CD trunk unit jammed: error message

[rph]

I have a BMW trunk CD player (p/n 88 88 1 600 249) that has jammed with the err message, and has resisted my best efforts to clear. It previously did this, and I was able to free it up by some combination of turning on/off the ignition, toggling between radio and CD, but now to no avail. I tried pulling the negative terminal off the battery to see if that would help, but it didn't. Any ideas? Except for the nuisance value of unloading/loading the cassette, it works fine otherwize.

[KurtM]

Mine did the same a few weeks ago. The cartridge would not release so ended up removing unit and opening it up, there was a disk that was stuck inside. Remove the disk and unit works great. There is also a small 3 amp fuse on the backside, that might be blown.

[rph]

Okay, maybe I will have to remove the unit. I know one of the disks is jammed. I was hoping there may be an easier way to rectify. As I said, when this has happened previously, I was able to do some (unrecalled) procedure that caused the disk to pop back into the cartridge.


Mine did the same a few weeks ago. The cartridge would not release so ended up removing unit and opening it up, there was a disk that was stuck inside. Remove the disk and unit works great. There is also a small 3 amp fuse on the backside, that might be blown.

[rickm]

When mine jammed I removed the cart, removed ALL of the CDs, then reinserted it. The stuck CD ejected into the cart.

[KurtM]

I could not get the cartridge to eject so I had to remove unit.

[rph]

The problem is getting the cartridge to eject. Is there a way to do this apart from mashing the eject button?


When mine jammed I removed the cart, removed ALL of the CDs, then reinserted it. The stuck CD ejected into the cart.

[Mike H]

The problem is getting the cartridge to eject. Is there a way to do this apart from mashing the eject button?
With the key on, slide a credit card under the cartridge to eject it. If I remember correctly you have to do this on the left hand side of the cartridge.

[rph]

Nope. That didn't work. Tried sliding the credit card on the left, and to the right, and in between, with key on. But thanks for the tip anyway.


With the key on, slide a credit card under the cartridge to eject it. If I remember correctly you have to do this on the left hand side of the cartridge.

[Brandon J]

Mine did the same a few weeks ago. The cartridge would not release so ended up removing unit and opening it up, there was a disk that was stuck inside. Remove the disk and unit works great. There is also a small 3 amp fuse on the backside, that might be blown.That happened to me too. I removed the unit and unscrewed the cover. There was a CD stuck inside. You can also locate the release for the cartridge once the cover is off.

[rph]

Gracias. I'll dive into it in the morning when its a bit cooler. My garage is like an oven right now -- a minor irritation for living in eastern NC this time of year.


That happened to me too. I removed the unit and unscrewed the cover. There was a CD stuck inside. You can also locate the release for the cartridge once the cover is off.

[Robert K]

I have an Alpine player and this has happened to me a couple of times. This is what has worked for me. The first thing you need to do is get the cartridge out. On the cartridge itself, there is a little square indentation on the bottom side of the cartridge, in the center and about 1 inch in. A small lever in the player unit engages this indentation to hold the cartridge in the player. I used a feeler gauge and moved it back and forth under the cartridge trying to work it between the lever and the indentation in the cartridge. If you get it between the two parts, the cartridge comes out. Next, you have to reset the player. If you look into the slot where the cartridge goes, you'll see a little metal tab sticking up slightly to the right side of the slot. Take a long screwdriver and push that lever back towards the back of the player. If I remember correctly, that's all it took to reset mine. After that, I just inserted the cartridge and everything was back to normal. Not sure what happened, just that it was fixed. If yours is the Alpine unit, you might give this a shot before disassembling anything.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[rph]

Fixed. I ended up pulling the whole thing apart. For some reason I wasn't able to get the cartridge to eject even after trying the feeler gauge and credit card tricks. However once I got the cartridge out, and emptied it, the jammed CD came free when I powered up with the empty cartridge loaded.


I have an Alpine player and this has happened to me a couple of times. This is what has worked for me. The first thing you need to do is get the cartridge out. On the cartridge itself, there is a little square indentation on the bottom side of the cartridge, in the center and about 1 inch in. A small lever in the player unit engages this indentation to hold the cartridge in the player. I used a feeler gauge and moved it back and forth under the cartridge trying to work it between the lever and the indentation in the cartridge. If you get it between the two parts, the cartridge comes out. Next, you have to reset the player. If you look into the slot where the cartridge goes, you'll see a little metal tab sticking up slightly to the right side of the slot. Take a long screwdriver and push that lever back towards the back of the player. If I remember correctly, that's all it took to reset mine. After that, I just inserted the cartridge and everything was back to normal. Not sure what happened, just that it was fixed. If yours is the Alpine unit, you might give this a shot before disassembling anything.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i