Luminator9c3 Posted August 13, 2010 Report Share Posted August 13, 2010 So I have a 98 9c3 Lumina which came with ONLY an AM/FM radio. I went to U-Pull-It and got a CD unit out of a 2000 Grand Am. Came home, plugged it in, and it the radio worked but the CD player didn't. So, I took it back and swapped it out for a unit from a 98 Sunfire that was at least cosmetically identical... I believe it's the exact same P/N. This one works fine but it will only play store-bought cd's, not burned ones. My entire music collection is on my computer and in the past I've used my ipod, so I dunno what to do here. Am I boned? Are there any plug-n-play Delco CD units that will read burned cd's? Maybe I should just go with an aftermarket HU? Any help is appreciated. As you can see, I'm new to the forum. I'm new to the W-body world as well, as I've been a B-body guy in the past. This is actually the first car I've ever owned that wasn't RWD and V8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to eaton Posted August 13, 2010 Report Share Posted August 13, 2010 My 97 GTP was picky to what CD's Were used. my 99 could care less, its more how its burnt/ what its burnt with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted August 13, 2010 Report Share Posted August 13, 2010 I only play CD-Rs in my GP, never once had a problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake91 Posted August 13, 2010 Report Share Posted August 13, 2010 99ga has no problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted August 13, 2010 Report Share Posted August 13, 2010 if the radio is a cd player of a 94+ variety it will play CD-Rs. If it doesn't you need to open it and try cleaning the lens with a Q-tip and alcohol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakdown Posted August 13, 2010 Report Share Posted August 13, 2010 Also sample with brands, I have so many DVD players that won't even read DVD's, look on the spindle, and if it says United Emarites (sp??) or China, don't buy Tawain is usually good. I buy Fuji's I think, I'll check when I get home, they come from a variety of sources although 50-packs are usually the right country. 100-packs not so much, I'm not kidding, this is probably the single biggest problem factor for these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRONDOG442 Posted August 13, 2010 Report Share Posted August 13, 2010 Also sample with brands, I have so many DVD players that won't even read DVD's, look on the spindle, and if it says United Emarites (sp??) or China, don't buy Tawain is usually good. I buy Fuji's I think, I'll check when I get home, they come from a variety of sources although 50-packs are usually the right country. 100-packs not so much, I'm not kidding, this is probably the single biggest problem factor for these things. That only works if you replace the flux capacitor and the planetary overrider solenoid actuator assemblies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted2bass Posted August 13, 2010 Report Share Posted August 13, 2010 If its not playing CD-Rs try cleaning the lens. Sometimes factory radios dont like CD-Rs especially if they are getting worn out. you can try cleaning the lens. If that doesnt work i would just replace with an aftermarket unit that you can play your ipod through. Much easier then dealing with tons of CDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrcuttymann Posted August 14, 2010 Report Share Posted August 14, 2010 A lot of times it is NOT the player that is the problem, rather the CD-R is recorded at too fast a bit rate, if you slow down the bit-rate when recording you should have no problems playing CD-R's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminator9c3 Posted August 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2010 I slowed the recording speed down to 1x and the CD player still just said E20 and spit it back out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
occupant Posted August 15, 2010 Report Share Posted August 15, 2010 F all that stuff. Get a Griffin iTrip Universal. Works with any MP3 player. Has a USB port to charge it, too. If you search on Amazon you'll find them for under $10. It plays through the FM radio. I use this in all three of my vehicles (it stays attached to my MP3 player). http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Technology-7255-TRIPAUNI-Itrip-Universal/dp/B000IMSGC4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1281901096&sr=8-5 $7.99 free shipping. Other sellers charge less for the item but more for shipping. It's all the same. $8 and it hasn't failed me yet in any vehicle with any MP3 player, including Shuffles, Nanos, eMatics, ChiPods, and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to eaton Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 Fm transmitters = Junk, Sorry it has to be Really high quality to work nicely. Id hold out for a stock deck, I have one.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3pt1lumina Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 I have stock HU's in all of the cars and I never any problems with burned CD's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS009 Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 I seem to recall hearing somewhere that these cd players weren't meant to play cd-r's, however the 2002+ cd players will play them without a problem. My brother has a late 90's pontiac stereo in his car that always played his burned cd's perfectly but whenever I tried any of mine I always got e23 or the other error code. If I got lucky it would start to actually play the cd, but if i tried to skip a track or something it popped it right back out. I could use my same cd though in a 2002 chevy stereo and it worked perfectly. It also worked in a 99 montana with the remote cd player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 (edited) I seem to recall hearing somewhere that these cd players weren't meant to play cd-r's, however the 2002+ cd players will play them without a problem. My brother has a late 90's pontiac stereo in his car that always played his burned cd's perfectly but whenever I tried any of mine I always got e23 or the other error code. If I got lucky it would start to actually play the cd, but if i tried to skip a track or something it popped it right back out. I could use my same cd though in a 2002 chevy stereo and it worked perfectly. It also worked in a 99 montana with the remote cd player. Not to Hijack, I got a 98 Lumina, I have been looking for a stock HU to play CD's, can anyone help me out? I don't trust Ebay, I got owned on a Stock HU from 'em Oh and my Yard doesn't have any......there already pulled. Edited August 16, 2010 by dodgethis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar_wilde Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 Like most of the people have said here, clean the lens and laser. Home burnt CD's are burnt with a special laser, with more shallow "engravings." Professionally mastered CD's have physically "deeper engravements" (aka easier to read with a dirty system). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminator9c3 Posted August 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 Just to update this... I took the advice of some forum members and took the HU apart and cleaned the lens. I used iso alcohol and a q-tip. I put everything back together and now it works perfect. It plays all cd's, even the cheap cd-r's. Thanks, folks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3pt1lumina Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 dodgethis, those CD players my buddy rebuilds and sells (well he replaces all of the bulbs so they work because usually they blow out). If you are interested I can talk to him to see if he has any left. He is fixing one of mine right now, actually. Btw, this is the type I am talking about... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 dodgethis, those CD players my buddy rebuilds and sells (well he replaces all of the bulbs so they work because usually they blow out). If you are interested I can talk to him to see if he has any left. He is fixing one of mine right now, actually. Btw, this is the type I am talking about... Let me get home, Work computer wont let me see photo, You know im thinking about taking the head unit apart and cleaning the lens like he did above. If it doesn't work i'll will definetly look you up. BTW, what pin or setup is being used to power the HU without being hooked into the car, i see this alot on the ebay website all the time. Anyone know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminator9c3 Posted August 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 I saw a couple of those but I picked the Pontiac unit just because of the EQ. Anyone know how the two units compare as far as tech specs? Do they put out the same wattage, etc? Just in case anyone is curious, the Pontiac stereos don't bolt up 100% properly with the Lumina dash trim. It bolts up, but the Pontiac unit mounts about 1/4" higher than the stock Chevy unit, so there is a very small gap between the bottom of the head unit and the trim piece. It doesn't really bother me, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 Yea, That's the Delco Head unit, I'm looking for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91eurocpe Posted August 24, 2010 Report Share Posted August 24, 2010 make sure you are burning your music as an audio cd and not mp3 format Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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