Sony HCD-GX450 laser

[BOB URZ]

I had this compact stereo come in with the usual no play cd
symptom. took it apart to look at and clean the laser.
Closer inspection showed the top of the laser was flat instead
of the rounded coated lens that's usually on the top of the laser.
It also had air bubbles in the lens as i looked at it. I have never seen

one like this before. Could the lens be glued on and simple fell
off, or did someone try to clean the laser with some sort of solvent
and caused the lens to melt into itself? Strange.

Anyone got a part number of this laser asssy?
Its got a sliding shield over the laser, and is MP3
capable. It does not look like the typical cheap
213 or 240 lasers.

Bob

 

[BOB URZ]

I had this compact stereo come in with the usual no play cd
symptom. took it apart to look at and clean the laser.
Closer inspection showed the top of the laser was flat instead
of the rounded coated lens that's usually on the top of the laser.
It also had air bubbles in the lens as i looked at it. I have never seen

one like this before. Could the lens be glued on and simple fell
off, or did someone try to clean the laser with some sort of solvent
and caused the lens to melt into itself? Strange.

Anyone got a part number of this laser asssy?
Its got a sliding shield over the laser, and is MP3
capable. It does not look like the typical cheap
213 or 240 lasers.

Bob

Maybe a KSM 215DCP/C2np?

Bob

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

I had this compact stereo come in with the usual no play cd
symptom. took it apart to look at and clean the laser.
Closer inspection showed the top of the laser was flat instead
of the rounded coated lens that's usually on the top of the laser.
It also had air bubbles in the lens as i looked at it. I have never seen

one like this before. Could the lens be glued on and simple fell
off, or did someone try to clean the laser with some sort of solvent
and caused the lens to melt into itself? Strange.

Anyone got a part number of this laser asssy?
Its got a sliding shield over the laser, and is MP3
capable. It does not look like the typical cheap
213 or 240 lasers.

Bob

Bob,

There's a service bulletin on this - the laser has to be replaced and a mod
done on the board underneath.

Warning:
The HCD-GX250 and 450 models seem to suffer from a variety of unusual
problems. I've been all over several of these. They are so bad that a cash
repair on one of these is simply too risky - it's highly likely the unit
will be back sooner, not later, and essentially be unrepairable. I'm going
to stop taking them in for cash repairs, and the warranty ones will go to
Sony in Laredo, TX.

Mark Z.

 

[Bob Urz]

Bob,

There's a service bulletin on this - the laser has to be replaced and a mod
done on the board underneath.

Warning:
The HCD-GX250 and 450 models seem to suffer from a variety of unusual
problems. I've been all over several of these. They are so bad that a cash
repair on one of these is simply too risky - it's highly likely the unit
will be back sooner, not later, and essentially be unrepairable. I'm going
to stop taking them in for cash repairs, and the warranty ones will go to
Sony in Laredo, TX.

Mark Z.

Thank for the reply. I will probably give a high repair estimate with a
no fix recommendation. What exactly is the service bulletin about?
Is it about the laser lens? I just never saw one that looked like this
one. Its like someone dropped acetone or some strong solvent on the top
of the lens and it melted inward. With air bubbles embedded into the
plastic to boot. damnedest thing i have seen on a laser.

Bob

 

[[email protected]]

I've seen that on a "new" PS2 laser from Ebay. Needless to say it
didn't work, solvent or heat are about the only things I know of that
can do this.

-A

 

[[email protected]]

I'm a consumer, not a tech, although engineer with a lot of hands on
experience - read "dangerous" -

Nonetheless, my son bought a HCD-GX450 in 2004, and loved it - until
the CD unit stopped reading disks. Out of warrantee, and with Sony's
local service shops not answering their phones on the weekend (sorry
guys, but get an answering machine) - I bought the manual, and started
looking.

To no avail - the software tests never get going, and the unit appears
to have a bad laser.
Sony Laredo is $132 flat rate to fix, but it's $55 to ship to the -
getting real close to the original purchase price. The online support
appears to be robotic, glad they found a use for Asimo.

So now I have a dilemma - the unit was the first thing my son purchased
with his own money from his first teenage job. Unfortunately, it
appears from my experience, and these posting, to be far from worth
fixing.

Advice?


By the way, the part number is -

8-820-244-01 OPTICAL PICK-UP KSM-215DCP/C2NP

According to the manual.

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

I'm a consumer, not a tech, although engineer with a lot of hands on
experience - read "dangerous" -

Nonetheless, my son bought a HCD-GX450 in 2004, and loved it - until
the CD unit stopped reading disks. Out of warrantee, and with Sony's
local service shops not answering their phones on the weekend (sorry
guys, but get an answering machine) - I bought the manual, and started
looking.

To no avail - the software tests never get going, and the unit appears
to have a bad laser.
Sony Laredo is $132 flat rate to fix, but it's $55 to ship to the -
getting real close to the original purchase price. The online support
appears to be robotic, glad they found a use for Asimo.

So now I have a dilemma - the unit was the first thing my son purchased
with his own money from his first teenage job. Unfortunately, it
appears from my experience, and these posting, to be far from worth
fixing.

Advice?


By the way, the part number is -

8-820-244-01 OPTICAL PICK-UP KSM-215DCP/C2NP

According to the manual.

Try calling Sony sustomer service and complaining. They might fix it for
free.

Mark Z.

 

[tvguy]

I really don`t think sony is going to fix this for free. They can b
a real pain to try to get something from them. You will need to pa
the shipping on this both ways and they will try to sell you
reconditioned one and take yours as a trade in. I would sugest to tr
to find a repairshop in your area where you can take it in to have i
serviced

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

I really don`t think sony is going to fix this for free. They can be
a real pain to try to get something from them. You will need to pay
the shipping on this both ways and they will try to sell you a
reconditioned one and take yours as a trade in. I would sugest to try
to find a repairshop in your area where you can take it in to have it
serviced.

