Cannot open CDRW/DVD tray - Need advice on motor

B

Beemer

My Sony VAIO CDRW/DVD is working and although I can hear the head transport
moving when I press the eject button the tray will not open unless I use the
pin hole. (This is not a burner software lock issue) The mechanical latch
is operated by a miniature d.c. motor and on opening up the drive if I turn
the motor "by hand" the tray latch does move. However I cannot tell if the
motor is turning once everything is reassembled. To test I'm going to
apply a battery voltage to it but does anyone know the typical voltage of
such a motor?

Beemer
 
P

Paul

Beemer said:
My Sony VAIO CDRW/DVD is working and although I can hear the head transport
moving when I press the eject button the tray will not open unless I use the
pin hole. (This is not a burner software lock issue) The mechanical latch
is operated by a miniature d.c. motor and on opening up the drive if I turn
the motor "by hand" the tray latch does move. However I cannot tell if the
motor is turning once everything is reassembled. To test I'm going to
apply a battery voltage to it but does anyone know the typical voltage of
such a motor?

Beemer

How do you know what kind of motor it is ?

If anything, it could be the driver chip sending current to the
motor that is fried. Or is detecting overcurrent virtually
instantly. Or a tiny fuse has blown (unlikely, electronic
protection is easier).

Possible debugging steps:

1) Connect multimeter to motor leads and measure the voltage applied
to the motor. If, when giving the eject command, the meter doesn't
budge, you know the motor is not the guilty party.

2) If that sounds too complicated, another thing you could try, is
removing the mechanical load from the motor, so it can spin freely.
Give the eject command. Do you hear the motor spin ? If it spins,
then you know either the driver cannot give enough current when the
motor is loaded, or the mechanism is presenting too much load (i.e.
sticking).

If you really want to connect a battery to the motor, disconnect the
motor from the controller before you try it. That is to protect whatever
is controlling it.

Paul
 
K

kony

My Sony VAIO CDRW/DVD is working and although I can hear the head transport
moving when I press the eject button the tray will not open unless I use the
pin hole. (This is not a burner software lock issue) The mechanical latch
is operated by a miniature d.c. motor and on opening up the drive if I turn
the motor "by hand" the tray latch does move. However I cannot tell if the
motor is turning once everything is reassembled. To test I'm going to
apply a battery voltage to it but does anyone know the typical voltage of
such a motor?


A typical voltage would be 5V, but as Paul mentioned I
wouldn't just circumvent the rest of it and directly apply
that.

You could desolder one of the leads (if not directly mounted
on the PCB) to do that, but I think I would first put probes
on the motor leads and measure resistance while turning it,
to see if it has the usual equal resistance per winding with
short interruptions between each.

Is it direct drive or belt? If belt, I'd wonder of the belt
is gripping, perhaps put a tiny dot of white paint on it
somewhere so after powering it normally (if you can't do so
with it open so you can (carefully, without exposing your
eyes to the laser) you can see if it moved the belt.

What if, while you press the eject button, you have a grip
on the tray and gently try to assist it in opening? Does
that help, or is it latched shut still?

I'm suggesting that it's probably not the motor, rather some
other kink, bind, slippage, etc in the mechanisms. Since
you can turn it by hand, what happens if you turn it enough
times? Does it then eject? Since it would take a huge
number of turns it might help to put a pencil upside down
over the hub to twirl it with your fingers to rotate the
(pulley or gear?).
 
B

Beemer

| Beemer wrote:
| > My Sony VAIO CDRW/DVD is working and although I can hear the head
transport
| > moving when I press the eject button the tray will not open unless I use
the
| > pin hole. (This is not a burner software lock issue) The mechanical
latch
| > is operated by a miniature d.c. motor and on opening up the drive if I
turn
| > the motor "by hand" the tray latch does move. However I cannot tell if
the
| > motor is turning once everything is reassembled. To test I'm going to
| > apply a battery voltage to it but does anyone know the typical voltage
of
| > such a motor?
| >
| > Beemer
| >
|
| How do you know what kind of motor it is ?
|
| If anything, it could be the driver chip sending current to the
| motor that is fried. Or is detecting overcurrent virtually
| instantly. Or a tiny fuse has blown (unlikely, electronic
| protection is easier).
|
| Possible debugging steps:
|
| 1) Connect multimeter to motor leads and measure the voltage applied
| to the motor. If, when giving the eject command, the meter doesn't
| budge, you know the motor is not the guilty party.
|
| 2) If that sounds too complicated, another thing you could try, is
| removing the mechanical load from the motor, so it can spin freely.
| Give the eject command. Do you hear the motor spin ? If it spins,
| then you know either the driver cannot give enough current when the
| motor is loaded, or the mechanism is presenting too much load (i.e.
| sticking).
|
| If you really want to connect a battery to the motor, disconnect the
| motor from the controller before you try it. That is to protect whatever
| is controlling it.
|
| Paul
|
Paul,

I believe it is a permanent magnet d.c motor as it has only two wires
connecting it. I cannot measure the voltage as, like a fridge door when
its shut, there is no access! Yes I could remove the load from the worm
drive but I know that the torque I am using to manually turn it is less than
a baby gnat could produce. There is no perceivable stiction form the nylon
gears. Thanks for reminding me about disconnecting the controller.

