Audio Systems: 2001 Chevy Tracker CD player not playing, chevy tracker, cd player cleaner

Question
Tom:

The CD player in my '01 Tracker won't play.  The radio works fine, but when I put a CD in it displays  "T 1"  "0:00" (just zeros.  it used to increase when it started to play) "ERR" and spits the CD out.  This started while we were on a trip.  A CD was playing, then it displayed "ERR" and spit the CD out.  I tried a CD player cleaner, but that didn't solve anything.  It's been like this since the end of April.

Before I take this in to what might turn out to be a costly replacement, is there anything I can do?

Thanks,
Jeremiah

Answer
Jeremiah,
The problem may be that the laser lense is very dirty/dusty. If the lense is dirty/dusty the laser will not have a good focus return and the spindle will not turn and therefore the cleaner CD will not clean the lense. You may want to try using a Qtip just dampened with rubbing alcohol and gently rub the laser lense to remove the dust/dirt. This does require that you remove the CD stereo from the dash of your car and take off the top cover to gain access to the CD assembly.

TOM,
T&D ELECTRONICS
tdeser@zoominternet.net