CD Changer broken or something else?

I have this really bad feeling in my stomach that I got taken for a ride with the OEM 6 CD changer that I bought on eBay last week.

I finally got around to installing it to day only to my dismay I can't insert a CD into it. I press the CD button on the front of the radio and it tells me
CD CHEK then CD MECH ERROR.

I noticed on the top of the CD Changer is instructions for putting the cd changer into shipping mode so I am/was hoping that the seller put it into shipping mode and I just need to get it out of shipping mode, but I don't understand how to do that, since it's got instuctions to put it into shipping mode but not to get it out of it. Maybe someone here can tell me how to do that.

I pulled off the faceplate and it's no wonder I can't get a CD to insert the slot is blocked with the mechanical stuff of the CD Changer, theres like two fine metal bars that are blocking the slot, but I imagine that when the unit is working properly the changer drops or opens or whatever.

Anyway is there something I should know special about putting in one of the 6 CD OEM Changers like some sort of initialization or something to make it work, or does Mech ERROR mean only Mechanical Error the CD Changer is BORKED, PLEASE BUY A NEW ONE!

Any assistance appreciated however I have that gut feeling that the guy sold me his CD changer fully knowing that the changer was already borked, and it was mfg'd in June 2006 so it was probably out of warranty too.

Okay, Im done rambling, sorry about that, Im just a wee bit pissed off at this.

All help appreciated.

The OEM changer is a slot loading player. Place the CD in the slot and it should pull it inside. Press the button on the right to eject.

A MECH ERROR is usually fatal. Something is broken in the loading mechanism. I hope you bought it from a reputable eBay dealer.

Good luck.

Forgive me if you've tried this, but with mine I must choose which of the 6 slots to put the disc in by pressing the desired slot numbered button and then the unit accepts the disc.

Forgive me if you've tried this, but with mine I must choose which of the 6 slots to put the disc in by pressing the desired slot numbered button and then the unit accepts the disc.

As soon as I press the CD button on the radio is when it goes into a CD CHEK message and then a minute or more later it gives the CD MECH ERROR message so pusing any of the button on the radio seem to have no effect. I do hear a slight noise when it does its checking that sounds like the shuffle of a mechanism but it still comes back with the CD MECH ERROR, so....


I tried everything I could think of. When I go to insert the CD, it can't even be inserted more than a quarter inch or so, there is something in there blocking it (I wondered then if this is really in shipping mode which I would think would lock the cd loading mechanism), and I tried pressing all the different buttons like load, and disk + disk - etc.

I sent a message off to the seller asking him if he properly put the radio into shipping mode before shipping it out and what he knows of this situation but I havn't heard from him just yet. But it's only been a couple hours and in past conversations it's taken him about 8 hours to get back to me.

In any event it's not the right one for my truck (I didn't even notice when I bid on it) because the faceplate is black and the faceplate on my trucks single cd player is the tannish brown color so it looks pretty bad in the truck to begin with but I was willing to overlook that until I could find another one in the right color but with this one being broken I hope the seller will stand up for the product.

Anyway, does anybody know about the shipping part of the HU. The instructions say something like turn off the vehicle, press the 1 and the 4 preset numbers and hold them then turn the vehicle on to ACC and the display should say "SHIP" but when I tried this many many time, it didn't say anything on the display. There is also a small rectanglular hole in the back of the unit with the word SHIP above it, but I don't know if that means I need a special tool to push inside of this hole to get it out of shipping mode or it's not related at all.
Who knows?

Thanks,

I had my CD player go out after only owning it for one week. I got the dreaded "MECH Error" as well. Unfortunately, the dealer said its usually a goner when this message occurs. It was under warranty, so they ordered me a new one.

Was it packaged well??


Good Luck.

Yeah, I'd say it looked to be packaged pretty well with some foam seeming to hold it in place pretty well.

My midn is working overtime trying to figure out how I can get this covered under Honda warranty. There must be a way to do it since the radio was mfg'd in June of 2006, it's still under 3 years old. The only thing I can come up with is to ask a buddy at a honda store to do a parts warranty and state that I bought it over the counter, but I don't think that will work, I think I'd need a proper year ridgeline to have it go in with. Whoa, Im getting ahead of myself, I better wait and see what the seller says about it.

