1997 Civic CD Changer problem

I own a 97 Civic LX with the Honda branded six disc changer in the trunk.
For the last few months, a very annoying problem has been plaguing me. The
right channel keeps dropping out when playing CDs. This was at first an
intermittent problem, then it would occur every time the player ran for
more than a few minutes, and now it channel barely works at all. It's NOT
the CDs I'm playing, and this doesn't happen with the radio.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this?

 

Given that the problem has been getting worse and only affects the CD
player, it sounds like the cable between the two. Check the connections
to the CD player and the stereo (corrosion, fraying), and follow the
cable along its length looking for fraying, rubbing or pinching. This is
much easier said than done though.

Good luck.
Dan

(This account is not used for email.)

 

OK. I pulled back some of the trunk carpeting, folded the rear seat down,
and traced where the cable goes. It routes into the passenger compartment,
then down into the door sill trim, and emerges somewhere behind the dash.
It's all inside the car, and undoubtedly hasn't been touched by ANYTHING
since the factory installation. Therefore, I doubt that the problem has to
do with corroded or damaged wiring.

 

=====================

The connector (the one that's HARDEST to get at) may be loose where it
plugs into the back of the radio. Installer may not have looped the
cable thru the strain relief and so the vibration may have wiggled it out.

'Curly'

 

AHA! I may have the problem licked. I had previously discounted any problem
in the dashboard, both because of the fact that the radio worked properly,
and because I REALLY didn't want to go ripping into the dash. Well, I
found where the cable from the player emerged from the passenger side
footwell, and just touching it there had an effect on the right channel.
It came back, then dropped again. So I spent 15 minutes taking off the
panel under the stereo head unit, found that wire, and made sure it was
fully seated into the socket behind the radio. The connector moved a bit,
but I'm not actually sure if it WAS loose, or if perhaps the wire was
shorting internally and touching it stopped the short, but I do know that
the right channel is now working perfectly, and still worked after 20
minutes of driving. I'm going to leave that panel off for a few days, so
if the problem crops up again (when it first appeared, it look a while to
occur after a period of inactivity) I won't have to repeat the step of
opening the dash.

I'll be glad if it was as simple as that, but at the same time I'll be
annoyed at myself, since in the meantime, I'd bid on a used changer on
eBay and proceeded to win the auction. I'll only be paying $26.15
(including shipping) for a changer that costs about $350 new, but still,
it'd be money wasted if the problem wasn't the changer. Oh well. I can
either resell it or store it.

 

might wanna plug it in, test it, and/or use it. keep yours in a safe
place. they have a tendency to go bad when playing home made discs.
sadly i would guess that might be the case in the one you bought, if its
used. ebay is full of questionable stuff.