Mute Levinson Radio For Cell Calls

[grassypond]

Does the Levinson radio in an '01 LS430 have a mute input for muting on incoming cell phone calls?? If so, how do I access it. I am contemplating installing the Motorola handsfree bluetooth kit vs. the Sony Ericsson bluetooth kit. Both will mute the radio for calls. Too bad the Levinson Audio can't integrate w/ Bluetooth pre-2004.

[1990LS400]

I see you have not made a lot of progress since you last asked about Bluetooth retrofits a few months ago ...

An owner of an 03 GS with Nav/Lev was able to hook the mute wire from his Sony Ericsson Bluetooth kit to his audio system but I suspect that he did it the hard way: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread...&highlight=mute

The 2001 LS had a "Lexus Dual-Mode Mobile Phone phone option": http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_detail/ls/430/2001.html

My assumption (and I sure could be wrong!) is that the 2001 LS430 was prewired for a phone somewhat similar to the way my 2000 LS400 was. My 00 LS has two phone connectors under the rear of the center console. I attached the mute wire from my Nokia car kit to a terminal on one of the connectors. The same connector also supplies power and probably other functions that I didn't try to use. I determined the mute terminal on the connector by probing the terminals of the connector with a grounded 12 volt test light while the radio was playing.

I don't know if your LS430 has a similar connector in a similar location - maybe your dealer can tell you. Or you can just disassemble the center console to check -- probably fairly easy to do. I did a ridiculous amount of research to understand just a little about how the phone prewiring in my LS works. I wish it was simpler.

If are going to the trouble of installing a phone car kit and do not already have a Bluetooth phone, I suggest that you instead consider a non-Bluetooth car kit with a phone cradle. I hope someday to see a Bluetooth phone and OEM or aftermarket bluetooth kit that compares favorably to the features and performance of non-Bluetooth phones and car kits with a cradle.

I included a link to an MS Word document in a previous post on how I installed my phone and attached the mute wire in my 00 LS. You can find it by searching for my user name.

Best of luck.

[LS007]

Yes, the LS430 Levinson radio/cd player can be muted with a hands free car kit. There is a cell phone connector under the center arm rest, but it's more difficult to access and doesn't have a clearly labeled mute wire. I've installed an Audiovox hands free kit in my center console compartment (next to gear shift) by t-taping into the wires behind the dash radio. The connector has constant power, accessory (switched power), ground and mute wire. When this wire is shorted to ground like most car kits do, it will mute the Levinson stereo. Would you like to know the pin numbers and wire colors for these connections? Do you also need basic instructions for removing the dash radio/cd player to access this connector/wire harness?

[1990LS400]

The functions LS007 mentioned are also available on the head unit of the Nakamichi (some are on the underseat amp on the standard and Nav audio systems) of our 00 LS. The reason I stayed away from tapping into the wires at the head unit was that our 00 LS had almost one year left on its warranty when I installed the phone car kit. If the audio system had failed during the warranty, I did not want the dealer to be able to say that the phone installation contributed to the problem.

The same four functions LS007 mentioned (plus others) are available on the phone plug under the rear console of the 00 LS and can be determined by using a test light - very easy since the connector is pointing "up" - but it may be different on the 01 LS430. Because of the design of this phone connector on the 00 LS is it possible to connect these four functions without using "t-tap" connectors or cutting into any wires in the car's wiring harness - it only takes a wire tie or two. I guess you could call it a "stealth" installation.

On my 00 LS, next to the the six pin phone connector under the center console is a coax cable for the phone antenna imprinted on the inside of the rear window and it can be activated by connecting two other coax cables on the right side of the trunk. Your LS430 may not have this coax or the window antenna - I don't know. And I don't even know what frequencies the phone antenna is supposed to support on our 00 LS. Regardless, it seems to make a huge difference when we are driving in rural areas - if I pop the phone out of the cradle I have no service but if the phone is in the cradle and attached to the rear window antenna, the signal is strong. But our phones are "tri-mode" - GSM, TDMA and analog - so I guess we have most of the bases covered.

[grassypond]

I appreciate the input. I am thinking of installing the Bluetooth since the wife and I have 3 bluetooth phones between us. I just retro-fitted a bluetooth module to my 2001 BMW X5. It integrates with the Nav unit. It is fabulous, and I put the phone cradle in which charges the phone and gives me an external antenna. My Moto V600 is in the cradle. The beauty of the system is the integration with the 'head unit' , steering wheel and voice recognition.

Now for the 2001 LS430. There does not appear to be integration with the Levinson System. But, I am now looking to see if I can do the Bluetooth and use a cradle that can be hard wired, as you have suggested, that would charge the phone and give me access to the external antenna. I wholeheartedly agree that using an external antenna dramatically improves signal strength.......and is worth the effort to gain that feature. But, I would only work for the hardwired phone. Though, for trips around town/local, the Bluetooth would allow any of the 3 phone to be functional.

