CDA-117 CD player problem(?)

[absavino 10+ year member]

Hi,

I just had my CDA-117 replaced with another CDA-117 after I noticed the player pausing intermittingly while playing a CD (new or old). Just a second or two. Well the new one was fine for a couple of weeks, now it is doing it also. It is driving me crazy. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

Could this be a problem with the head unit? It is after all a new model. I have done a search on the web and have not found anyone else with this problem. But it is not improbable that I just happened to get two bad ones. Maybe a bad batch.

Could it be electrical? Maybe it is happening when the radio is playing but I just haven't noticed it yet.

Anybody have any ideas? I am going to contact Alpine but who knows where that will lead. I had it installed so I am going back there but I'd hate for them to replace it and have it happen again.

Any help would be appreciated.

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[raverx3m 10+ year member]

do you use paper labels on recorded cds( if they are)

what type of cds are they? mp3 or regular music cd

what car is it? alot of dash vibration during idle or driving?

 

[absavino 10+ year member]

The CD's are record company produced bought at a store and removed from the cd case after taking the plastic wrapper off. The car was sitting in my driveway, engine off, playing a CD when the last incidents occurred.

Setup: Alpine CDA-117 HU; front Alpine SPR-17S and rear Alpine SPR-17C powered by a JVC Arsenal KS-AR7004 amp; two 8 inch kicker woofers powered by a Kicker 08ZX4001 amp.

I think I am going to sit in it and play the radio and mp3 player and see if I notice it happening with either one of those.

 

[raverx3m 10+ year member]

maybe its a defective batch.

i never seen this problem before

is there any air curculating behind the dash that might blow dust into the unit?fan hose fell off or something

or maybe its getting too hot.

does it make any visual signs like flickering or any other noises?

bad power or ground connection maybe

does it do it in any specific temperature?

how old is the battery

 

[absavino 10+ year member]

maybe its a defective batch.i never seen this problem before

is there any air curculating behind the dash that might blow dust into the unit?fan hose fell off or something

or maybe its getting too hot.

does it make any visual signs like flickering or any other noises?

bad power or ground connection maybe

does it do it in any specific temperature?

how old is the battery

When it happens there are no signs. I watched carefully today. The battery is two years old.

Today I plugged in a USB drive with MP3 songs and played them with no problems. So I tried a CD again and it played through two times with no problems (hour and half). Then it started to pause/skip(?). I noticed it was happening on two songs so I kept playing them over and over and it would skip at different places in those songs. I then took it out and put it back in (that's what he/she said, sorry couldn't resist). I played the tracks again and no problems. I let my car sit for a few hours and then played the CD played again, it was fine for awhile and then did it on a totally different song. The CD is new but it also happens on a GnR and VH CD. The thing is those cd's never skip when playing on my computer or on my previous HUs.

With no real pattern it could be alot of things. I would think if it was overheating it would be consistent once it started and not just on a few songs. If it was a CD problem, I would think it would happen sooner and on the same songs everytime and not on different ones if I take out the CD and put it back in. The thing is those cd's never skip when playing on my computer or on my previous HUs. So it could be heat but as mentioned nothing consistent that would point to heat.

I might just see if I could return it and get the Alpine iDA-X305S with no CD player and just play everything through the USB. Apparently whatever the problem is does not affect the radio or USB (or at least not yet). I will then see what happens before I start ripping things out.

 

[wasted911 10+ year member]

I got a phone call today from a customer with the exact same problem. We're going to be switching it with a new one to see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

 

[absavino 10+ year member]

Please let me know what happens. The shop I go to is going to call Alpine. Until I read your post, I was now leaning toward an electrical problem with the car (see update below) but maybe it is a bad parts/circuits in the new Alpine (i.e. CDA-117,iDA-X305S,...) series.

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Here is the update from two days ago:

The stereo store swapped out the HU for the Alpine iDA-X305S. It does not have a cd player so this would solve the CD player problem. But on the way home I now noticed a pause when listening to Sirius. Incidentally, the sirius antenna receiver also went out last week and was replaced. This makes me believe it is something electrical with the wiring, car and/or stereo. I also noticed a sound once in a while coming from the engine compartment when I had the hood open. The sound that is made sounds like the sound made when a car battery is almost dead where it kind of clicks/grinds for a few seconds when the key is turned. Could this be the altenator?

I think now I will attempt the Big 3

How to upgrade the Big Three

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I guess it is up to trial and error.

 

[absavino 10+ year member]

Sorry. Double post for some reason. I try to think but nothing happens.

 

[wasted911 10+ year member]

ALpine's sirius adapter has always been glitchy. I would not say that it acting up is anything out of the ordinary. The SCC1C tuner is usually fine, but the KCASC100 (alpine adapter) is a piece of ****. The most common problem is that sirius will just drop from the source list. If that happens you need to disconnect the constant power and reconnect it. A simple switch works.

 

[absavino 10+ year member]

The SCC1C tuner was the problem. They said that they had never seen this problem before out of all they had installed. Either this is all coincidence, which it very well could be, or there is a systemic problem with some component of the system/car that is causing this.

 

[birdmanpresents 10+ year member]

I have had the same problem in Toronto. I work in an electronics retail store and when playing CD's mine has cut out or even skipped ahead to the next song (in rare cases)

I have also noticed our demo model on the wall pauses when playing CD's as well. I think it is definitely a problem on Alpines end.

 

[bobenrth]

I am encountering the same exact problem as described in this thread of posts. Details are below. It isn't quite clear to me how the previous posters have resolved their issue with the CDA-117 unit. Did you go back to who installed it for you? In my case, I bought the unit directly from Alpine via Amazon and installed it with the help of a knowledgeable friend. Any suggestions on where I should turn for help would be really appreciated.

DETAILS OF PROBLEM

Installed the unit CDA-117 in July 2010 in my 2006 Honda Odyssey. Worked fine for about a month. Then, the CD's started skipping. Actually, a better description is pausing for 1-2 seconds. It has progressively gotten worse. No vibration required at all for it to happen. Sometimes it totally shuts off when playing a CD. It happens with every CD - which all play fine on other CD players I have. It NEVER happens when I'm listening to music via the USB connection or the radio. At first I thought it was no big deal because we mostly listen to music from my ipod ... but now my ipod got stolen and it has become quite aggravating.

 

[absavino 10+ year member]

After two defective units, I ended up exchanging it with the Alpine iDA-X305S. It does not have a CD player. It is made for ipods and you can play Pandora on it if you have an iphone or itouch. Gives me an excuse to get an itouch.

 

[2lo2flo 10+ year member]

Hmm, i was looking at getting one of these, guess i would have to change my mind now...

 

[bobenrth]

After two defective units, I ended up exchanging it with the Alpine iDA-X305S.

Follow up question: did you exchange it through the manufacturer Alpine, or through your place of purchase? Did you install it yourself or have a store install it for you? If so, which store?

Thanks for the help!