this has probably been discussed before but i rarely come to this part of the forum. I finally got a new player! a 503 but the door has a problem. Sometimes when i put a disc in it will spit it back out again! I'll put a disc in and close the tray but then it will say "close" on the display screen for a few seconds then it will say "open" and spit it right back out! Putting it back in again works each time so far but im worried it's gonna keep getting worse

My 909 does the same. When I get it fixed I will let you know whats up.

I'm guessing it's the little belt slipping, the one that pulls the splindle and laser up.

I had a similar sounding problem to yours when I got my DVL 919E. In my case it was because a part had broken which caused a gear to always be in the open position. If yours works sometimes then it sounds like it's probably a slightly different problem but here's the link to my thread if it's any help at all.

I'm sure with the help of all the brain boxes in this forum you'll get it sorted : )

im not sure if im gonna keep this one, the video noise seams just as bad as my 1080 although i havnt tested the s video yet

I have a 1080 and it has a noisy picture - even my early Helium-Neon laser top-loading players with no noise reduction have much less luminance noise than the 1080. It also tends to show drop outs on discs that play drop out free on other players like my LD-1100 or LX-900. So if your 503 is as noisy as th 1080, then something is wrong. Depending on how much you paid it might be worthwhile to send to Duncan or Kurtis for repair and realignment/refurbishment.

ok so ive been fooling around with it a bit more.. i watched a movie and then i left the disc in and turned it off. I then turned it back on and it spat it out as soon as i turned the thing on again even though it was already in there and had I already played it fine!

agree, get it fixed and then if you decide you can sell it later for more since it was fixed.

im hesitant to send it through the mail, i work at a warehouse, ive seen how drivers treat their parcels

i just opened it up and took a quick look the tray mechanism is defenitly fine but once it goes in it needs to lift the disc up a bit and whatever mechanism lifts the disc off the tray isnt doing too well, so when it cant lift it up off the tray it just spits the tray back out. However if i give the tray a good push as its about to close it usually helps for some reason. Hopefully this wont get any worse

This could be a gear one tooth misaligned.

It could be the loading belt is old or dirty and slipping - that single belt moves the tray in and out and also lifts the disc/laser to clamp and read it.

My CLD-D515 (somewhat similar) had the same problem. The load belt was taut enough to pull the tray in, but not enough to lift all that load of stuff to lock the disc into place, and if the disc isn't locked in, no spin and a spit-out happens.

Replace that load belt, clean the pulleys and relube where needed, if needed.

So I've been busy and havn't gotten to fixing my 503 and now I think it's getting worse.. I was just checking some discs that I was selling and I tried to flip to side B and it made HORRIBLE noises for a good 15 seconds, and then finally spat the disc out, I hadn't had any trouble flipping until now! I'm going to have to open this sucker up, but where do I get belts?

There's only one belt. If you want to go OEM from Pioneer the part numeber is: VEB1184

Yeah, they aren't all that expensive, and you may be able to find the correct size belt in a electronics repair shop too. The horrible noise is the squealing of the belt as it tries to get a grip and lift the load of the assembly.

I think the problem with this one and others like it is that it's such a tall unit, there's a good inch of space that the disc has to be raised from, that must put a lot of strain on the belt over the years. I don't think I will be getting a similair player next time.

I don't blame you. I swore off the 500 series except for the 504 and 505, the AC3 models, For some interesting reason, the midrange AC3 players are better built than the others. I mean the 406, 504, 505, 604 and 605. They all have the U-turn laser assembly track which is simpler and more reliable and less problems with tray opening, plus quieter and faster too.

If I was getting a midprice model, it would be one of those, and likely the 406, 604 or 605 since they also have optical output.

One reason I'm hesitant to open this puppy up is because I've read on some sites that if you play a disc while the case is open the light from your room will confuse the sensors, is that true?

Not true, open it up.