For anybody using a factory CD6 player, I feel the need to warn you all NOT to use CDs with adhesive paper labels in your player! When they heat up the adhesive loosens up, and the label peels back, and the most common outcome is that the mechanism is permanently damaged. If you are out of factory warranty, the cost to replace the CD6 is between $400 and $500! (varies by region and what suppliers the dealerships use.)

My good buddy Q (pickupman92) may have permanently destroyed his CD6 mechanism using a paper label, I'm going to operate on it tomorrow when we go drag racing to see if its ruined or not.

Moral of the story: use only permanent marker to identify your home-made CDs when using them in your truck radio (even single CDs are not impervious to paper labels, tho CD6s are the common problem.) It even warns you not to use paper labels in your owners manual, and some dealerships will deny warranty repair if you use paper labels (deny warranty on the radio, not void the entire vehicle warranty.)

(postscript: I'm a Ford authorized radio tech, I spend my whole day replacing bad factory radios, and 9 out of 10 CD6s that go bad are due to paper labels.)

 

Good tip!

I think this is stated in the owners manual. Isn't it?

Oh well, good time for Q to think about the aftermarke options, if you can't salvage it (or "find" a "replacement" :))

 

Yes, it is stated in the owners manual.

If it comes down to it, I have the CD6 out of an aviator that I bought to change my HU to blue.. I could swap out the actual mechanism for him (tho I was saving it in case MY CD6 craps the bed!)

 

HAHAHA... too late for me.... I used one of them CD's in my dads LS430, a $1,000 mistake (the DVD nav system) but luckly lexus is tight and they warenteed it

 

Good use of the icon..

 

The sad thing is many people DO know about the warning, but choose to ignore it -- why I don't know.

This has been a topic for years now, and it's good to "review" it now and then. It has been talked about for at least 2 or3 years now -- I think I remember it coming up in the very early days of GenEdge.

 

Yeah, if they come through one of my dealerships I will warranty them, but obviously not all of the readership of R-F gets there service done at one of the 6 Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealerships I service, and even fewer still are under factory 3yr/36K warranty (the only extended warranty that covers radios is the "Premium Care" ESP.)

 

YIKES...thanks for tellin us...:D

 

I never use those cd's in any cd player... Each and everyone of them produces heat.. Kinda common sense..

But that sucks.

 

I have never used those stupid things, I have always known they can get stuck in the HU.

 

i seem to remember getting something in the mail about that soon after i got my truck...

 

well for me the CD was my friends and i want really payin attention

 

Hey Brian,I will take a look at what we have laying around for Q's radio.I may have a spare mechanism we can use so you can hold onto yours.I will check in the morning.

 

Hey, Marc, if you come across a dead spare with a blue control panel let me know will you -- or you for that matter, Brian? I'd like to get the last of the green off my dash!

 

I will look into it,John.Get with Brian on how he did it.It does look great in blue,but I assume red would look good also.I was very suprised at how good his came out.Only problem is that it is a little bit dim on a sunny day.I don't know if he mentioned it yet but Brian and I now work together.He started about 2 months ago and all is well.

 

Wow, isn't that great! It would be neat to have a fellow Ranger enthusiast to work with. Plus, you guys are both cool, so that's just gravy!

I think he said he got one from an Aviator that was blue, didn't he? I wouldn't even need the whole front -- just that piece of plexi. The buttons always are so dim that green/blue is not such an issue. But I have 2 blue displays now (EATC and OHC) and the radio looks out of place.

Red would be wonderful -- but that plexi piece is quite a shape to fab.

 

Well,the Aviator HU lights up white and Brian somehow tinted the overlay blue and then put some blue transparent stuff behind the display.Only the display is dim during the day but it looks awesome at night.If I can find what we need maybe I can send you a "loaner" radio and you can send us yours so he can do the same to yours that he did to his,only in red.I don't see why it wouldn't work.Also,I can do all of the shipping for free.

 

Yeah I was meaning to call you but caught up playing poker. I was hoping we might have one laying around in the ole' junk pile.

John, to my knowledge the only head units that Lincoln uses that light up white are the CD6 and the new-style dual media (single CD/casette) and I couldn't even source the parts for them, I bought the whole headunit and used the white-lighted circuit board and added blue theatre gels. I was just about to buy one on E-Bay to effect the swap but Marc came through with one for me, although that wasn't cheap either. Actually because of some policy changes I'm not sure Marc could even sell me another one if I wanted it.

Then again if any of the "junkyard dogs" out there run across a wrecked aviator or navigator with the CD6 still in it (Navigators are easy, they're the only one with a silver face, the aviator one has a black face and you could only identify it by the pinkish tint of the LCD cover) maybe they could grab it for you.

Edit: John, since the Aviator lights up white you can tint it whatever color you want. I have to warn you, in bright sunlight the display is nearly illegible. I haven't really come up with a good solution; the best idea I've had is to tint my windows, which I haven't done yet. The only other thing is that I don't currently have any red lighting gel, but theres got to be a DJ supply shop SOMEWHERE around here where I could get some red gel.

If Marc can work something out to get you parts, I definitely don't mind helping you out with it. Actually if Marc can get the parts I can mod them and send them to you and its relatively easy to replace the whole front end of your radio with some torx tools.

 

Okay, that's fine, thanks. I don't really expect that stuff to be "lying around" -- but hey, it doesn't hurt to ask!

Keep me in mind if an opportunity comes up. I don't mind paying shipping at all.

 

I will check,John.If we can help you out we will.I want to see your radio in red.

 

Yeah, but don't forget about Q in the A.M.!

(actually I'll be over there around 8a.m., you?)

 

speaking of laying around.. I don't suppose anybody has a blue OHC lense laying around? I still haven't installed the OHC Tom gave me.

 

I will see you there in the morning and we will check on everything,Brian.

 

Deal if I can find my green lense!

 

I might. I'll take a look. I have some old "sunroof" style consoles I rob for repair parts. Dang! I owe somebody a lamp assembly...I can't remember who. I'll have to go back over my email and PM's. I'm a mess...