TurboGrafx CD gear keeps jamming - WTF?

[Ace]

I'm starting to get incredibly annoyed by my TurboGrafx CD, and here's why: since I've gotten the add-on back in July, it has constantly caused me problems.  To start it off, I got the TurboGrafx CD with a jammed gear.  Okay, fair enough, I unjammed the thing, put some silicone grease on the gears and the laser's worm gear and it worked no problem.  Since then, the gear won't cooperate; it has jammed 5 TIMES since I got it, and what really pisses me off is that THE NEXT DAY after the gear has been unjammed, it's jammed again!  WTF?  Why the hell does that damn gear ALWAYS jam the next day after it's unjammed?!  In case you're wondering which gear it is, yes, it's the dreaded gear that disintegrates.  That gear is 100% intact in my TurboGrafx CD, but discolored to hell, and, as I said before, keeps jamming no matter how many times I unjam that thing.  Can anyone tell me why my TurboGrafx CD is acting up like that?

[SignOfZeta]

Are you playing CDRs? Is it jamming at the end of the laser's travel?

EDIT: BTW, if you are playing CD-Rs exclusively, this is not my way of ragging on you for being a pirate or anything. I don't care at all about that shit. I'm just trying to see if CD-Rs are the common link between jammed lasers and broken gears on early CD units.

[kattare]

The grease in there has probably aged and become gummy... maybe you can clean it all out and re-grease it all?

[Necromancer]

Either the grease you used is too viscous, a gear is missing a tooth (though not necessarily the one that usually fails), or something is misaligned.  Start hunting, I guess.  Good luck.

[Ace]

Are you playing CDRs? Is it jamming at the end of the laser's travel?

EDIT: BTW, if you are playing CD-Rs exclusively, this is not my way of ragging on you for being a pirate or anything. I don't care at all about that shit. I'm just trying to see if CD-Rs are the common link between jammed lasers and broken gears on early CD units.

I'm exclusively using CD-Rs, and no, they are NOT the cause because the laser is not jamming at the end of the travel.  The gear is physically stuck; it won't rotate unless I move it around a bit.

None of the gears are damaged, not even the notorious discolored piece of rotten plastic.  The add-on was cleaned out as soon as I got it, then was given a coat of silicone grease, which has since dried, and I'm now using a paste-type lubricant(can't remember what it was that I used).

I will say this though: when I go unjam the gear, I notice that it doesn't seem to be holding steady on the metal rod it's put in.  I can nudge it a little bit up and down.  Is it maybe too loose on the rod?

[SignOfZeta]

None of the gears are damaged, not even the notorious discolored piece of rotten plastic.  The add-on was cleaned out as soon as I got it, then was given a coat of silicone grease, which has since dried,

That must have been some pretty lame grease.

I will say this though: when I go unjam the gear, I notice that it doesn't seem to be holding steady on the metal rod it's put in.  I can nudge it a little bit up and down.  Is it maybe too loose on the rod?

That's pretty much how they all are, at least to a point.

[Ace]

So then why would the gear keep getting stuck?  Is it about to disintegrate?

[esteban]

So then why would the gear keep getting stuck?  Is it about to disintegrate?

Actually, TTi had a do-it-yourself repair kit for the TG-CD. Although the kit didn't promise to fix the hardware, it guaranteed to extend the life of your TG-CD a bit.

I have never seen the TG-CD Repair Kit on eBay, but here are the directions...

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Remove TurboGrafx-CD System Card from slot.
2. Insert Champions Forever Boxing HuCard into slot.
3. Enjoy.
4. Go to 3.

I've heard mixed things about the results...

[Ace]

Sorry Esteban, but just using a HuCard instead of a CD-ROM game just doesn't cut the mustard for me.  I NEED TO HAVE A WORKING TURBOGRAFX CD!!!!  And a Super System Card + PC Engine flash cartridge.  I MUST be able to use my Gradius II disc on that thing.  If worst comes to worst, I'll drop in a KSS-220a.

[SignOfZeta]

So then why would the gear keep getting stuck?  Is it about to disintegrate?

Wel, no. If its "about" to disintegrate, but hasn't deteriorated at all so far, then it will perform as it did originally. I'd take a *really* close look at the teeth. There may be some tiny chunk missing from one of the gears. It can be very hard to see.