If the owner wont stand behind the unit, then it's likely I'll take out all the screws to see what makes it tick just in case there is some obvious mechanism that has slipped that just needs to be rehooked back up.

I'm off to google now to see what the proper procedure is to lock and unlock them for shipping, I hope I can find something on that to at least try.

I took a look at my OEM 6CD HU that's on the shelf. I saw the ship hole. I don't know for a fact, but it looks to me like that's a vendor deal. There would be a plastic piece that's inserted in the hole before they are packed and shipped from the vendor (Alpine) to Honda. The Honda parts crib guy would remove it before it was installed in the truck on the assembly line.

Good call..

[QUOTE=DesertRidgeline;256482]As soon as I press the CD button on the radio is when it goes into a CD CHEK message and then a minute or more later it gives the CD MECH ERROR message so pusing any of the button on the radio seem to have no effect. I do hear a slight noise when it does its checking that sounds like the shuffle of a mechanism but it still comes back with the CD MECH ERROR, so....


My apology for missing your CD error statement earlier. I have the navi unit CD player. I remember fumbling with trying to get the unit to accept a disc, realizing I must first designate a 1-6 disc place first. That's where I was coming from. Best of luck and a positive outcome to your situation.

Heres the thing that gets me....

It seems to me even if there is a mechanical error with the CD changer, I should still be able to at least insert a CD into it, but theres no way in hell I can even slightly insert a CD into it. When I try to do so, the CD won't go in more than 1/8th of an inch, indicating to me that it's locked to prevent damage and now I need to find out how to unlock it from shipping mode.

The seller states that indeed he did put it into shipping mode, how true that is I don't know, but after taking off the faceplate I can see that it looks locked, so I need to know how to unlock it if possible. I'll try to grab a photo of what it looks like with the face plate off in a few.

I wonder if anybody has the official unlock from shipping procedures, maybe it's a manual thing that needs to be done.

If you look at the image attached you can see that there are two small metal wires in front of the roller, theres no way this will accept a CD like this.

This is what kind of leads me to believe that it's locked in place but I don't know how to unlock it if thats the problem at all and if it can be unlocked.

Since it's an Alpine unit, have you tried calling a shop that sells Apline and asking them? I would think the lock procedure would be common to other Alpine units.

no i hadn't thought of that, i'll have to see if we have an alpine dealer in town here and ask them. i only wonder does alpine actually make aftermarket indash cd changers or are all of theirs for the trunk or under the seat type units. i'll check anway if i can find an alpine dealer locally.

As I am expecting a similar unit to arrive tomorrow, I would also like to know what the "unlock" from shipping mode procedure is.

I'm pretty sure it's been discussed here. The locking process is on a sticker on the unit, correct?

(I thought the head units were Pioneer, not Alpine...)

I feel your pain. I bought my Ridgeline and the next day the CD player displayed that message. In fact the first CD I put into played and then when I tried to insert the second I got the fatal MECH ERROR. I took it back to the dealer and he said there is nothing they can do, and ordered me a new one. I couldn't insert or eject my CD. The new one has been working so far, but it just strikes me odd that a car off the lot CD player breaks that day.

Same thing happen to me in my RTS. I had the ridge for about a week! :eek:

I feel your pain. I bought my Ridgeline and the next day the CD player displayed that message. In fact the first CD I put into played and then when I tried to insert the second I got the fatal MECH ERROR. I took it back to the dealer and he said there is nothing they can do, and ordered me a new one. I couldn't insert or eject my CD. The new one has been working so far, but it just strikes me odd that a car off the lot CD player breaks that day.

Were you able to insert the 2nd CD at all, or did it not even go in 1/4 of an inch? I can't even insert the CD, it's like it's blocked completely. It's as if it were a single cd player and there is already a cd in there, when you try to insert a second cd into a single cd player you can't even inser it more than a quarter inch or so. It's the same situation with this 6 disc changer which is why I thought it might actually still be locked, but it doesn't show locked on the screen so maybe it's just borked from being dropped or something like that.

