My CD player Rotel RCD-02 similar to the european version RCD-961/RCD-971 is no longer playing compact discs.

The CD player has been placed above a class A amplifier which produces a lot of heat, and indeed in use the CD player base has gotten quite hot probably around 60-70 degress. I am thinking that the reason for the cd player failure is the laser diode may have prematurely failed due to extended periods of heating.

The optical block in the CD player is a Sony KSS-213C.

I have tested the ribbon connector between the optical block and the main circuit board with a DVM resistance meter and found no fault in the wiring. Additionally I have checked the PSU which is a good solid transformer type, this appears to be fine, although I have no reference to actually check this, but power is present.

I have removed the cd spindle clamp and observed with a mobile phone CCD camera which is sensitive to IR light that there is a blueish grill like pattern l(like a ||| shape) from the lens of the laser diode. This suggests there is power.
Additionally the CD player detects when a disc is present and not present. When the drawer is closed if a CD is there it will spin it up, if there isn't a CD present the motor spindle moves a bit then the player displays "No dISC".

When a CD is placed and drawer closed, the optical block will move to inside to read the TOC. If the optical block is displaced it will move back to the TOC smoothly so this mechanism apperas to be fine. The CD player will spin up a CD. The disc continues spinning but power is applied to the CD spindle motor to spin up the CD again and again, I assume this to get the correct speed as it attempts to focus and read the disc. The motor voltage is about a volt and peaks at about 2.3 volts though this is difficult to tell with a DVM. The CD player does not go further than this stage and keeps spining up the disc in an attempt to read it.

I noticed that with a Single CD with only 3 tracks on it, and 14 minutes total length, the CD player actually played track 1, but then stopped after the second track, since this brief moment of operation and before it has remained faulty though.

I am appealing for help as I have read about CD player faults but have no practical experience until now and I thought there may be more people with more knowledge. I am tempted to replace the optical pickup but am unsure whether this really is the fault. Any help will be much appreciated.