If I were having this problem I would immediately stop using the system since every time the gear jams you that much closer to the thing shattering. I would clean the system thoroughly of all substances (ie: whatever stuff you used that evaporated would have left some kind of residue behind) and then try to figure out if the problem is with individual gears moving on their shafts, or if the problem is the gears binding against each other. If it is the gears themselves then I would just spin them a lot with some lithium grease in place. If the problem is the way the gears move against each other then I would try to make sure that nothing is bent (the way the motor is mounted, the little pins, ect) and, like I said, that none of the teeth are partially missing. If that looks good, then I would lube it up good with lithium grease and put the thing together. Once its up and running I would move the laser back and forth as far as possible. Put a 76min CD in there with a lot of tracks on there and skip from the first to the last track over and over again. That should either free it up good, or...break it for good.

I think this theory of old grease+lack of use makes a lot of sense to me.

Has anyone had the laser get stuck at the end of its travel Duo-style with a CDROM2 unit?

[Ace]

Not me.  I'm only using CD-Rs, and while it didn't get stuck like a TurboDuo, I did hear a grinding noise coming from the TurboGrafx CD(the gear was intact after the grind).  Did it maybe try to go further than its travel allows towards the spindle motor?

The gears are fine, just that stupid gear that's discolored.  When it jams, that gear doesn't move at all, but the other 2 can move freely in the tiny space in between each tooth on the stuck gear.  What's weird is that the gear appears to get stuck WHEN THE ADD-ON IS NOT IN USE.  While it's working, it never jams unless it jammed before.

May I remind you that when I bought my TurboGrafx CD in July, the gear was jammed in the exact same fashion, but it didn't jam consistently like it does now.

EDIT: I went to check the gears for any signs of damage, and have found none whatsoever.  I also just went to move the gear, and I noticed that it took a lot less effort to get the gear unjammed.  My guess is that the gear is somehow getting stuck on the metal rod that holds it.  Used to be that I had to move the gear back and forth to get it unjammed, but it was just enough that I rotated the gear and it unjammed with barely any effort(no teeth were damaged or broken in the process).

EDIT 2: Tested my copy of Gradius II to see if read all the tracks on the disc(contains 28 tracks) - read all 28 tracks flawlessly(even though 2 tracks are data).

[BlackandBlue]

Mine was doing this too.  Every day it would jam up again (I replaced the laser/spindle motor thinking that was the problem).  I ended up removing the black clip on the middle gear (discolored gear that likes to shred) and pulled of the gear (*carefully*).  I greased the post and slid the gear back on.  Then put the clip back on.  Mine has been working for over 2 months since I did this.  It was the black clip that was making the gear get stuck, but you cant pull it off and leave it, because the gear would work itself out.  By greasing it, some will get pushed out and will grease the clip when you reapply. Give it a try, but that gear will break if you look at it wrong, so be careful. 

[Ace]

Even though I've never worked with a TurboGrafx CD before getting mine in July, for the long amount of time I was visiting PC Engine FX before making an account, I had a pretty good idea about the stupid gear and how fragile it becomes.

So, I guess my suspicion is correct: the gear IS getting stuck on the post.  Now, I'm not too fond of removing the black clip that holds the gear in place.  If I remove it, wouldn't it just be easier to glue the gear onto the post with some epoxy?  It shouldn't jam anymore that way.  And even if the gear does disintegrate later on, I'm dropping in a KSS-220a.  At least, I won't have to deal with a faulty gear for another 20 years.

[BlackandBlue]

The gear needs to be able to spin on the post, so you can't glue it. Also, the KSS-220a only replaces the laser (I made a guide somewhere around here for it), so unless you want to do a ton of work and cutting to replace the entire assembly, you still have to deal with the gear. The clip isn't that bad. You could pull it off with even touching the gear with some sharp tweezers.

[SignOfZeta]

So, I guess my suspicion is correct: the gear IS getting stuck on the post.  Now, I'm not too fond of removing the black clip that holds the gear in place.  If I remove it, wouldn't it just be easier to glue the gear onto the post with some epoxy?  It shouldn't jam anymore that way. 

Um...just think about what you are saying there for a second.