Genesis CD player mind of its own?

[Annabanana]

Hi all, I have a 2013 AFrame T12RB. The last couple of years I try to play CDs and sometimes it plays and sometimes it spits it back out. I've done the disc clean thing and still no change. Seems to be temperature related just by anecdotal observation. Also, the instructions of formatting a thumb drive to FAT, etc. also doesn't work. Any thoughts? I haven't used it much since buying the RV new. Thank you!

[Brandoni]

The entertainment unit in our AFrame is actually an old car unit. I believe it was replaced after an explosive tire failure (I still find bits of rubber magically still appearing . . . )

It rarely accepts CDs without a bit of loading help. I have a bamboo skewer handy to continue pushing it in until it seats and begins to play. It unloads without help so I've never needed to help with the CDs spit out . . . I use the blunt end of the skewer.

I believe the rollers accepting the CD don't have enough 'grip' to push/accept the CD in to needed playing position.

Hoping your fix is an easy one . . .

[pgandw]

I found very similar in my 2014 Rockwood A122. The stereo had a mind of it's own, coming on at times when it was "off" and shifting modes.

Finally traced it down to using an automotive stereo which has 2 separate 12V+ leads - one controlled by the ignition key through the ignition relay, and one going directly to battery to run backup stuff (memory, presets, etc) while the ignition is off.

In an RV both leads go direct to battery, and there is no ignition relay to turn most sections of the stereo off. If you disconnect the battery, and then reconnect, the stereo starts over from scratch, just like disconnecting the battery in a car causes the stereo to lose all it's memory and get dumb again.

Because of this intermixing of normally separate functions, a car stereo in an RV can suddenly switch modes or other unstable behavior when the camper is first plugged in or the battery is reconnected. This is especially true for the cheapest car stereos, which is what Forest River uses in A-frames.

I put a separate disconnect switch for both 12V+ leads to keep the stereo from coming on in a random mode whenever I reconnected the battery. I did lose my presets on the FM radio and equalizer settings went to default, but the stereo now functions normally on those rare occasions when I use it.

Fred W
prev 2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
now 2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame

[MGD1961]

You have a CD player?! I haven’t seem one of those sense my 2012 RAM.
Lol. I think it had one…..?

[Brandoni]

Originally Posted by MGD1961

You have a CD player?! I haven’t seem one of those sense my 2012 RAM.
Lol. I think it had one…..?

Sadly, for us and in Canada, not so sure for off the beaten track in the USA. CDs are reliable to listen to when out of range of a radio station.

Between that observation and lack of cell service (even in large sections on the Trans-Canada hiway) when travelling.

May not be new technology but I'm still using them. (And enjoying the lack of news that doesn't get divered!!)

[pgandw]

I have found over the years that CD players occasionally go out of whack mechanically. The read/record head doesn't track accurately enough on the CD tracks. This is particularly a problem with playing writeable CDs recorded on one CD player being played on another CD player. And then there are problems with not "finishing" a writeable CD that makes it unable to play.

For my vehicles, including the camper, I have gone to storing music on the phone. I ripped the music from virtually all my CDs and stored the low loss MP3 files on the hard drive on the computer. Transfer the music I want to my phone. Then using a cord or Bluetooth to play the music from the phone out of the device. Works in my vehicles and camper and on any player that has Bluetooth or mini-USB or USB input. Used to be my phones had an earphone connection I could use, but those days are gone. And I can still buy MP3 music on Amazon or CDs from Goodwill or yard sales and rip them.

Fred W (with 8+ hrs of music stored on my phone)
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2022 Hyundai Palisade