Audio Systems: jammed 6 disc cd player, ford products, factory stereo

Question
Hi, i tried to eject a cd then it got stuck so i used another cd to reach into the player to lightly press down on cd and it ejected, then i tried to load in another cd and it accepted it, but now it will not play or eject any of the other cd's in the player, it just shows cd error and switches back to radio.  The cd player is a factory stereo in a 2002 ford explorer xlt

Answer
You can try a reset.  To do this you must remove all 12v power from the unit for 15 to 20 minutes.  Doing so will clear the electronics but if the jam is due to mechanical failures it probably won't help much.  But often changer jams are caused from corrupted soft codes and the reset will clear it out.

HOWEVER:  Please check if your unit has anti-theft codes.  If so, you must have the theft code to restore operation of the main unit or you will never get it to turn on again.  If you purchased the vehicle new the code comes with the car.

You can purchase a new oem products at places like

http://www.oemautosound.com/c-173-oem-factory-radio.aspx

or you can install after market units from Bestbuy, Circuitcity, crutchfield.com etc.

As a general rule, from experience, if the unit is worn out or has mechanical jamming the cost of repairs is nearly as much - or in some cases more -  than just buying a new head unit.

Finally, a good technician with experience on Ford products can often remove the unit, open it up and unjam the mechanism and get it going again, but it may not last long until it fails again.  If your unit has had heavy usage during the 5 year life of the vehicle I suggest you think about replacing it.

Let me know if you need more.
C