Blower/ac Problem Solved! Maybe Your's Too?

[TSO]

Hi,

My apologies for the negative sub-title. Hit "Submit Reply" a little too quickly, I think, and now can't edit it out. Also, my apologies if this is a tired old repost - I looked for this solution for three days, but couldn't find it, so went ahead and posted.

Here's an amazingly simple solution to maybe a LOT of problems I've read on the forum re. blower motors working only at low or not at all, or radio amplifiers going out. Here's documentation of the original problem -

AC Blower/Audio gone haywire

IN a nutshell - the blower AND my radio begin cutting in and out intermittently, in unison, the other day. No indication on the actual instrument panel, and all diagnostics checked out fine. Sometimes, the problem would go away, especially after it sat for a long while. However, after driving, the intermittent ceasing of both components would start, eventually to STOP altogether.

THE SOLUTION -

That $&*%*&$ ancient phone in the console that I've never used.

Apparently, a feature of the phone that I was unaware of is that the car brain MUTES the audio and puts the blower on low whenever the phone rings or is answered. My phone has been unplugged since I bought the car, and I had no intention of updating it. I was reading a post here about something completely different, and it mentioned how "cool" that phone feature was...

I thought the phone and its cradle in the console was the extent of the unit. Actually - the majority of the phone controls are in the trunk, under the passenger side masonite floorboard (under the toolkit). It is at the lowest place of the undercarriage under the trunk floor (BAD idea).

The other day, we had some TORRENTIAL rains here in Houston. Apparently, some water got into that side of the trunk and pooled on that side, RIGHT next to the phone ECU. So, when the car was still, the unit and wiring was dry. However, after a while of driving around, it would get splashed and eventually short in some way. This was somehow read by the AC and radio controls as a call coming in, and would then turn off both. Darn over-engineering...

The solution? Simply unplug the main jumper bundle from the ECU, disconnecting it from the rest of the car "brain".

After having this "aha!" moment and gleefully finding the phone ECU, I cranked the car and turned up the dead radio and air. I began unplugging bundle connectors at the ECU - on the second one I unplugged, I was instantly awash in the (blasting) glorious sound of Robert Plant and Zeppelin cranking through Black Dog :D

The joy that washed over me can't be described. I can't afford a $1400 panel electronics replacement (what an RX300 owner paid to have a similar problem "fixed"), and it's already 90 degrees here in Houston.

The ECU unit is probably ruined, but since I haven't ever used it anyway, I really don't care.

After the HUNDREDS of posts I read about blower/radio issues that never had resolution, I wonder how many of them may have been the same as mine.

Well, I hope this helps someone.

T

[1990LS400]

TSO,

Although the solution you found has been posted many times on this forum, and a number of times by me, it never hurts to have another thread that restates the solution.

The past few days I've been wondering if there is a way to connect the audio system mute wire from my Nokia phone kit to the HVAC blower speed control so that the blower speed is lowered when a phone call is in progress. If I remember correctly, the dealer installed Lexus phone systems lowered the blower speed but the blower speed could be overridden and bumped back up while a phone call is in progress.

BTW, there is an audio mute min under the center vent you see when the front armrest is raised. It's on the drivers side. Connect a after market Bluetooth or fixed phone kit's mute wire to it and the radio will mute when a call is on progress just like with the Lexus phone.

[TSO]

TSO,

Although the solution you found has been posted many times on this forum, and a number of times by me, it never hurts to have another thread that restates the solution.

The past few days I've been wondering if there is a way to connect the audio system mute wire from my Nokia phone kit to the HVAC blower speed control so that the blower speed is lowered when a phone call is in progress. If I remember correctly, the dealer installed Lexus phone systems lowered the blower speed but the blower speed could be overridden and bumped back up while a phone call is in progress.

BTW, there is an audio mute min under the center vent you see when the front armrest is raised. It's on the drivers side. Connect a after market Bluetooth or fixed phone kit's mute wire to it and the radio will mute when a call is on progress just like with the Lexus phone.

