Car Stereos: 03 Tahoe CD Player, using a digital multimeter, chevy tahoe

Question
I have an 03 Chevy Tahoe with a factory sound system. While playing the CD player for about 10 minutes. The CD player and CD get very hot and it will eject the CD. If you put the CD back in the player it will play for a few seconds and then eject it again and if you try a different CD. It will eject it after a few seconds of play. Do you have a solution as to why it is getting so hot and ejecting the CD's. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Darrin,

I don't have a definite idea what's causing your problem, but I can make a couple guesses.

To me, the most likely cause is a defect in the factory CD player.  This is especially likely if you don't have any problems with the radio function; only the CD.  If this is true, then you'll probably need to start looking for a new head unit, as most electronics repair shops don't work on the newer series of GM factory head units.

There's a possibility that the problem is caused by a problem with a speaker, or with a speaker wire.  A defective speaker or grounded wire can overload the head unit's internal amplifier, causing it to overheat.  In this case it might be triggering an internal safety shutdown function.  If I were troubleshooting in the vehicle, I'd probably try using a digital multimeter to test the DC resistance of each of the speaker wire pairs in the radio harness, as well as testing for a speaker wire that shows continuity with chassis ground.

If your Tahoe is equipped with a Bose system, or with Onstar, then a speaker problem isn't as likely.  These vehicle use a separate external amplifier, so a defective speaker wouldn't cause the head unit to overheat.

Good luck!

Brian