PCE CDROM2 (White) Troubleshooting

[SonicBlastMan]

Hello all,

I hear this is the place to come for PC Engine help 

I recently bought a fully loaded briefcase system and the CDROM2 has a few issues.

Symptoms:
- Disc spins and laser moves no issues, unit is a little noisy when trying to read the disc. Disc is sat in place properly so not rubbing on the tray. May be laser?
- Takes time to read a disc (original game or audio cd). Game normally just shows the main game screen then struggles to get any further. Audio cd takes time to read tracks but usually gets there eventually. Have more luck on middle/later tracks
- Audio through headphones/TV is scratchy/low

Otherwise in good condition. Middle gear replaced already. No obvious signs of cap deterioration

Questions:
- What symptoms would be present if the laser was dead/needed replacing? Hoping my symptoms dont indicate laser replacement
- If pots need adjusting, how exactly should I start that process? ie which pots to try first, turning pots clock/anti-clockwise? I've ensured the pots are at the approximate position as mentioned a few times in various threads/videos
- Would a recap help my issues?

Cap kit is on its way, I'm hoping that covers most/all of my issues...

Really appreciate any advice!

Thanks in advance

EDIT: upon closer inspection, I found 3 or 4 4.7uf caps near the volume wheel that look highly suspect. Dull, brown fur on the legs of the caps and in close proximity on the board itself. Anyone know what these caps are responsible for?

[Keith Courage]

Caps might be your issue plus possibly needing a little lens adjustment via the pots on the side.

yes, those 4.7uf caps are known to go bad. They actually deal with the headphone audio but when they short out, they cause CD lens reading problems.

[SonicBlastMan]

Thanks - you dont think it sounds like a dead/dying laser then (what I'm most worried about)?

[Keith Courage]

Do the caps first to know for sure. Sounds more like bad caps to me.

[SonicBlastMan]

Thought I'd finish my own thread. Hopefully this is useful to someone

So I did a full recap of the cdrom2. No difference. Wouldnt read audio CDs, games would mostly load. Drive was noisy AF

I assumed as I'd done a recap it was the laser so I did a laser swap with a known working discman D33.

Same problems, games would load a bit quicker, audio CDs would eventually be read but audio was scratchy.

I faffed about with the pots, matched up the screenshot with this thread: https://www.pcenginefans.com/forum/index.php?topic=21371.0

but didnt make much difference

I watched a video by GadgetUK on YT and he showed his pots and matching up with them made a bit difference. Audio CDs would read and audio was mostly good. Drive was still really noisy.

I then made small adjustments to 103 and 104 (dont know why these two, I didnt know what I was doing with the pots really)

Now the drive is near silent (or as close a cdrom2 drive can be), audio CDs load quick and audio is good. games boot and run well

Case closed.

[xelement5x]

Thought I'd finish my own thread. Hopefully this is useful to someone

So I did a full recap of the cdrom2. No difference. Wouldnt read audio CDs, games would mostly load. Drive was noisy AF

I assumed as I'd done a recap it was the laser so I did a laser swap with a known working discman D33.

Same problems, games would load a bit quicker, audio CDs would eventually be read but audio was scratchy.

I faffed about with the pots, matched up the screenshot with this thread: https://www.pcenginefans.com/forum/index.php?topic=21371.0

but didnt make much difference

I watched a video by GadgetUK on YT and he showed his pots and matching up with them made a bit difference. Audio CDs would read and audio was mostly good. Drive was still really noisy.

I then made small adjustments to 103 and 104 (dont know why these two, I didnt know what I was doing with the pots really)

Now the drive is near silent (or as close a cdrom2 drive can be), audio CDs load quick and audio is good. games boot and run well

Case closed.

Congrats on the fix, what was the link to the video?

[Keith Courage]

So all it needed was adjustments or did it require adjustments after changing out the caps?

It's rare for adjustments alone to fix one of these CD drives but I guess you lucked out. Congrats.