So, if there is a schematic for the phone connecor in the console, it would be sincerely appreciated. I will probably install the Nokia Bluetooth Kit for the 6820, and install the cradle with access to charging, muting and external antenna........I may be asking for tooo much.

Thanks for the input :)

[1990LS400]

Grassypond,

I don't think you are asking for too much at all.

There is no information about the phone prewiring in the repair manuals for my LS. There may be information in the electrical manual (which I don't have) and I am fairly certain that I read that there are installation manuals specifically for Lexus phones. These manuals may be in the accessories section of http://techinfo.lexus.com/ A one-day subscription was $10 the last time I checked.

Have you asked your Lexus dealer for any assistance or advice? If you could speak with a mechanic who installed Lexus phones in the past. it could certainly make this simpler.

Of course you could aways disassemble your console to see what you find under it...

[grassypond]

1990LS400,

Your thoughts are appreciated.

I don't quite have the guts to take apart the console without some guidance. Will try your rec resources. Still need to check with Nokia to see if the Bluetooth kit will hardwire the cradle with antenna and charging power.

Will post what I find.

Thanks,

Sean B)

[1990LS400]

Here is a link to where you can buy the car kit and phone holder for your Nokia 6800:

http://www.nokiausa.com/nokia_accessories/...2224,40,00.html

It looks like the kit is supposed to work either as a hardwired or wireless kit and with an external antenna. I don't see how the antenna would connect to the cradle as with most Nokia kits - maybe it connects to the junction box of the kit. If you are going to the trouble of installing a phone holder would you gain much by using the wireless feature?

Bluetooth is useful for other things besides linking to a car kit ... like syncing your Nokia's address book with a PC using Nokia's free sync software. If you don't have Bluetooth on your PC, USB Bluetooth adaptors are cheap - saw one recently for less than $40. And Bluetooth/Wi-Fi PDA's like my Dell Axim can use a Bluetooth phone as a route to the Internet if a Wi-Fi hotspot is not available.

[grassypond]

Saw the new wired/wireless kit from nokia. I am oredering one for my F-250, and if I can get some instructions on the console assembly in the LS430 I will install a kit there as well. Wish it would integrate with the Levinson....oh well, atleast it increases the versatility of the system. Nokia also tells me that the kit will be comaptible with future phones.....all I will need to do is get the cradle!

Anyone know how to disassemble the 2001 LS 430 console!!!!!

Thanks,

Sean ;)

[ericgoldman]

I too have the 2001 LS430 with Mark Levinson Nav, and have just purchased a Sprint Treo650 primarliy for the bluetooth capabilities. Had I known then what I have come to now know about the complexities of bluetooth and its lack of universal applications....

Anyway, grassypond, I'm curious if you have found the solution to your questions?

I have been looking into installing the Parrot CK3000, but need to know if there is a way to use the Mute. My installer says he can poke around, but ... specific directions would be great.

Thanks...

[1990LS400]

Here is a thread on Club Lexus with information on the head unit pin for the ML radio mute and which also contains a comment under my CL userid about the mute connection in my 00 LS400: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread...&highlight=mute

But if your 01 LS430 has a phone connector under the center console like my 00 LS400 has, I tend to think it would be easier (and safer) to connect your phone car kit's mute wire (and power wire) there than to remove your radio/Nav unit and T-tap into its wiring.

Coincidentally, I just finished reinstalling the radio head unit / HVAC controls in my LS this afternoon having removed it so I could remove the metal bracket holding the handset holder. I moved the handset holder to a "Kuda phonebase". FYI, the ivory leather of the Kuda phonebase is almost identical to the leather in my LS. Kuda makes them for LS430s and most other Lexus models. Removal/reinstallation of the head unit / HVAC control unit is fairly simple if you have instructions.

You could always buzz by your local Lexus dealer and ask to talk to a person who installed phones back in 2001. Maybe he would remember (or have documentation) if the 01 LS has phone connectors under the console.

Phone kits are not all that difficult to install. Really. I can do it and about the only other thing I do on cars is change oil. But I do it because the last few experiences with phone installers (or the kids that pass as phone installers) were bad - interior damage, components installed in silly locations - one mounted a phone speaker that obstructed brake pedal movement.

If you have not done so already, do a search on this forum and Club Lexus for words like Parrot, CK3000, mute, Treo, etc. I've posted the link to the doc on the phone kit install in my LS way too many times but here it is again: http://home.kc.rr.com/colchester/phone/Nok...H%20install.doc

And when you get all this to work on your 01 LS, please, please tell us how it went and how well it works. Photos would be nice!

[SW03ES]

I know that our Admin, Matthew_McNally has a bluetooth kit wired into his GS430 with Levinson, might want to shoot him a PM but its also featured in his garage.

I have a bluetooth phone and cheaped out (well not cheap, it was $150) and bought a SuperTooth portable handsfree that clips onto the drivers visor with answer/hangup buttons etc. It obviously doesn't mute the radio but it works really well. Now that I own the car I might look into a more hardwired solution, but this thing works pretty well.

Check ebay, they're all over ebay.