Sega Saturn Disc Drive Clicking But Works Intermittently

[alitomari]

I bought a Sega Saturn on ebay, and when I tested it, if there's no disc in the drive, it makes the normal seeking sounds and motions. However, when I put a disc in, the drive makes a loud clicking as it attempts to read the disc. About 70% of the time the disc wont load, and it will send me to the cd player menu. 30% of the time though, the game will work and load correctly. I tried adjusting the laser pot and that didnt help with disc reading or the clicking.

I'm thinking something got jostled during shipping, but I dont know what else to check. And I already have another working saturn, so I know what a normal saturn disc drive sounds like when it's working. And I know the clicking is not normal. Does anyone have any ideas? Any help you can give is greatly appreciated!

[Niode]

Are you trying a real game?

[Hatta]

Try taking the cover off of the console to see if it's just a physical obstruction.

[alitomari]

Yes I'm using a retail game to test. I took the cover off and everything looks normal. I'm pretty stumped as to what it could be.

[CRTGAMER]

Drive starting to go? Polishing game discs and cleaning that laser might help.
A desperation last resort risky measure is tweaking the POT.

[Hatta]

If the drive is clicking when the cover is off, it should be possible to find where the click is coming from with your ears.

[alitomari]

From what I can tell, the clicking is coming from those plastic white gears that move the laser component. Possible from the motor. The weird thing is I can manualy move the laser assembly and I wont hear the click, but when the saturn is working itself, you can hear the clicking. I guess that shows its the disc motor. Could this be like, a piece that needs lubrication, or is it something where Id need a new motor? Or is it a different problem altogether?