Meridian G08 given up the ghost

[Mikeandvan]

Hi Mike

I suspect that it will be the grease hardening on the laser mechanism, my Meridian 507 suffered from this issue and I got it sorted by an ex Meridian engineer, Chris Coaster (I looked him up but looks like he has stopped doing repairs). With mine all that was need was to remove the CD tray and mechanism and then carefully clean the old grease and re-grease with that white clear grease for plastic, and it was good as new. Chris got me a OEM Philips replacement laser mechanism in case it was damaged, which I still have.

The G08 one is available https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285902215...3ABFBM9LjqtoFk

I would talk with MrTechGuy he has got good reviews.

Cheers

Adrian

Thanks Adrian, Do you know how I'd find the laser mechanism?

[Mikeandvan]

Hi Mike

If you can hold a screwdriver without stabbing yourself you have a good chance of making this repair yourself - and saving quite a bit of money doing it, Mr Tech Guy is not cheap :-)

Looking at the drive link in your Meridian forum discussion and this image https://www.meridian-audio.info/view...20&photoid=932 showing inside of G08 (I have not seen inside mine - so far) replacing the drive *should* be fairly simple. The steps would be something like this

Disconnect power and interconnects
Put cd player at a good working height eg desk, table, workbench
Select correct torx bit size and remove screws at each corner of glass lid, put lid safely out of way
Remove the 17(?) screws holding the inner lid in place, put inner lid safely out of way
Remove cables clamped to top and side of drive unit, ie unclamp cables
Looking at the image I suspect it will be easier to remove the data and power leads from drive after removing all screws holding it in place

Might be worth inspecting drive to see if it has the hardened grease problem mentioned by Adrian and whether cleaning that fixes the problem before ordering a replacement drive unit - would make for an even less expensive repair :-)

Reassembly would the reverse of above.
Possibly the only extra advice is take care to not over-tighten screws as they will snap easily.

Whatever you decide to do I hope you end up with a working G08 again, they are fairly good cd players.

Thanks Pete,
I'll replace it myself, loads of time on my hands. Here is a pic of the inside, I took lid off today. Guess I'll have to snip those cable ties then replace.

[losepete]

Definitely a couple of new cable ties required ;-)
With the drive unit removed you should be able to take the top off the unit and will spot the laser mechanism straight away.
The bit to try cleaning is the threaded shaft that moves the laser head, the grease hardens in the grooves of the thread.
If that does not work you will need a new drive unit.

Have fun :-)

[Puffin]

Use Isopropyl alcohol to clean the hardened grease off with a small artists paintbrush or similar. Wait till dry an hour or so and use some silicone grease before reassembling. Some use White Lithium grease but some say that as this is petroleum based it can caasue problems with plastic parts.

[AJSki2fly]

Thanks Adrian, Do you know how I'd find the laser mechanism?

Sorry Mile, I missed your post, but see that Pete came to the rescue.

Take your time getting to the laser mechanism, if the grease on the shaft looks slightly hardened then clean it off with isopropyl alcohol as Rob said until all removed. Do not force the laser gear mechanism trying to free them, or damage is likely, once clean apply the grease, you do not need loads, there are several youtube videos showing this being done.

I hope it works, if not just replace the CD laser mech. for £40.

If you have not found it already this is the grease https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404248339...Bk9SR_LWnpCCZA

[Macca]

Grease is the word. Is the word that you heard. It's got groove, it's got feeling.

[Mikeandvan]

Sorry Mile, I missed your post, but see that Pete came to the rescue.

Take your time getting to the laser mechanism, if the grease on the shaft looks slightly hardened then clean it off with isopropyl alcohol as Rob said until all removed. Do not force the laser gear mechanism trying to free them, or damage is likely, once clean apply the grease, you do not need loads, there are several youtube videos showing this being done.

I hope it works, if not just replace the CD laser mech. for £40.

If you have not found it already this is the grease https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404248339...Bk9SR_LWnpCCZA

Thanks alot Adrian, just ordered some.

[Alex_UK]

Grease is the word. Is the word that you heard. It's got groove, it's got feeling.

Not quite a real pussy wagon, though…

[Mikeandvan]

There was some grease on the rails, not exactly hard, but not soft either. Will clean when the products arrive.

[Mikeandvan]

Oh well that didn't work,what next?