Beemer
 
B

Beemer

| On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 16:14:59 GMT, "Beemer"
|
| >My Sony VAIO CDRW/DVD is working and although I can hear the head
transport
| >moving when I press the eject button the tray will not open unless I use
the
| >pin hole. (This is not a burner software lock issue) The mechanical
latch
| >is operated by a miniature d.c. motor and on opening up the drive if I
turn
| >the motor "by hand" the tray latch does move. However I cannot tell if
the
| >motor is turning once everything is reassembled. To test I'm going to
| >apply a battery voltage to it but does anyone know the typical voltage of
| >such a motor?
|
|
| A typical voltage would be 5V, but as Paul mentioned I
| wouldn't just circumvent the rest of it and directly apply
| that.
|
| You could desolder one of the leads (if not directly mounted
| on the PCB) to do that, but I think I would first put probes
| on the motor leads and measure resistance while turning it,
| to see if it has the usual equal resistance per winding with
| short interruptions between each.
|
| Is it direct drive or belt? If belt, I'd wonder of the belt
| is gripping, perhaps put a tiny dot of white paint on it
| somewhere so after powering it normally (if you can't do so
| with it open so you can (carefully, without exposing your
| eyes to the laser) you can see if it moved the belt.
|
| What if, while you press the eject button, you have a grip
| on the tray and gently try to assist it in opening? Does
| that help, or is it latched shut still?
|
| I'm suggesting that it's probably not the motor, rather some
| other kink, bind, slippage, etc in the mechanisms. Since
| you can turn it by hand, what happens if you turn it enough
| times? Does it then eject? Since it would take a huge
| number of turns it might help to put a pencil upside down
| over the hub to twirl it with your fingers to rotate the
| (pulley or gear?).

Kony,

Its a nylon worm gear and no perceivable load when turned with a jewellers
screwdriver. I have tried the gently pull the door when ejecting trick but
it does not work. I will try measuring microamps when disconnected and
turned by hand. Thanks for this tip.

Beemer
 
K

KLATTU

My Sony VAIO CDRW/DVD is working and although I can hear the head transport
moving when I press the eject button the tray will not open unless I use the
pin hole. (This is not a burner software lock issue) The mechanical latch
is operated by a miniature d.c. motor and on opening up the drive if I turn
the motor "by hand" the tray latch does move. However I cannot tell if the
motor is turning once everything is reassembled. To test I'm going to
apply a battery voltage to it but does anyone know the typical voltage of
such a motor?

Beemer


Wow! am I confused, first the drive would not stay closed, now it
will not open???????????????????????????//


KLATTU
 
B

Beemer

|
| >My Sony VAIO CDRW/DVD is working and although I can hear the head
transport
| >moving when I press the eject button the tray will not open unless I use
the
| >pin hole. (This is not a burner software lock issue) The mechanical
latch
| >is operated by a miniature d.c. motor and on opening up the drive if I
turn
| >the motor "by hand" the tray latch does move. However I cannot tell if
the
| >motor is turning once everything is reassembled. To test I'm going to
| >apply a battery voltage to it but does anyone know the typical voltage of
| >such a motor?
| >
| >Beemer
| >
|
|
| Wow! am I confused, first the drive would not stay closed, now it
| will not open???????????????????????????//
|
|
| KLATTU

KLATTU,

Yes you have been quite observant! There were two posts......

The drive tray door would not stay closed so I opened the drive up to find
that there was debris between two parts of the plastic mechanism.
Specifically this was at the end of the tube where typically a paper clip is
used to manually open the tray. I cleared out the debris and then found
that the door was latching closed just fine. However it would not open on a
software/button command. This is when I second posted asking about the
latch motor. Of course if I found that if the motor, or its close by
microswitch, was FUBAR then a new drive is inevitable.

Beemer
 
M

~misfit~

kony said:
A typical voltage would be 5V, but as Paul mentioned I
wouldn't just circumvent the rest of it and directly apply
that.

You could desolder one of the leads (if not directly mounted
on the PCB) to do that, but I think I would first put probes
on the motor leads and measure resistance while turning it,
to see if it has the usual equal resistance per winding with
short interruptions between each.

Is it direct drive or belt? If belt, I'd wonder of the belt
is gripping, perhaps put a tiny dot of white paint on it
somewhere so after powering it normally (if you can't do so
with it open so you can (carefully, without exposing your
eyes to the laser) you can see if it moved the belt.

What if, while you press the eject button, you have a grip
on the tray and gently try to assist it in opening? Does
that help, or is it latched shut still?

