Just wanted to update...... I received the following answer via Private Message:
try unhooking your battery for about 30 seconds then hook it up and it should spit the cd out it will start making some clicking noises first so don't be alarmed.
This was the same advice I got from my wife's uncle, who is a Service Manager at a Chevy Dealership.
It didn't work the last time I tried it, but I thought "What the hell" and tried it again.
And it didn't work again. :sad7:
At this point I was pissed, so I unhooked the ground again.
I went back inside the house, grabbed a pair of my wife's expensive tweezers, and came back out. I felt around inside the CD player with them, and finally "saw" the problem. The CD was in the unit at an angle (instead of being perfectly horizontal).
There were these two silver "arms" that I think are probably supposed to sit *behind* the CD, and help push the CD out when you hit eject. One of them (left-hand side) was above the CD; the other (right-hand side) was below the CD.
I reached further in there with the tweezers, dug around a bit, and was finally able to get a good, firm grip. I then proceeded to tug the CD out. It took a few tries, and I scratched the bejeezus out of the CD doing it, but eventually, it [finally] came out. Stupid sing-along CD for the kids.....
Anyhow, I hooked the ground back up, and turned the radio on. It still worked, so I hadn't lost anything....
I tried to feed it another (pristine) CD, and it wouldn't take it. It made the God-awful "clicking" noise
that the guy who replied to me by PM referred to. It also showed "Check CD Player" on the display. I tried it three different times, and it still wouldn't take a CD, so I gave up.
I was at the dealership a few days later, when I took it in for an oil change. The "real fixit" line was over a three hour wait, so I said "just an oil change, please" and was done in about half an hour.
When they brought my vehicle back, I mentioned the other, that I was in a hurry and didn't want to bother with it today, but inquired with whom I might speak about setting up an appt for later.
They referred me to the Service Manager, and I went in his office. I mentioned the issue, as well as the error code. He suggested I bring it in next week, and that they could get me started with the process of picking out a new unit.
I asked "Is there no diagnostic component to bringing it in?" He intimated that the units were essentially a black box to dealership service depts, and that the "Check CD Player" code was [thus] essentially a death sentence.
He said $300 was where new and compatible units started, and they could walk me through the process next week. I asked if there was some GM or AC/Delco website where I could start looking, and he replied in the negative.
A bit distraught (didn't really feel like spending $300 on an OEM unit), I returned home. I was sitting in the driveway, and got a wild hair to try the reset process again. I got distracted with the kids when I went back in the house, and ended up leaving it disconnected for over three hours.
When I returned (in the dark), I re-connected the ground and got back in the car. Tried to feed it a pristine CD, and it wouldn't take it. It clicked at me like it was angry. I tried it a second time, almost throwing/shoving the CD in...... and it took it! Hit "Eject," and it spit it out. Threw/shoved another one in, and it took it, too. Hit "Eject," and it spit that one out, as well.
They play fine, and the unit seems to have returned to normal. A week later, it was "taking" the CDs from me; I didn't have to throw/shove them in any longer.
