Who could take me out of that wizardry?
 

Since a while my CD changer was whimsical, first working then after several tracks successfully played, displaying CD Error or No device or something like that.

Then Trikey kindly sent me a fully working one... but which refused to work in my car.
Then I got another one from a French mate who showed me in a short clip that his was working fine in his car. I've just got it and same failure as Trikey's one!

What's going on here?

As soon as I connect mine I can hear distinctly the mechanism lively positioning itself, but none of the other two gives any sign to be alive.
I guess that they can't be physically rightly connected (no power?).
Anyway the plug looks the same and I can fit any of the three without any difficulty.
But after a deep exam of the label, mine reads "XQE105560D" when the two others reads "XQE105560". My car was built in June 1999. I suspect the other two were later cars.
Could there be a slight difference between the first cars and the other one?
I can see on the bay some labels exactly like mine and the others like both others.
Here are the three labels.

Any clue to take me out of my misery?

i would have thought that the incompatability was unlikely , yet not impossible . This problem would have arisen by now through other members probably. if the plugs are the same then the wiring should be. if you have tried 2 other units then the problem more than likely lies elsewhere. you have said that your original unit was not working properly, so i would persevere with one of the replacement units , to try to find the problem . could be a kbus or harness connection , but dont rule out the symphony unit itself as having a problem,even if they are usually very good and reliable. Have you tried talking to the player via the steering controls and the alpine itself ? recheck harnesses behind the alpine and do a bit more digging i think. you could have discovered a problem with the early model players , as you have already mentioned , however its probably unlikely, but not definitive. happy hunting .. !!

They all seem to come with different plugs so aren't plug and play. Usually the CD transport mechanism just needs a bit of lub and then they work fine again. If you take the unit out, remove the casing panels and lubricate every pivot and sliding point you can see with some very light grease that should do the trick.

I do agree that the problem in my genuine cd changer might be the lubrication of some pieces. But I'm uneasy when it comes to take the changer apart: it doesn't look straightforward and removing some parts (I'd a glance on the how to) may be fiddly.
In case I break something I'm done for I can't swap with any other.

But regarding the weird case I've tried to tell, I would be very surprised that canbus or harness or something of the like could explain the discrepancy between the 2 kinds of models.
Absolutely everything in the system is working fine: genuine Alpine radio, steering wheel controls, you name it. I can put up or down the volume or change the track or swap to another media at the wheel. Even the connection between the radio and a small Bluetooth add-on is working.

My only evidence is that every time I plug on the genuine changer, it clicks and reacts electrically, making evidence that the power is going to it. But when I do the same with any of the other two, nothing can be heard, proving that they don't look actually connected, hence no power.
The plugs are very tiny, the wires are many and given my backbone disease I can't stay very long in that uncomfortable position. Comparing plugs might give a clue but now the genuine changer is back in and I'm going off for a five day trip tomorrow. Maybe later.

Thanks for your help. If anybody else has any clue it will be very much appreciated. Even I know that lots of you got rid of their changers when they had one... But I love my CDs and I've got loads of them... :shrug:

Ah ok , so what you were describing as not working (regarding your now refitted original ) player was that it will select the cd"s ok , and play them .... but only some or so many tracks ? am i correct ? could it be just a case of the pick up head needs cleaning . with the age of these units being old technology , the old remedy was to either clean or replace the laser pickup , or for a quick clean up, you use to be able to buy a head cleaner disk and fluid to insert and clean the pick up. you may be able to reach the head yourself with a cotton bud plus cleaning fluid and an extension if lucky. maybe the pickup is worn out or just needs cleaning. this is how the cd players use to be years ago, but im not in a position to offer any more advice . maybe someone who knows the inners of these players may shed a little more light on the subject . As for the compatibility issue .. that is a strange one indeed that must have an answer to ,regarding the earlier models.!!

might be a good idea as you say to check the plugs. i dont have my old pc to run my rave cd on. which means i cannot access the electrical plugs numbers to identify the pins and colours.i hope someone can do this for you. you will need to check your feed plugs are colours per pinouts are the same as the newer v older models, which you can visually inspect yourself. if mike noc is correct about the plugs varying ( which he almost certainly will be ) then this could give rise to a kbus or loom connection problem. But for now enjoy your break !!!

When I say whimsical, I mean that my genuine CD changer is randomly working, for example able to work a while along several tracks, even two CDs in a row then stops and sends his dreadful message CD error or no device or something of the like.
As several have suggested it needs likely to be cleaned. But I fear to do a mistake and to be fully deprived of my changer.

Regarding the plug and that very confusing mystery here are the sketches of three different configurations I've extracted from one of the workshop volumes I was lucky to find out a few years ago. Is it hepful? I'm unsure because the contradictory positions of pins might be graphical and not matching with the actual plugs.

its a difficult situation to find yourself in. its hard to decide what is your best way forward. your head unit is working fine but the cd player im afraid has seen better days. you could of course take it out and pop it into an alpine repair/service shop, that is of course if spare parts are available .. and at what cost to repair ? you could take a chance and have it cleaned and serviced , but what is the longer term prospect . With a player that has had 22/23 years service , the prognosis is not good. even if it were to have an exchange pick up head and a good clean , there is a good chance that the discs do not now run flat due to play, and therefor back to square one. its a difficult call to make ,especially after paying out for 2 spare players. at least you would have a spare unit if you could get one of the newer versions you have to work. As mike noc said , there are many many versions of the wiring plugs and it would need a "wizard " who understands your wiring set up and perform the necessary surgery to the loom. Your other option is to change the head for a compatible one for your newer players ... again more expense. no easy solution to this unless someone could work out and make you a conversion harness to adapt at the cd player end. i dont know what your set up is via your head units wiring harness and from what i have read on here in old posts it is indeed a mine field. there is by the way a cd player on ebay uk marked with the "D" serial number , for around £35 . but again .. its old and used and you dont have any guarantee its any good. my choice would be to change the head unit , but it still comes with an element of risk.

Thanks a lot Stephan for your so kind and comprehensive study of my puzzling problem.
However today I've made a 220 mls journey and my changer played nearly without any failure but once! Several hours without a niggle as on the first day of my ownership... I tested every CD and nearly every track. The dreadful CD ERROR message appeared only once and after 3 attempts switching the button the normal display was back again.
Anyway I'm still uncertain about the origin: electrical or mechanical fault?
On the other hand it's very frustrating to be kept in the dark about the difference between my original one and the two others... :shrug: :duh:

I can't help out on the differences, if any, but in looking I came across this
https://mglrparts.co.uk/products/gen...b5de3653fa7d32