I'm suggesting that it's probably not the motor, rather some
other kink, bind, slippage, etc in the mechanisms. Since
you can turn it by hand, what happens if you turn it enough
times? Does it then eject? Since it would take a huge
number of turns it might help to put a pencil upside down
over the hub to twirl it with your fingers to rotate the
(pulley or gear?).

Another thing, it could be the eject button that's giving trouble. Try
right-clicking the drive icon and selecting 'Eject" to rule that out.
 
N

Noozer

Another thing, it could be the eject button that's giving trouble. Try
right-clicking the drive icon and selecting 'Eject" to rule that out.

I have a DVDRW drive that won't open. The problem is on the flexible PC
board that goes to the motor and switch. It's cracked, breaking a copper
trace.

I plan on fixing it once I have the time. Some scraping, solder a fine wire,
stick a piece of plastic to support the repair and it should be as good as
new.
 
T

Tim

Beemer said:
My Sony VAIO CDRW/DVD is working and although I can hear the head transport
moving when I press the eject button the tray will not open unless I use the
pin hole. (This is not a burner software lock issue) The mechanical latch
is operated by a miniature d.c. motor and on opening up the drive if I turn
the motor "by hand" the tray latch does move. However I cannot tell if the
motor is turning once everything is reassembled. To test I'm going to
apply a battery voltage to it but does anyone know the typical voltage of
such a motor?

Beemer


My CD-ROM drawer would sometimes not open fully, close fully, or work
with obvious difficulty. I solved this problem by applying some thin
oil to the underside of a CD tray when it is fully out. More
specifically, apply the oil to a "J", geared track on the tray
underside, which a motor uses to eject/open and insert/close the CD
drawer.

Use an oil like WD-40, sewing machine oil, or other THIN oil, which can
be found in auto parts or hardware stores. Do NOT spray any oil on,
because oil will go places inside that you don't want it to, and you'll
never get it cleaned out. Use a small brush or Q-tip to dab the oil
onto the entire length of the "J" gear track. Do NOT use any heavy oil
like motor oil.

Applying the oil to the gears in the track reduces friction so the
motor can do it's work more easily. Clean up any excess oil that might
be dripping BEFORE inserting/closing the CD drawer again with a
lint-free cloth, like an old tee-shirt. After applying the oil in this
way, then work the open/close control several times to work the oil
into the gear teeth. Then, AGAIN, check to see that there is no excess
oil dripping -- clean it up if there is. You are aiming to provide a
THIN coat of lubrication for the gear motor to work the CD tray track
teeth.

In my case, my CD-ROM now works like new.
 
N

Noozer

Use an oil like WD-40

WD40 is ***NOT*** an oil or a lubricant. Do NOT use it in moving assemblies
unless they are fused (and technically no longer moving)

, sewing machine oil, or other THIN oil, which can
be found in auto parts or hardware stores. Do NOT spray any oil on,
because oil will go places inside that you don't want it to, and you'll
never get it cleaned out.

Petroleum based lubricants are not a good thing for plastics either. They
will soften the plastic given enough time.
 
K

kony

My CD-ROM drawer would sometimes not open fully, close fully, or work
with obvious difficulty. I solved this problem by applying some thin
oil to the underside of a CD tray when it is fully out. More
specifically, apply the oil to a "J", geared track on the tray
underside, which a motor uses to eject/open and insert/close the CD
drawer.

Use an oil like WD-40, sewing machine oil, or other THIN oil, which can
be found in auto parts or hardware stores. Do NOT spray any oil on,
because oil will go places inside that you don't want it to, and you'll
never get it cleaned out. Use a small brush or Q-tip to dab the oil
onto the entire length of the "J" gear track. Do NOT use any heavy oil
like motor oil.

Applying the oil to the gears in the track reduces friction so the
motor can do it's work more easily. Clean up any excess oil that might
be dripping BEFORE inserting/closing the CD drawer again with a
lint-free cloth, like an old tee-shirt. After applying the oil in this
way, then work the open/close control several times to work the oil
into the gear teeth. Then, AGAIN, check to see that there is no excess
oil dripping -- clean it up if there is. You are aiming to provide a
THIN coat of lubrication for the gear motor to work the CD tray track
teeth.

In my case, my CD-ROM now works like new.


For a little while at least.

Thin oil is NOT called for in this use. The purpose of thin
oil is to penetrate tight spaces and work between parts with
very high tolerance. It is never meant for such sliding
mechanisms and this is shown easily enough by the
manufacturer who also uses grease - though they may not use
enough, an ideal greased part is esthetically unpleasing to
many people rather the one that looks clean.

Even ignoring these differences you would not be aiming to
use a THIN coat of lubricant, you could slop it on a thick
as physically possible and it would just move the excess out
of the way where it needed cleaned off... so there is
something to be said for applying the correct amount but it
is never technically correct to use any thin oil, especially
not WD-40.
 

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