scottt1974 Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Hi All, I'm a newbie to this site but an old hand at mini-disc returning to the fray after a few years away from the format. I've bought a used Sony JA20ES deck with a fault (which I knew about) but the player possibly has more faults than the seller let on! He described it as the 'power light is on but the machine won't switch on'. When I got it home I plugged it in and the machine did turn on okay. It was making a constant whirring noise however like it's trying to perform some task. I pressed the 'open' button on the fascia but nothing happened. Then I noticed that the loading drawer could be opened by hand so I pulled it open and inserted a disc. Pressing the button to close the drawer had no effect either and when you push the drawer shut manually it goes halfway but then doesn't close - it's as if something is jammed inside preventing it from closing. I turned it off then on again to see if powering it up would help but now I get the power light (standby light) illuminating but the machine not switching on. When the machine is plugged in to the mains it makes the constant whirring noise continually until you switch it off at the plug. I've noticed that the lights on the 'mega control', 'filter' and 'play' buttons light up then go off immediately when you switch it on (this is probably supposed to happen but it's been 7 years since I last owned one of these decks)! Can anyone point me in the right direction on how to go about repairing? It seems too good a machine to scrap! Thanks, Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Jim's your man... I expect he may respond shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottt1974 Posted November 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Thanks. Just to update things I took the lid off the player today and have discovered that there is a mini disc inside the unit. Pressing the open/close button does not release it however. When you pull the drawer out manually the disc still stays locked in place. I managed to get it powered back up again today and it was giving me a disc error C13 message on the display. Oh, and when the machine is on the off button won't switch it off you need to unplug it at the mains! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanpotato Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 Oh, and when the machine is on the off button won't switch it off you need to unplug it at the mains! So there is a mechanical problem somewhere that is detected by the system controler. Your command "SWITCH OFF" is queued but before he is waiting for something that didn't arrive... The C13 error is because the disc inserted can't be read. This make me say that your optical block is stuck. Maybe the deck is waiting for park it when power off ? (I don't know this unit) If the problem were be the tray, the deck never try to read your disc... so the tray is fully closed at this time for the deck. - Check belts - Check connections --> Sometimes unplug-replug white flat flex-cables can help !!! - Make the OPU move in service mode... - Dephased mecha, broken gear or bad switch somewhere... Maybe many faults... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottt1974 Posted November 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Thanks for your reply but I think this may be well beyond my technical cababilities! I've managed to remove the mini-disc that was stuck inside the machine. I then unplugged and re-plugged all the white flat flex cables but this did not help. I no longer get the C13 message since the disc has been removed but when you press 'open' the message comes up on the display but the tray does not open. The message then goes off and when you press open again you don't even get 'open' displaying on the display. The machine still makes the whirring noise all the time too! When you say 'make the OPU move in service mode' what is the OPU and how do you get the machine into service mode??!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecrab Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Service manual link is here: http://minidisc.org/...MDS-JA20ES.html You are correct, it is too good a machine to scrap if there is any hope of fixing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanpotato Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Thanks for your reply but I think this may be well beyond my technical cababilities! I've managed to remove the mini-disc that was stuck inside the machine. I then unplugged and re-plugged all the white flat flex cables but this did not help. I no longer get the C13 message since the disc has been removed but when you press 'open' the message comes up on the display but the tray does not open. The message then goes off and when you press open again you don't even get 'open' displaying on the display. The machine still makes the whirring noise all the time too! When you say 'make the OPU move in service mode' what is the OPU and how do you get the machine into service mode??!!! Download the service manual here : http://minidisc.org/manuals/sony/service/sony_MDS-JA20ES_service_manual.pdf Search for loading motor with exploded views. After, try to understand why it is blocked and making this "whirring noise" with pages 15-16-17-18 --> So check for belts or broken plastic gears --> Check switchs on "POSITION SWITCH" and "OUT" small boards. First, fix the tray, after we will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Service manual link is here: it is too good a machine to scrap if there is any hope of fixing it. I agree with bluecrab, this machine is definitely worth trying to salvage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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