Es300 Premium Sound Troubleshooting Help

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I have a 1998 ES300 with the Premium Sound System with no CD changer, no NAV system and no car phone installed. The radio worked fine until today, when the sound just stopped. The radio still tunes to stations fine, but no sound comes from the speakers. I checked both fuses RAD NO 1 and RAD NO 2, they both are good, and removal of ether shuts the radio down.

I’ve spent hours reading the relevant posts on this and the British Lexus Owners forums, and have a basic understanding of the proprietary nature of the OEM sound system.

I would appreciate anyone’s insight as to where I should begin trouble shooting, now that I’ve done the obvious. Is it possible there is an additional fuse somewhere, perhaps on the external amp? Is it true that the external amp does not even come on if a CD changer is not installed? If I need to spend more that $500 to repair it, I would just as soon buy an after market system that would be XM ready and play MP3s.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Chris

[PIONEERSUBY]

its most probably the amplfier mounted behind the glovebox. it has a blue pioneer serial number sticker on it. the only thing that goes wrong with the radio is the lcd goes out leaving only egyptian hieroglyphics. the amp is not very long lasting. better to find a 1998 es300 nakamichi amp. it is more powerful and is a plug in and play replacement for the pioneer amp.

[PIONEERSUBY]

its most probably the amplfier mounted behind the glovebox. it has a blue pioneer serial number sticker on it. the only thing that goes wrong with the radio is the lcd goes out leaving only egyptian hieroglyphics. the amp is not very long lasting. better to find a 1998 es300 nakamichi amp. it is more powerful and is a plug in and play replacement for the pioneer amp.

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Thanks for the help! I’ve already learned a lot from your posts to other members, and appreciate the time you have taken to help everyone.

In a new development, the sound comes on and goes off intermittently. I’ve not seen a correlation to road vibration, but it could be a loose wire somewhere. I’ll search for how to get the glove box out so I can check the amp.

I looked on eBay for a 1998 es300 Nakamichi amp, and found two for that were listed for a 90-94 Lexus LS400. Would you know what the range of years Lexus used amps that would be interchangeable with the one in my 1998 ES300? And does it make any difference if I have a CD changer or not?

its most probably the amplfier mounted behind the glovebox. it has a blue pioneer serial number sticker on it. the only thing that goes wrong with the radio is the lcd goes out leaving only egyptian hieroglyphics. the amp is not very long lasting. better to find a 1998 es300 nakamichi amp. it is more powerful and is a plug in and play replacement for the pioneer amp.

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I took the glove box out and checked the amp, it was just as pioneersuby described with blue Pioneer serial number sticker on it.

The sound had been dropping out and coming back, so I checked all the wires for any looseness and was surprised by the tension on some of the wires that were going to the top connector. I unplugged each connector and looked for poor connections. Removing the top or bottom shut the head unit down, the middle connector only stopped the rear speakers. I did my best to remove the excess tension on the wires, and put it all back together. It has now worked without a problem for two days, so I am hoping I found the source of the trouble.

Thanks for the help,

Chris

[PIONEERSUBY]

i am glad it was just the wiring.

[gizmofanv]

I took the glove box out and checked the amp, it was just as pioneersuby described with blue Pioneer serial number sticker on it.

The sound had been dropping out and coming back, so I checked all the wires for any looseness and was surprised by the tension on some of the wires that were going to the top connector. I unplugged each connector and looked for poor connections. Removing the top or bottom shut the head unit down, the middle connector only stopped the rear speakers. I did my best to remove the excess tension on the wires, and put it all back together. It has now worked without a problem for two days, so I am hoping I found the source of the trouble.

Thanks for the help,

Chris

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How is your audio system working now?

I have similar problem with es300.