The seller contacted me today and we talked about it back and forth for a bit and he's put in a claim with the postal service to see if we can get some kind of a refund going. I have little faith that there will be any refund issued because I don't think he insured it so unless priority mail comes with a standard insurance on it, I think I've just chucked this money down the drain.

Anybody that has a 6 cd changer and wants to try it out, just
1. Remove all cd's from inside the unit.
2. Turn off the ignition.
3. Press the 1 and 4 preset buttons on the radio, while holding them down, turn the ignition to ACC the display should show "SHIP"

But I don't know how you would get it out of shipping mode, perhaps doing the steps again might, but I wouldnt guarantee it. Maybe there is a physical thing they must do to the units to unlock them, I just don't know. I've pulled it apart to look inside for something obvious but didn't see anything really obvious that would allow the unit to unlock from shipping mode but since mine doesn't say "SHIP" on the display I am doubting that it's even in shipping mode to begin with. I think the seller is a liar and he didn't put it into shipping mode at all. I mean once you have it pulled out and installed the new HU, why would you go and pull the dash again, pull the new HU and plug in the old one to put it into shipping mode, right?

Djeaux, I hope the guy that you bought your's from has indeed put it into shipping mode to prevent any damage to it, though I aLSO HOPe you can figure out how to get it out of shipping mode, if it's just doing the same procedure as locking it, please report to us so that I know for certain that it's a mechanical failure with this one and not a locked CD problem.

You state that you have a RT RL.

The factory man. shows nothing about putting or taking the unit out of shipping mode.
It also state on page 23-39 when the changer does not work "with navigation: Replace CD changer."
"without Navigation: Replace audio unit.
This would lead me to believe you have a changer for a nav unit, and that the non-nav system the changer/radio are a integral unit. If one is broke both are replaced as a single unit.

I find it strange that it's not covered in the manual but I've just thought of something. I'll call one of my Honda tech friends at one of the dealers I contract with when they open in the morning and ask him what if anything he needs to do when he gets in a new 6 disc stereo before putting it into the vehicle.

For all I know, it's as simple as just installing it, turning it on and punching in the code, that may just take it out of shipping mode. I'll try to get ahold of one of them later this morning and see what he has to say about it.

Chances are the owner lied and he didn't put it into shipping mode and it was dropped and jarred so hard that the CD changer is now borked. Perhaps it can be sent back to the audio factory (Alpine or Pioneer) for repairs.

DesertRidgeline,

You don't specify in your original message, but did you press the "Load" button on your changer before trying to insert the CD? Does the unit have such a button (mine does)?

Don

Yes I pressed the load button but nothing happened, I pressed both of those buttons at the top of the audio unit, can't remember what they actually say on them right now, but I pressed them both individually.

I also tried like pressing a number on the presets and then load.

But it doesn't let me get too far since when I press the CD button it tells me mechanical failure or mech error.

Well, I guess I should feel like a rat... My eBay head unit (non-Nav RTL variety) arrived this afternoon & the entire install took less than 30 minutes. No problems. It took longer to unwrap the 22 miles of bubble wrap that the seller had packaged it in than it took to remove the dash face plate. Hooked everything up (including my Car2PC aux/USB adapter), turned the key, hit the on button & was prompted to enter the security code. I tapped that in & bingo! A little more wattage & a 6-CD changer. I don't have the subwoofer yet -- it should ship end of the week -- but everything else works fine.

So, I guess I should feel like a rat ... but I don't. :rolleyes:

I'm happy for you that your's arrived safely. I'm really not all that upset about this, I mean hell, I go out to dinner with my mate and spend more than I spent on the cd changer, plus with the black face plate I would never have been completely happy with it. I mean who wants to break up that tannish/bronze dash with a black stereo unit. Not me. If mine had worked, I probably would have put it back up on ebay to resell it in hopes of one day finding the right color unit. Worst case scenario, I can always put it backup on eBay and have a mate buy it and insure it for shipping and well.... Yeah I know that would be awful... Im just joking anyway.... Or am I? Muahahahahaha

Congrats, glad you got it in good condition.