Problem is, and I say this as an authorized Sony servicer, the HCD-GX250 and
450 models are so bad that if your shop repairs it, you cannot put a shop
warranty on it. There's a high likelihood it will be back with other
unrepairable problems.
Besides, the thing with the pickup is a known manufacturing defect, there's
a service bulletin on it. In fact it's about the only common, repairable
problem on these.

If the customer approaches this correctly, Sony Customer Service should take
care of him, at least to the point of a reduced-price repair.


Mark Z.

 

[[email protected]]

So far, all I've gotten from Sony is the standard repair procedure -
despite the fact that I have pointed out that, with shipping, the
questionable reputation of the unit, and no stated warrantee on the
repair, this might not be a very smart move on my side. Apparently this
has not escalated beyond the normal, and it doesn't look promising.
Shame on them.

Were this not the emotional "first purchase" of my son, I would have
tossed the unit, and learned that Sony's reputation is not as sterling
as I once believed. However, I'm stuck - Sony will only give me canned
answers, and I'm not thrilled with paying more than it's worth to fix,
on spec.

Getting back to the repair option - someone mentioned a board
modification on a service bulletin - is this on the optical pickup
assembly, or elsewhere in the unit? I've found where to buy the
optical unit (apparently there's a demand for this), but is that the
solution, or will this get fried without the board mod elsewhere?

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

So far, all I've gotten from Sony is the standard repair procedure -
despite the fact that I have pointed out that, with shipping, the
questionable reputation of the unit, and no stated warrantee on the
repair, this might not be a very smart move on my side. Apparently this
has not escalated beyond the normal, and it doesn't look promising.
Shame on them.

Were this not the emotional "first purchase" of my son, I would have
tossed the unit, and learned that Sony's reputation is not as sterling
as I once believed. However, I'm stuck - Sony will only give me canned
answers, and I'm not thrilled with paying more than it's worth to fix,
on spec.

Getting back to the repair option - someone mentioned a board
modification on a service bulletin - is this on the optical pickup
assembly, or elsewhere in the unit? I've found where to buy the
optical unit (apparently there's a demand for this), but is that the
solution, or will this get fried without the board mod elsewhere?

The mod is to the board underneath the pickup. Not all boards need it, as
there are different versions, but if the pickup fried I would say it's a
good bet yours needs it. The mod is not for the casual do-it-yourselfer.

Mark Z.

 

[[email protected]]

A-4751-431-A - the part listed as BD-81A CD Board, Complete? From the
schematic, it doesn't look all that simple. I'll pass on that one.
How do I tell if I need the mod?

I have not been into the unit far enough to tell if the bubbling/flat
lens thing is the problem - whether it's fried, or just died. I can
certainly get into it to find part numbers, mod numbers, etc - any way
to get hold of the service bulletin details? Sony?

On the support track, Sony has gotten back to me by e-mail, and 'fessed
up that you have to call a real person. Did, and they guided me
through the cold restart procedure, to no avail, and are passing me on
to escalated service on Monday. We'll see if that brings an
economically viable solution to this one.

They actually asked if I bought the extended warrantee with the unit -
As I explained, I bought Sony for the quality, thinking I wouldn't need
the warrantee...

Frustrating.

Meanwhile, thanks for the help, from all on the site - it's nice to
know I'm not alone...

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

A-4751-431-A - the part listed as BD-81A CD Board, Complete? From the
schematic, it doesn't look all that simple. I'll pass on that one.
How do I tell if I need the mod?

I have not been into the unit far enough to tell if the bubbling/flat
lens thing is the problem - whether it's fried, or just died. I can
certainly get into it to find part numbers, mod numbers, etc - any way
to get hold of the service bulletin details? Sony?

On the support track, Sony has gotten back to me by e-mail, and 'fessed
up that you have to call a real person. Did, and they guided me
through the cold restart procedure, to no avail, and are passing me on
to escalated service on Monday. We'll see if that brings an
economically viable solution to this one.

They actually asked if I bought the extended warrantee with the unit -
As I explained, I bought Sony for the quality, thinking I wouldn't need
the warrantee...

Frustrating.

Meanwhile, thanks for the help, from all on the site - it's nice to
know I'm not alone...

There are supporting JPEG pictures to aid the servicer. Please DO NOT copy
this post to Sony, merely make reference to the known problem and service
bulletin. Servicers are not supposed to give them out.


SYMPTOMS

The CD will not play. Upon closer examination of the optical pickup the lens
or lens cover is found to be deformed due to heat.

RESOLUTION

Read the following text completely before upgrading the unit. Perform the
following counter measure* before replacing the Optical pick up. *Check the
part number on the CD board before performing the upgrade. If the part
number on the board is 1-860-502-13 no action is required. Add the
insulation material to the board before you solder the components. See
figure 3 for details.: 1. Cut the pattern as outlined in figure 1 (see
attached). 2. Remove R163. 3. Connect DIODE RB441Q as shown in figure 2
(attached). Connect the diode with the anode to land of R163 on IC101 side.
Connect the cathode to XTCN (CON201 PIN20). 4.Connect a second DIODE RB441Q
as follows, Anode to the land of R163 on IC101 side. Connect the cathode to
XRST (CON201 PIN19). 5. Connect a 33K ohm Carbon Resistor to the land of
R163 on the IC101 side and DVDD TP (R204). 6. Connect a 100 ohm Carbon
Resistor to the land of C163 on the IC101side (IC101 PIN100) and XRST
(CON201 PIN19). See figure 2 (attached) for more details. Replace the
defective Optical pickup.



Mark Z.