Sorry, Brother - I looked for three days for a solution and found only other's similar problems, no answers. I also had my request for direction posted as well, with no help. It's great to come after the fact and say, "there's answers everywhere", but unless I find them through the search or someone kindly points them out, your comment after the fact is useless to me, and to others.

That being said, thanks for the tip about the audio mute under the center vent. Also, in my searches I did not discover anything that could contribute to your question about connecting your Nokia phone, but if I find something I will PM you.

[eatingupblacktop]

TSO,

Although the solution you found has been posted many times on this forum, and a number of times by me, it never hurts to have another thread that restates the solution.

Sorry, Brother - I looked for three days for a solution and found only other's similar problems, no answers. I also had my request for direction posted as well, with no help. It's great to come after the fact and say, "there's answers everywhere", but unless I find them through the search or someone kindly points them out, your comment after the fact is useless to me, and to others.

First of all, welcome to the LOC!

It's easy to get disgruntled when you have an issue that no one's responding to. If you surf some of the threads asking for tech help, you'll find it may be days before there are any responses. Other chat postings seem to be much more interactive. It may be because there are fewer members who have the answers or they may not be online that often. I can tell you sometimes I will visit the site for 5 minutes just to see what's up, then I have to leave because that's all the time I had available. That's just not enough time to cover all the new threads getting posted every day. I'll take a couple of hours every week or two to try and catch up. There have been times i've read a thread and wanted to post a reply that would have helped the op but just didn't have the time it would have taken and hoped someone else would eventually help out. I'm sure that's the case for many members here. Most often new threads will get a reply, only perhaps not as quickly as the op would like. Patience in both getting a response and in doing an effective search will keep the panic attacks down to a manageable level. I think this is what 1990 was suggesting. That being said, I can sympathize with having to endure 90 degrees in Houston ... and of course, as always, you can add another 15 - 20 inside the car.

As for the leak in your trunk, search for a thread SK posted just a while ago. He has proposed a solution for flattened tubed trunk seals. From what I can recall, it involves inserting rubber foam or rubber tubing with a smaller diameter than the trunk seal to restore the shape of the seal. Haven't done this, but it sounds doable.

[eatingupblacktop]

Here's the link for the trunk leak solution I mentioned:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=57051

[TSO]

Thanks for the equitable reply, Eatingupblacktop. As I mentioned, I think I hit "submit post" a little too quickly - like hitting "send" on an email that you later wish you could recall. I'm a member of several professional forums, and usually responses, or at least an acknowledgement, come in a little quicker so my expectations here as a newbie may have been off.

I again did a search today for my problem using the terms "Blower", Radio" "Amp", "No Sound", "no air", etc. and still didn't find the solution I needed posted. I think the problem is that the phone ECU shorting may have been discussed, but you had to have a priori knowledge of those particular phone features (mute and air off) to do a decent search for my problem. To be honest, I never thought to connect my radio and blower issues to a phone issue until I happen to read that unrelated comment in an unrelated post.

So, for others like me who have never used the phone, I hope a search for blower or radio issues will turn up this thread and be helpful.

Blessings to all!

[1990LS400]

I again did a search today for my problem using the terms "Blower", Radio" "Amp", "No Sound", "no air", etc. and still didn't find the solution I needed posted.

There are probably only a handful of us on this forum who understand anything about how the old installed Lexus phone systems worked. The dealer installed Lexus phone systems were quite rare - probably due their unreasonably high price. The aftermarket President phone system I bought through a Lexus dealer in 1990 when I bought my first LS cost less than 10% of the cost of the Lexus phone option. It looked almost identical to the Lexus phone except for not having a Lexus logo and a steering wheel phone control module.

The magic word to have searched for is "mute" -- that would have displayed threads with the solution although you still would have had to read through a few to find ones that specifically address your problem.