'04 Factory 6 disc changer repair

Mattt · May 2, 2018

The factory stereo in my 04 Tahoe Z71 no longer ejects CDs. I took it out, opened it up by removing the top lid and found a broken gear on the Eject mechanism. I have picked up 2 other factory stereos that I was assured both of them had functional CD changer 6 disc mechanisms. Neither works. The first one was bought from user "01 Z71" on GM Full size.com. He claimed the CD was functional, but when it arrived and I took it apart I found a CD stuck in there and the mechanism is all jacked up...unable to eject the disc or play the disc. The read/play eye for the CD is in the wrong position. The only thing salvageable from this is a set of very good buttons on the face and all of the radio functions work fine.

The 2nd stereo I picked up recently locally off Craigslist. Again, the guy said all functional. I plug it in to my Tahoe, it will load and eject discs, but will not play any of the 6 discs. It makes a buzzing sound from the mechanism when you select a disc to play.

Are these 6 disc changer mechanisms that touchy, crappy and prone to failure? I am 0 for 3 on 6 disc stacker changers now. My original still plays but will occasionally skip a beat when playing. It just wont eject without the assistance of my hand pushing the disc out.

Anyone here good with repairing these models or know the tricks to get one of any of these 3 I have working again?

I considered trying to rob the gear from one of the broken changer parts, but the offending gear is buried kinda deep in the changer mechanics. The changer/stacker does unbolt from the radio/stereo case and come out as 1 separate piece.

I picked up a harness plug for the stereo that I got from a vehicle at a local pick your part. Anyone have or know where to locate which wires are power and ground in the factory plug? Trying to diagnose the CD changer in the dash, while plugged into my Tahoe is a pain. I'd like to be able to do diagnosis on the bench with a 12v power supply.

Thank you in advance.

1SLOW1500 · May 2, 2018

You need a GOOD yard to get one from. Like LQK or Shrams. Those places are like the dealer and parts are clean a low miles. But still I would plug it in and test in the parking lot. Plus they come with warranties.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Mattt · May 2, 2018

LKQ has taken over every yard in my area. I haven't picked up either of the stereos from there though. The only thing I got from there is the harness plug pigtail so I can bench test any future stereos I pick up. I'm still looking for wiring info on this plug so I can power it up. Thanks.

1SLOW1500 · May 3, 2018

LKQ has taken over every yard in my area. I haven't picked up either of the stereos from there though. The only thing I got from there is the harness plug pigtail so I can bench test any future stereos I pick up. I'm still looking for wiring info on this plug so I can power it up. Thanks.

Post plug and you will get wire pin outs.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Mattt · May 3, 2018

Are you looking for a picture of it, or just the pin count? It is either 24 or 32 pin slots from what I remember.

Ak_grown · May 18, 2018

Radio 12v	orange	+	radio harness
Radio Ground	BLACK/ white	-	radio harness
Radio Ignition	Class 2 Serial Data
Radio Illumination	N/A
Factory Amp Turn-on	pink	+	radio harness
Power Antenna	dk. green	+	radio harness
LF Speaker +/-	tan - gray	+,-	radio harness
RF Speaker +/-	lt. green - green	+,-	radio harness
LR Speaker +/-	brown - yellow	+,-	radio harness
RR Speaker +/-	blue - lt. blue	+,-	radio harness

Ak_grown · May 18, 2018

that been said, your vehicle uses data communication to turn on your radio, it not a simple 12v to acc. to turn on while bench testing radio.

Mattt · May 19, 2018

Thank you for the reply. Are those wires all on the 1 larger plug, or are they spread out between the larger plug and the smaller plug? So, it sounds like you're saying there is no way to bench test a factory 6 disc CD changer? Mostly I'd like to be able to test the 6 disc CD changer/stacker for proper function, disc loading & disc ejecting. Thanks again.