[Summary: Blau CDC-A08 plays for only a short period before stopping]
I recently purchased an all-Blau system to replace the (bizarre) Bose gear in my
'92 Audi 100CS. My wife likes cassettes, so I chose the RCM126 Sydney, the CDC-A08 changer, and four Graphite-series speakers.
The sound is great; however, I have an interesting problem with the CD player. After approximately two minutes of normal play, the CD will stop, accompanied by a few clicks from the speakers. The CD function won't respond at all after this. The radio and cassette continue to work fine, they never have trouble.
I have to power-cycle the headunit (thereby toggling the 12v relay for the radio
subsystem) before CD's will work again. After a few go-rounds, the CD will only
play for a few moments (if at all) before stopping again.
It doesn't matter what disc I'm playing, nor does it matter what slot the disc
is in. The changer works in all orientations. There are ways to force it to play normally (see below) so I'm still looking for gotcha's here.
My vendor (Continental Imports, in Florida -- very helpful folks, I might add!) offered to replace components; but, the problem persists. They suggested that
I might have a problem with the Audi's common electrical ground. If the grounding point gets dirty or corroded, then you can experience strange problems.
I've checked the (relatively new) battery, and insured that the negative
terminal is getting a clean and solid connection to the vehicle chassis under the right rear seat. So, I'm really not sure whether there is a grounding problem.
Here's a symptom that I did notice: When I'm sitting in the car, the door-
open tone enunciates when I switch on the radio -- that's normal. What's odd is that the tone will start to sputter and grow faint after a few minutes. Perhaps this suggests some sort of low-voltage situation, or other electrical problem?
There is one way that I can get the CDC-A08 to keep playing. If I switch on the headlights (only the parking lights come on, since there is no key in the ignition), the CDC-A08 will play perfectly. The door chime also returns to full strength. If I turn the lights off, then the shy behavior returns. Hmm, interesting.
I've examined the wiring adapter for the Sydney, and confirmed that I have it sorted correctly (I had to swap the constant and switched power, otherwise it seems fine). All of the connections are tight, from what I can tell.
The vendor offered to send me a replacement cable; but, they sent the wrong one, so the CD changer cable is the only component that hasn't been swapped out. Given that I can play CD's just fine when I switch other electrical components on, I have at least some evidence that the cable works properly.
Has anyone else run across a similar problem in your VW AG car? Please let me know if you have any advice, or questions. I haven't tried testing with a voltmeter yet; but, I can borrow one, if needs be. Thanks in advance, folks...
-cheers, fattyfox
[Modified by fattyfox, 11:48 PM 2-11-2002]
I recently purchased an all-Blau system to replace the (bizarre) Bose gear in my
'92 Audi 100CS. My wife likes cassettes, so I chose the RCM126 Sydney, the CDC-A08 changer, and four Graphite-series speakers.
The sound is great; however, I have an interesting problem with the CD player. After approximately two minutes of normal play, the CD will stop, accompanied by a few clicks from the speakers. The CD function won't respond at all after this. The radio and cassette continue to work fine, they never have trouble.
I have to power-cycle the headunit (thereby toggling the 12v relay for the radio
subsystem) before CD's will work again. After a few go-rounds, the CD will only
play for a few moments (if at all) before stopping again.
It doesn't matter what disc I'm playing, nor does it matter what slot the disc
is in. The changer works in all orientations. There are ways to force it to play normally (see below) so I'm still looking for gotcha's here.
My vendor (Continental Imports, in Florida -- very helpful folks, I might add!) offered to replace components; but, the problem persists. They suggested that
I might have a problem with the Audi's common electrical ground. If the grounding point gets dirty or corroded, then you can experience strange problems.
I've checked the (relatively new) battery, and insured that the negative
terminal is getting a clean and solid connection to the vehicle chassis under the right rear seat. So, I'm really not sure whether there is a grounding problem.
Here's a symptom that I did notice: When I'm sitting in the car, the door-
open tone enunciates when I switch on the radio -- that's normal. What's odd is that the tone will start to sputter and grow faint after a few minutes. Perhaps this suggests some sort of low-voltage situation, or other electrical problem?
There is one way that I can get the CDC-A08 to keep playing. If I switch on the headlights (only the parking lights come on, since there is no key in the ignition), the CDC-A08 will play perfectly. The door chime also returns to full strength. If I turn the lights off, then the shy behavior returns. Hmm, interesting.
I've examined the wiring adapter for the Sydney, and confirmed that I have it sorted correctly (I had to swap the constant and switched power, otherwise it seems fine). All of the connections are tight, from what I can tell.
The vendor offered to send me a replacement cable; but, they sent the wrong one, so the CD changer cable is the only component that hasn't been swapped out. Given that I can play CD's just fine when I switch other electrical components on, I have at least some evidence that the cable works properly.
Has anyone else run across a similar problem in your VW AG car? Please let me know if you have any advice, or questions. I haven't tried testing with a voltmeter yet; but, I can borrow one, if needs be. Thanks in advance, folks...
-cheers, fattyfox
[Modified by fattyfox, 11:48 PM 2-11-2002]
