About a week ago, the 10 disc changer stopped working and I found that the disc was not rotating
Reviewing my options I decided that the fault could lie in the head unit, the control unit buried behind the dash, or the CD changer unit itself
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Having bought 3 Grundig head units before getting one that worked properly (a wkc 4871) and even then I had to do some minor repairs to the 4871 and correct a manufacturing fault that was present on all 3 units
The 2 4870's suffered from the dreaded 'intermittent loss of FM' syndrome.
I had purchased the repair manual (circuit diagrams etc) for £15 only to find that it was no help in tracking down the intermittent fault and found that many of the microchips were no longer available anyway
I was faced with the probability of the same process and cost for the CD unit, so I decided that the time had come to completely update the whole system
I purchased a 'face off' Sony FM/MW/LW CD player CDX-GT430U head unit (£100), one of the major reasons being that it had a front panel USB socket. (it also controls the aerial)
Removing the head unit and replacing the retaining frame with the one provided in the Sony kit, I plugged in the adaptor harness and plugs provided, only to find that no matter how I connected the permanent/switched live feed the head unit did not work without the ignition on
(the Grundig head unit does !)
Returning to the specialist I.C.E place that I bought the Sony system from, I was told that they all worked that way and they would fix that for me (chargeable) or I could buy a different adaptor harness (£20
)
Both options drew a 2 word reply
I went home, connected both live and switched live 'bullet' connectors from the head unit into a 5 amp connector block and made a jumper from that with a 'bullet' connector on the end to the 'bullet' socket on the adaptor harness which carries the permanent live. ( total cost about 15p )
I can now use the system with the ignition off
the only downside I can see to this is that I have to remember to switch the system off when leaving the car (not difficult due to the bright L.E.D lighting on it) and it no longer 'beeps' at me to remind me to remove the 'face off' panel.
The Sony head unit has a built in graphic equaliser controlled by software and 2 auxiliary input Jack sockets (one on the front panel and one at the back of the unit as well as a mute input from your Mobile 'phone system.
There are also auxiliary outputs to feed an external system which removes crusted rust from your chassis and body panels
I no longer have the current drain that the disc changer put on the battery even when off (enough to flatten a fully charged new battery in about 10 days if the car is unused
)
I bought a 1 Gigabyte USB memory stick from Maplin (£7) that will hold the same amount of music from 12/14 hour long CD's and is about the size of a postage stamp
Pop that into the front panel USB socket and you have totally replaced the CD changer, control box and wiring with all their potential problems as well as having a bigger music storage capacity !
You can select the albums and tracks stored in the memory stick from the head unit controls and the name, orchestra and composer scrolls across the display.
The advances in technology in the 17 years since the 10 CD changer was 'state of the art' are astonishing, let alone the advances in the 50 years since I began in electronics
The only other job was to remove the CD changer carrier from the boot which took a couple of hours and releases a surprising amount of boot space !
