Where can I find a DMR-ES25 replacement drive

EdiRol

Hi Fellow Panas,

On Sunday the DvD drive on my DMR-ES25 stopped reading disks

Does anyone know where I can find a replacement drive unit. ???

Thanks,

EdiRol

DigaDo

If your drive is making clunking noises the laser lens may be dirty or have failed.

If your drive is making grinding or scrubbing noises the hub/spindle may need cleaning. The rubber hub that grips the DVD collects dust, debris and oily residue causing the DVD to slip, resulting in read, write and finalizing failures. Regular hub/spindle/lens cleaning is needed more often in dusty, smoking or warm environments, especially when discs are handled with a finger through the center hole.

On a DMR-ES25 the hub/spindle/lens cleaning procedure takes about 15 minutes. Here is detailed information:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f106/fixing...t-help-210507/

Be sure to disconnect the power cord before opening the case cover. The DVD drive lid has four small Phillips screws at the corners. Remove the drive lid. Before closing up and securing the drive lid the roller/slider mechanism at the rear of the disc tray must be positioned to the far left in order to correctly align with the guide rail on the underside of the drive lid. Do not reconnect the power cord until the DVD drive lid has been correctly secured and the Panasonic case has been closed.

The attached photo shows the correct positioning of the roller/slider mechanism. The cotton swab partly obscures our view of the lens. The black rubber hub has just been cleaned. The interior view of your DMR-ES25 DVD drive should appear much the same as the later model seen in the photo.

If your DVD drive has actually failed you may need to swap out the drive with a known good drive. Sometimes parts machines with good DVD drives may be found at reasonable prices. Your DMR-ES25 is a 2006 model. DVD drives from other Panasonic 2006 models (DMR-ES15, DMR-ES35V, DMR-ES45V and DMR-ES46V) may work in your machine. I have successfully swapped DVD drives between DMR-ES35V and DMR-ES15 models.

Replacement lens assemblies may be purchased from an online seller in Scotland. Your lens assembly is probably model number 3331A. These should be replaced only by technicians qualified to handle laser devices.

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EdiRol

Hi DigaDo, and thanx 4 the comeback.

I'll take a look - tomorrow if I have time - and see if that works..

bluebird3

Thanks Digado
I followed your instructions, but when I put my Panny back together, the noise (4 knocks,pause, another 4) followed by no read.

jazak

Cheers Digado,had partial success (no more loud crunching noises) but still not reading discs.I'll look at it again 2moro with a fresh head!! Thanx again, jazak

dvdvdvd

Hello
I've just signed up in order to be able to see the slider diagram, however I need to make five posts ( I'm having exactly the same problems with a Panasonic DMR_EZ45V.
I have cleaned the disc mount and got loads of muck from it.
Just need to get the slider positioned now.
John

VoxHumana

As seen in the earlier photo the roller/slider at the rear of the disc tray must be positioned to the far left before securing the DVD Drive lid.

__________________
"A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME WILL SMELL AS SWEET. BUT IT DOES NOT FOLLOW THAT WHATEVER WE CHOOSE TO CALL A ROSE WILL POSSESS THE ROSE'S FRAGRANCE."

--Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1917)

dvdvdvd

Well, the repair went as intended, but the display is still showing 'disc loaded icon on the front panel and not loading properly at all, so I think its died...

Is there a source for these unreliable drives? Or is it worth junking?
John

VoxHumana

John,

It's been my experience that the 2006 model year DVD Drives are very reliable. I have several that have between 3,000 and 5,000 recording hours and are still going strong. I own two DMR-ES25 models, one in heavy daily use and another as a standby.

There might be any number of problems with your DMR-ES25. Here are some of them:

Failed or failing capacitors in the power supply. With this conditon the recorder will not complete loading up. The recorder will attempt but fail to run the power on self-check.

Failed or failing Digital PCB (the brains of a Panasonic). If this is the problem the remedy is replacement with a known good Digital PCB from another DMR-ES25. The correct replacement part might be difficult to find and most likely cost more than the original purchase price of the DMR-ES25. While Digital PCBs from most 2006 models have the same part number (VEP79132) they must be factory configured for the specific model recorder prior to installation. That means that a VEP79132 Digital PCB found in the secondary market might not work with your DMR-ES25.

Failed or failing laser assembly. The only remedy is replacement of the laser assembly with a known good laser assembly. The DMR-ES25 most likely uses the Panasonic 3331A laser assembly. A new replacement laser assembly and the labor to install it would most likely cost much more than the original purchase price of the DMR-ES25. A less expensive alternative is to find a 2006 model year Panasonic DVD Recorder with a fully functional DVD Drive and swap the DVD Drive into your DMR-ES25. Panasonic DVD Drives from other model year Panasonics can not be swapped into a Panasonic 2006 modell. The compatible DVD Drives are found in the DMR-ES15, DMR-ES25, DMR-ES35, DMR-ES45 and DMR-ES46, the non-hard drive models. The hard drive models use a different DVD Drive.

Occasionally good parts machines may be found on Craig's List. In this AVS Forum thread I give some advice under my DigaDo identity:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1281815/pa...me-advice/0_60

If there has been a disturbance to a ribbon cable there is a chance that a ribbon cable contact has been damaged. This occurs when a contact "tooth" in the ribbon cable connector drifts forward as the ribbon cable is withdrawn, damaging the contact strip. The remedy is to drift the "tooth" back into place and trim off the damaged portion of the ribbon cable contact strip in order to provide uniform connectivity.

Also under my DigaDo identity at the AVS Forum I've posted a variety of information as to service and repair procedures and parts compatibility for Panasonic recorders. The AVS DVD Recorder sub-forum is found here:

http://www.avsforum.com/f/106/dvd-recorders

__________________
"A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME WILL SMELL AS SWEET. BUT IT DOES NOT FOLLOW THAT WHATEVER WE CHOOSE TO CALL A ROSE WILL POSSESS THE ROSE'S FRAGRANCE."

--Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1917)

dvdvdvd

Thank you for your highly informative and comprehensive reply.
I think I'll give it a rest for a few days and go back to it. Look for dodgy caps and double check the ribbon connectors as you suggest.
John