There are a few major failures that occur with Turbo CD and PCE CDROM2 units. Historically, the most common failure has been the laser deteriorating to the point where it will no longer read. The repair for this has been to replace the laser assembly which is still readily available for a reasonable price.
Recently however, many have been experiencing two related issues. One is a CDROM unit that will not start up at all. Meaning the disc wont spin, the laser wont turn on, nothing happens at all except for a "0" on the readout. The other issue is that some units will require a significant warm up time. These two issues have been traced to the now infamous "middle gear" on the laser sled mechanism. The gear will either seize up on its axle causing the warm up issue, or teeth will break off the gear rendering the entire unit inoperative.
In a unit where the gear has not broken yet, it has been determined that a relubrication using a safe plastic lubricant on the middle gear axle can extend the life of the unit and correct the warm up issue. This however is not a permanent fix as the gears are still deteriorating and will inevitably break.
Many efforts have been made to find or manufacture replacement middle gears. As of yet, none have succeeded in providing a cost effective solution. Recently however, the tech crew here at PCEFX have been considering alternate methods of repairing this problem.
Finally, just today a completely new solution utilizing a not so new idea has been developed. This process is currently undergoing extensive testing, but so far has proven reliable....
Introducing the
CDROM3 UpgradeThis system eliminates the gear system completely and replaces it with a smooth and quiet belt system. The major parts have been sourced. The total cost of this repair will be under $10 for the parts. This repair requires some skill to implement, and so should be done by one of the tech crew here. We are currently testing this solution and also searching for better components, although the components we are using now are proving to be effective!
Soon this repair service will be officially offered at a very low cost to PCEngineFX members in good standing.Here are some pictures!
