Hello. My pioneer CLD703 won't switch sides when it gets to the end of side A. The movie stops and you can hear a loud clicking noise for about 10 secs then the display freezes. Only the open and power buttons make it do something. I didn't know if anyone has had similar issues and if so if it's a complicated fix? Thanks.

Press the Side B button when you put a disc on the tray. Side B button will cause the player to go to side B to start playing after it detects a disc is in the player. That will answer the bad clamp ring question.

Yes, open tray, insert disc and press side B button, not the close button and not the play button. That's the first thing to do to see if disc will play side B.

If you end up getting the same clicking noise even when doing this method of playing side B, this usually indicates the assembly getting stuck in a spot on or before moving to upper track. Open up the lid and watch the assembly as it moves to side B. See if it's hanging up in the turn mechanism just before it is to move out on the upper track (which I suspect), or if it's moving out and hanging up at the end of the track near where the upper clamp is located.

Either one calls for different solutions.

Hello all. Thanks for all the help. I got it worked out. I first tried to select side B with the tray open it would go in and quickly go from B flashing right back to A no clicking sound. I then opened the cover and toggled to the last track on side A. Let it play an watched as it tried to switch sides and the clicking began. The upper assembly was getting hung up on the upper track. The track had popped out of the metal bracket and was loose. Once placed back where it should be the track continued and played side B. I put it back together and it seems to be working. The first time I tried it with the cover on it went to switch sides but the display just continued to cycle and the clicking sound did not return no noise nothing. I shut it all off and turned it back on and then it seemed to work with no issues. I am hoping it is fixed. Anyway thanks everyone for the input.

Kach474

Good to hear that. If you have that issue again with the player switching from A to B and no clicking, but just B flashing and no play, you might have a disc slipping in the clamp. When a laser goes from A to B, the disc had to slow down, stop, reverse itself, and get up to the proper speed of 1800 RPMs in a certain amount of time or the laser won't read side B and will just return to rest.

Normally when doing this, the disc is at the slower range of 600 RPMs on side A before going to B (depending upon CAV or CLV) and so the reversing is not so time consuming even if the clamp slips, so the problem can be intermittent. One of the best things you can do for your player once it is opened up is to clean well the clamps both upper and lower, and clean the loading belt too. Important preventive maintenance to do if you've never done this or if it has not been done in a long while.

I have a similar-sounding problem with my CLD-D925.

Whenever the player attempts to move the laser from the bottom track to the top (to play Side B), there is a terrible, extremely loud, clacking noise. I always press Stop at this point rather than let it continue. Once Stop is pressed, the laser returns to its resting position with no problem. There is no error code, but there might be if I let it make that noise for much longer. (I’m not going to do that however since it sounds like it’s doing damage.)

Here’s the thing though: this problem is intermittent. I can come back to the machine the next day and it’ll swap sides fine. I have never managed to see it happen when I have the cover off the machine, so I cannot say at exactly what point of the side change process it happens. I’ve had the lid off a few times trying to catch it in the act, but for some reason the side change mechanism always behaves perfectly when I’m watching it. Schrödinger’s LD player, I guess. The plastic running tracks look reasonably aligned and undamaged and I can see no broken or missing parts. Otherwise the machine runs well. I have very occasional U1 errors.

When the problem does happen, it happens both when it’s changing sides naturally at the end of Side A and when I press the Side B button from the tray open state.

Any ideas?

Often I find that clacking noise to be the laser assembly gear failing to engage the track fully, and simply the teeth clacking against the track because the gears are not in a snug mesh.

Many of those Pioneer models have a sort of tension spring that help to keep the gear and track meshed snugly, since the whole assembly does need some built in flex. The spring is located at the rear right side of the upper track, right being when you are facing the LD player front. I have seen the spring loose, broken and even missing (where was quality control that day?) You will see a small hook near the top of the track and rail, and a corresponding hook below it on a assembly frame member. It takes a small, not too strong spring and that will hold tension so the gear will mesh with the track.

A test, if you ever get it to do the clacking with the cover off, is to put gentle finger pressure there where the spring would hook, and let it turn to side B. I often find this relieves the problem, then I have to search for a proper spring. Many of these same assemblies have a place for such a spring at the right front of the assembly on the upper track as well.

Thanks, rixrex. I'll have a look at this asap. It sounds likely. It certainly sounds like gears slipping over the track. It would also be consistent with its working when it's cold and not after playing a whole side and being warm in there, because springs pull more weakly when they're warm.

Just in case you have a service manual for this one, are you referring to the "Lever Spring", part 17 of section 2.6?

Sorry I don't have service manual, so not sure of the correct name of the spring. It is about the size of those little springs in the clicker ball point pens, but of course it's a pull spring, and not a push spring. It only is needed to keep enough tension for the gear and track to mesh snugly at the start. Once the gear is out on the track, it's fine.

I have now witnessed it happening and it happens on the bottom track - just as the assembly moves off the playing track onto the flipping track. There are two separate plastic tracks for these functions and they simply don't look well aligned, although there is nothing actually in the wrong place: the tracks are screwed down and there are plastic registration tabs that are clearly all in the right place.

I don't think there is a tensioning spring at this point on this model. Instead, the assembly moves off the end of the metal lower carriage shaft and onto a curved plastic guide. It's quite neat actually. I suppose that with much use, that plastic guide might have worn a little, allowing the gear to ride a little higher than it ought to. I wish I knew how to post pictures from the manual.

It's partly related to heat. After playing a whole side, the plastic must soften sufficiently to allow the gear to skip over the track at this point. Once I take the cover off and the warm air escapes, it's ok again within a few minutes. I'm thinking of just pushing a very thin shim under the flipping track to lift it a tiny bit there.

I have found re-greasing the guide rails with new grease usually fixes this.

Thanks. That will be my next point of attack. I guess one should wipe off as much of the old grease as possible first.

Should I lubricate the plastic tracks (there had obviously been some grease on them before) or only the metal guide rods?

Just lubricate where it could cause friction. Gear track dose not require it.

Thanks again.

I lubricated the guide rods and a plastic ramp on the opposite side with lithium grease. Didn't work though - the problem's the same. Works from cold, goes wrong after playing a whole side.

This has become frustrating.

Is the pin in the turn mechanism aligned with the guide rail? If you only hear the clicking noise when the unit is playing then the pickup may not be getting a good signal to the servo's and it is having trouble tracking and if you look at the laser you will see it jump up and tap the disc trying to lock in a servo signal. Fix is a new pickup.

Hello again and thanks for your attention.
No, the problem is absent during playback, which remains excellent, so the tracking is fine. It appears solely at the point that the pick-up is trying to run off the lower CA Track onto the Turn Gear (terms from the service manual). There is a tiny bit of damage visible on the Turn Gear at this point, which I assume is caused by the CA gears grating over the track, so that is the point at which it happens. That damage is not sufficient to stop it working most of the time, only when it gets warm in there.

Curiously, there is never a problem at the corresponding point when the carriage runs off the upper CA track onto the turn gear for the B->A side transition. Also, it's also happy moving over that spot in the opposite direction: from the turn gear onto the lower CA track.