay

Good luck
Jørn Bonne

 

Thanks jorn for all your help a d advice. I'm certainly going to attempt this as I just love this player. I have others but this has always been my favourite. Take care.

 

Lasers do wear out unfortunately but you generally get other read errors before they fail totally. The sudden stop may indicate component failure on the PCB. This happens with Discman players of that same era. I've had some where the surface mount capacitors just drop off the board. Unless you have the skills to test down to component level and then to remove and replace these tiny components you're going to need to know somebody who can do this type of work.
First. Try cleaning your laser lens with a commercial MD cleaning disc. You might get lucky and find its either a deposit on the lens or the slider. Good luck!

 

Mr X, Silverera. Thanks for the tips.

 

When a Sony MD player can't read the disc properly you'll sometimes get a 'Read error' or 'No disc' message on the display. But the player may also suddenly go dead with no error message. Either way it's my experience that this usually has to do with dried up lubrication as described above. This goes for Sony portables as well as stationary MD decks. I have not seen a worn out laser on these players in the 20 years since I bought my first MD player - knock on wood! They seem to be robust. Nor have I experienced PCB component failure with them.

CD decks and Discman players are much the same by the way. On some Discman models the laser sled and rails are difficult to get to and you may have a hard time fixing them if they go dead or start skipping. With non-working CD decks you'll often hear people say the laser has gone dead, and that can happen surely, but mostly it's the lubrication issue that's the cause of malfunction with these as well.

As seen in the videos poor contact from the battery, gum stick or AA, can also cause problems in some cases, so be sure to check that as well. Would've been good if you'd had a suitable power supply with correct specs and polarity to exclude this. But cleaning the battery contacts with e.g. Caig DeoxIT D5 should eliminate poor contact.

Caig DeoxIt - D5S-6 - Contact Lube Cleaner Protector 5% Spray 5OZ | eBay

@Silverera, Yes, cleaning the laser lens can be called for. Use a cotton swap, either dry or with a very small amount of ISO applied, and clean the lens top with careful clockwise circular motion applying hardly any force. If you use ISO finish with a dry swap after that and be very careful. I've bought several commercial MD cleaning discs through the years but have not had much luck with them on seemingly 'dead' players. The cotton swap method is far better in my experience, but as I said, the issue is usually the laser sled being stuck.

 

Jorn. Silverera. Thank you both for your advice. Have tried other gumsticks and sidecar. Have always inserted gumsticks with the player level, never dropped them in. The ac adaptor is 1.5 v that is inserted into the aa sidecar. Never felt the need for one. AA Jorn haz suggested I will look at the videos many times before I attempt a look. Many thanks to you both again.

 

Jorn. Do you use mini disc? If you do is the e-900 your favourite?

 

Yes, I have used MD players for close to 20 years. No, the E900 is not among my favourites. If you scroll down on this thread to posts #12 and 14 you'll find a bit of info on what I use and why:

Mini-disc players. | Stereo2Go forums

 

Hi Derek,
I'm not sure how far you got with your repair but I've just taken my MZ-E900 apart to have a look. The E900 is significantly different to the R900 but it's easy to get apart in order to clean the laser head track. Just remove the 4 screws from the top cover then gently remove the lid, then you can squeeze the metal cage to unhook it from the side rails to get better access or you can un-hook it at the hinges to remove it completely.

Unfortunately for me, it's not so easy to get to the main board, my unit has a problem with the battery contacts inside and I can't work out how to get it apart. There are 3 screws inside the base but I've removed them and still can't get it apart. There is a very delicate black plastic rim which I assume should come out with the laser transport.
I downloaded the service manual but it's still not that clear to me.

 

Hi RTB. You won't believe this. I left the 900 for a week and when I tried it again a few days ago it's working properly again. I listened to 4 mini discs and it just carried on working properly. A real mystery because ag the time it suddenly stopped I thought it was a gumstick problem but I tried 3 new aa's just in case and it still wouldn't work. Thank you for all the very useful information and I hope you manage to get yours sorted out ok. I will just keep my fingers crossed the same problem doesn't happen again.

 

That's great news - I quite like this player, very compact and light. Very similar to my E710.
I re-read the manual and the laser mechanism can be removed from the front - so I'm making progress. There are some other screws underneath that hold the main board in place and there are 2 points to de-solder - so not as straight forward as taking the R900 apart.

 

RTB. The e-900 is my favourite md. As you say so small and light and I think sound quality is amazing. Bought it in 2000 a d it's been my daily workhorse. It's been to very hot, humid countries and never let me down. Keep persevering with yours. I'm sure you will sort it out.

 

RTB. Here's my e-900. Notice how the black from the W logo has run over the surface of the mini disc player. I can only put it down to using the player in hot, humid conditions. Have tried a rubber suggested by a forum member but no luck. Yours looks ok. A other possibility could be the constant handling of the unit. Derek.