Must I Change The Amplifier (Mark Levinson) Or Be Condemned To Silence

[GS430SE]

The car's a 2004 GS430 (as in my avatar), with the usual Mark Levinson stereo & satnav system.

One morning the battery had gone flat (cause: wholly unrelated to the stereo, and later solved) and I used a portable battery to jump-start the car.

From that time on, there's been no sound from the hifi (irrespective of source - radio, CD, tape). Sound had been working perfectly, right up to the point I switched off the engine the previous night, so it is hard to escape the cause->effect linkage.

The CD apparently plays, as does the tape, and the radio apparently tunes just like before. But, there's no sound at all from the speakers. When I press the Audio button on the head unit, all controls like "Bass", "Treble" and "Front/Rear--Left/Right Balance" appear grayed out on the display. These three pics show what I see:

Note the grayed-out controls in the bottom photo. So, the computer knows that something is wrong.

I've checked and double-checked all the fuses, including those on the passenger/glovebox side footwell, and had a friend who is in to car repairs double-check. All the fuses are fine.

The CD changer is in the back of the glovebox. The satnav DVD unit is in the boot, and the power amplifier is below it. Everything was original/factory-installed, not after-market.

The closest I've found to this problem is this discussion:

http://www.justanswe...navigation.html

where the poster seems to be describing the same fault. The advice he's given is that it is probably a blown amplifier, he didn't come back to the thread so I don't know if it was resolved.

Almost the same thing is found here:

http://www.clublexus...with-radio.html

where the reference is to the "infamous ML amp" striking again.. :(

A Lexus dealer indicated the price for a new amplifier from Lexus is probably half of what my car itself is worth. They said they thought it was a faulty amp (but - stress - couldn't be certain).

I can get an amplifier via ebay for about a quarter of its "new" price, salvage from a scrapped 2001-4 GS300/GS430 fitted with the Mark Levinson stereo. I would make sure that the part number matched up. But what if the problem wasn't the amplifier but instead something in the head unit/console? The ebay sale would have been final (i.e., no returns), of course.

Should I take the chance and order a replacement amp?

Some clear advice would be very gratefully accepted - thanks in advance!

[1990LS400]

Are there no car stereo repair companies in the U.K. like there are here in the U.S.? http://www.carstereohelp.com/lexus.htm

[GS430SE]

Are there no car stereo repair companies in the U.K. like there are here in the U.S.? http://www.carstereohelp.com/lexus.htm

Fair question. Of course there are. Because the car is now over 8 years old, and the Levinson unit is so specialised, their solution (I've asked several) involves changing both head unit and power amplifier, which is very costly (almost as bad as using Lexus dealers) and means I'd lose the (precious) satnav as well, as the stereo & satnav system are integrated on the ML-equipped GS300/GS430...

Even the guys at the weblink you kindly provided don't appear to deal with the Mark Levinson version...

[GS430SE]

A further complication. The part number on my ML amp is 86280-0W210 (I physically checked it, where it sits under the Navigation ECU in right side of the trunk), while the one that seems to be referred to all over the internet is 86280-0W032 (and which I am probably able to source). From Google Images, the two appear identical, including the sockets. There are also -0W031's and -0W030's, which I guess may be earlier versions of the -0W032. But my (presumed failed) amp's part number isn't in that sequence.

Lexus Parts Department tell me the two have exactly the same price and description in their system, and that they may well be identical - but they can't confirm it. One's fitted on LHD vehicles and the other on RHD vehicles, that's all that can be found out from them.

Others more knowledgeable than Lexus (!), on forums, have indicated that the difference is simply as to whether the navigation guidance voice is directed to the LH door speaker or the RH door speaker. If so, unimportant which it is.

Any suggestions, please?

[GS430SE]

I'm the OP.

I changed the Mark Levinson amp for a refurbished 86280-0W030 (got from dabaysidejill01@att.net - thanks, David!) and all works perfectly.

As said above, the only difference between the amp for R.H.drive and L.H.drive vehicles is, as David indicated, that they are wired so that the "navigation assistance" voice is directed to a different door speaker. As I don't use voice-assist Satnav, irrelevant to me - and even if it was relevant, it is a minor difference.

All's well that ends well! :-)

To help others: Changing amps was easy using a socket set (with extension) to un-bolt things.

So, I have a spare ML amp (as discussed above, part 86280-0W210 equivalent to 86280-0W030, 86280-0W031 & 86280-0W032 except that the navigation voice is routed to a different speaker). I've opened the amp up; looks pristine inside. From a sticker inside, it was upgraded by Lexus in 2007 (when owned by the previous owner, who had all the car's servicing done by Lexus themselves), probably to fix the switching-on bug that plagued earlier versions of the amp.

If anyone has an idea how to repair it (as in, what is the likely faulty component) I'd be grateful.

Or, if anyone wants to make me an offer on it, I'm willing to part with it for a song. All worked perfectly until I used a portable battery to boost-charge the car's battery.

[dcfish]

Always Happy to help our Members :) Thanks Again Bond ;)

[pj8708]

Glad all turned out well!

I know I've said this many times before, but to help members who will have the same ML amplifier problems in the future, I'll outline it here:

A Mark Levinson system is not repairable by Lexus or any one else. Say the amplifier goes out. It cannot be repaired. It is simply a unplug the bad part and plug in the new part. It sounds like a dumb and exspensive way to go, but here is why.

In licensing the use and name of Mark Levinson system and it's design, schematics, technical specs, etc. Lexus in turn had to accept that they could not have access to any of the forementioned data, and Lexus would only be able to diagnos plug & play type problems. Hence the amplifier. It can't be repaired; only replaced

There is one company http://unitedradio.com/automotive/ in New York I believe. They may have some "VuDu" they try once and a while

Paul

[jimbo60]

United Radio in NY repairs the Mark Levinson amps. I shipped mine to them and had it back in a week; cost was $450.. This is less than half of cost it would be from Lexus. Repaired units carry a 1 year warranty.

[giniajim]

my ES-300 has been diagnosed as having an amp that fails intermittently causing the battery to drain overnight. my LX dealer says that the solution is to replace the amp, with its attendant high cost. I'm considering having the system replaced completely by a plain-vanilla stereo. the mark levinson system came with the car (I got it used) and its way more than I need. anyone ever just replace the whole kit and caboodle. I realize that I'd lose the nav but given the capabilities available on smart phones, that doesn't seem to be a great loss.

any thoughts?

[bfrasure]

I finally took apart my 86280-0w100 Mark Levinson amp from my 2004 ES330 after almost a year of sitting in silence.

I found one tiny component causing the problem: A blown capacitor. It was clearly rattling around the case and the internals were flopping around as well.

I identified the part number as "Nichicon PW series 39uF 16V aluminum electrolytic capacitor"

I will order a couple and fix the one that was out as well as possible the one next to it.

Such a simple fix? The tricky part was getting to the amp in my trunk:

finding the screw drivers (Torx T10 and a 5/16 socket wrench)

and lastly finding the hidden screws under the Mark Levinson label on the amp

Hope this saves a few people money.

[pj8708]

Welcome to the Lexus Owners Club and thank you for posting some new, up to date ML information. The ML system is an awesome product, but it has for sometime been a pain with frequent amplifiers failure.

Paul