Sony D-311 skipping / spindle motor replacement

m_saborio

Good day Mr. Kaosun and forum members!

I am experiencing issues with my Sony D-311. A couple of months ago it started skipping a lot. With every CD, the audio starts to skip, and the frequency of the skipping perfectly matches the speed of the CD The skipping happens with all tracks in the CD, with the frequency of the skipping matching the speed of the CD for that given track.. Interestingly, the skipping is the same if the player is laying flat on the table or if it is standing on its side. Therefore, I am not sure if the problem is the same as in the D303, D515 or D350, where the motor worns out.

I suspect that the issue might be related to the motor because from time to time, the skipping disappears. If not the motor, I suspect that the tracking might need some adjustments, but I would rather checking the motor first before I play with the potentiometers.

However, I just find out that the motor in the 311 is completelly different to other motors I've seen. For one, it is considerably smaller (smaller than that on the D515), and I've not managed to find the model or a suitable replacement. Therefore:

1. By the symptoms described above, could the spindle motor be the culprit?
2. If so, any idea where to find replacements, or at least a model to search for?
3. If not the above, any hints to what could be the root cause?

As always, thanks a lot for any help.

kaosun

It seems like laser motor has issues. Usually the motor spins a little CW and CCW to push laser forward. If the laser has difficult to move little by little smoothly, the motor will accumulate the force bigger and bigger and finally give laser a huge push to cause skipping. All what I see here is that a lubrication is needed. BTW, the shaft of the spindle motor should be lubricated by adding a drop of oil.

m_saborio

That is indeed a very good hint. Now that I think about it, I have not cleaned the laser motor spindle nor applied new grease. I did put a tiny amount of oil on the motor. I will service the spindle and apply new lubrication and will report back.

As always, thanks a lot for the advice!