So I have a Mitsubishi M-V8000 that works perfectly except that when it changes to side B, it won't read anything. When I opened it up to see what it did, I saw that the laser did indeed change sides, but when it tried to read the disc it made this strange quiet squeaky noise and would retract slightly every few seconds. Anybody know what the problem might be?

Also, it looks kind of odd inside

Does the laser assembly actually go all the way in to the catch a read of the start of the disc? Or does it get stuck and hang up just before it gets to the disc side B start?

Remember, LDs are read by the laser starting from near center moving outward.

The disc does spin like normal and the laser assembly does seem to go as far as the center-back metal contraption will allow

The display (on the player) will be stuck showing "PLAY". Sometimes it will start to actually play, but it just shows a black picture on a loop of a random amount of frames

You may have a side B centering problem. Try moving the top of the mechanical assembly a little left or right when trying to start side B play and see if one direction helps or go ahead and adjust the centering adjustment on the top right front of the mechanical assembly. You should see the pickup move right and left as you adjust this. This adjusts side B only, will not effect side A.

I tried moving the metal assembly (which doubles as a rail) around the laser pickup assembly, but it would budge, when I tried moving the laser assembly, nothing happened (it would move slightly in the way I was pushing then retract right back to where it was)

I didn't know how I was supposed to adjust the centering adjustment, also, the metal encasement acts as both a cover and a rail, so I can't get at anything on the actual laser pickup assembly while it's playing.

Also, would identifying it help at all?
I think it's a pioneer clone... of which exactly I'm not sure

and HD?

It also says "LaserVision" on the front of the tray

How about you give us a close-up of the assembly you couldn't find a way to adjust, so someone can give you specific pointers.

Also, I've apparently managed to break my player, when I try to plug it in, the laser assembly adjusts itself and that's it, no response from the front panel.
sorry about this guys

Gee that's a shame. By no response I am guessing you mean that the buttons no longer get the tray to open, correct? You still have a display right?

Is the laser on the bottom now or still on the top rail?

No display either, the only response I get is the laser adjusting itself (for the life of me I can't figure out what I did wrong)

and the laser is below the tray in that picture

Are you sure no connections came loose when you swung out the upper board or nothing is shorted?

In the picture toward the front you have the extra tab or block on top. Underneath it is connected to the guide rail. At the front of it is a opening with a hole in the bottom piece. you want to move the tab sideways as it will adjust the centering. You can use the hole placement to verify the tab is moving.

you're right, this happened

but I can't seem to connect the pins, I tried both connecting on the right (toward the opening) and the other side (it's either too loose for the pins to stay put or too tight for the pins to get in at all).

Also, is this what I do?

Is there any way to get more slack on that ribbon cable so you can get the pins straight to the plug and push them in all at once?

These ribbon connects can be problematic if lttle slack is there. There's a ribbin cable on the CED players of the RCA SJT/SKT models to connect the display to the internal boards that is the most difficult I've ever seen. You have to have tiny hands and fingers to maneuver in the small space allowed, then you have to push down a clip to secure it under the stylus arm so it doesn't hang up and you have about 10 mm of space to use. Urgh!

What do you mean by slack?
And I was able to get the pins straight and did try to connect them all at once, but whenever I try to connect them the opening is either too tight (on the left side of the picture) that the pins bend or too loose so that the pins don't stay (on the right of that picture)

What I mean is that sometimes it's easier to position a ribbon cable's pins when you can maneuver the ribbon fairly well, ergo, more slack in the ribbon. The same way that you can more easily tie up a rope end if it's got some slack and is not tight.

I suspect you may have to use some sort of longnose or needlenose pliers that will grab all the pins at once, hold them flat, and allow you to insert them simultaneously a bit at a time. Once they get started properly, you'll probably be okay.

Make sure there's no single pin that has a crease, curve, bend or such in it that would cause it to not slip in the corresponding slot. That's all I can think of short of taking it to a service guy.

This is true, there is either something holding the cable back or you just tried to move this too far. There should be another black piece on the connector that you lift up to release and push down the lock in the wires once you straighten them and install in the connector. It this ripped out then it may have pop'd off and is somewhere around the player.

Also, yes you have the correct piece to adjust the Side B centering.

Well, I can connect all the pins, but only on the loose side of the connector, if I try the tight side the pins just bend.
Is this loosening peace something that I can buy? I've tried pulling the thing every which way and nothing changes.

Look at other such connectors and you'll see the part as it has small tabs sticking out sideways to allow you to loosen to pull the wire, then you push it down to clamp in the wires. Look picture is a little fuzzy but I'd say it is missing. It is a black plastic piece, probably inside the player somewhere.

here's a close-up


I've taken the player apart almost completely, but can't find a piece like that. I think I've lost it somewhere.
Also, I was able to get the display to respond, but it would display weird random messages depending on how the wires were pushed. I was able to get the tray to open once, too.

What would I call this piece I'm looking for?

OK, in what you show, the pins should go into the right-hand side, behind the metal contacts, which are sprung. You need to use needle-nose pliers to push the ends of the wires in.

All right, so I have the pins in the socket now


and now the front panel does the same thing regardless of that ribbon cable