Micah

Alright, I figured out how to check the coils, but I don't know what the readings mean. I checked resisance b/w pins 1 and 2 (the input plug) and then b/w pin 1 and output then pin 2 and output. Here's the results: Coil 1(driver's side): Pin 1 to Pin 2: ~0.5 ohms + or - .1 ohm Pin 1 to output: 11910 ohms Pin 2 to output: 11910 ohms (ohm meter read 11.91 KOhms) Coil 2 (passenger's side): Pin 1 to Pin 2: ~0.5 ohms + or - .1 ohm Pin 1 to output: 11500 ohms Pin 2 to output: 11500 ohms (ohm meter read 11.5 KOhms) Are these readings within spec? I'm beginning to think that this may just be normal, but the car seems a bit weak when I turn off the a/c and idle forward in drive. Creeps forward very slowly at about 500 rpm.

several solutions to this. You can replace the lcd and lights in it yourself. I've seen kits on ebay for this, but it will take some soldering. You can also find some used ones on ebay or on car-part.com It searches many salvage yards simultaneously. You can also send it off to get it repaired.

So no one has ever noticed this?

There are threads on this. I posted one of them. Anyways, you can connect the low level (rca jacks) to the low level inputs of the factory amps. It should sound close to factory, depending on how your head unit's eq works and such, and the head unit should have a subwoofer output. Just pick up some 4 dollar rca jacks (crimp on type that you can wire yourself) and some wire taps and tap into the system. This would be the easiest method, much easier than bypassing the amps. I did this with a computer. THe only thing is that if the kenwood doesn't have isolated signal ground outs (it probably does, though), you may get engine noise in which case you would merely install a set of ground loop isolators on them (you can construct one from a couple of old modems laying around or just splurge and spend the 12 dollars radio shack wants for them). Anyways, it is very possible, it will take a little research on your part, though. Try this link: It is the wiring diagram for your radio: http://www.intellexual.net/faq/lexusstereo.swf I also attached another wiring diagram in pdf form. Both work well as I've used both versions with my 96 lexus sc400 Pioneer System. Lexradiowcd_1_.pdf

Did you check the 20 amp fuse under the hood? It supplies constant power to the amps, head unit, power antenna, and maybe even the power mirrors. Check for any broken wires also that may be grounding out. Mine had one in the drivers door, so I crimped it back together. Still working good. I'd check the fuse first. The fuse box is right behind the battery and you get it open with a flat screw driver.

I'm recently noticing when I first start my car a strong smell of gas upon startup. Is this normal? The car has fresh wires and plugs from last summer along w/ timing belt and K&N filter. I cleaned the throttle body too. What could cause this? It almost smells like an outboard engine. EDIT: Had a thought, could it be the ignition system? How can I test the coils to see if they are putting out right? I assume I can use a voltage meter.

Alright, I took the suggestion of some of the articles on this board and went ahead and sprayed some carb cleaner (and whole can full by the way) into the intake manifold by way of the vacuum tubes attached to it. I first removed a cap at the front of the manifold and sprayed a lot into that hole. I then sprayed some into both the pvc inlet and the one above the throttle body (near the tps). The car seems to have jumped to life. Throttle is more responsive, shifting is now smoother (especially into 3rd gear as it was jerking into that gear before sometimes). Just thought I'd let y'all know. Next, recover leather seats (after christmas). Maybe new tranny after that just to ease my mind. I don't trust this one with 212000 miles.

Thanks, It has taken a lot of reading and planning to accomplish, and I'm still working out bugs (such as ground loops and such), but it sounds crystal clear and I love it. I have about 450 to 500 into it right now (and that was with me having to replace the mobo on the laptop). If you need any type of info on the topic, try www.mp3car.com They have loads of information, faqs, and howto's to help. There is so much you can do with this. . .interface with engine and show engine statistics, gps, dvd, mp3, hands free telephone interface, xm radio, sirius radio, 5.1 surround sound, the sky is the limit, and it will still look factory if done right. The main reason I didn't go with an aftermarket solution is that it wouldn't look factory. This was very important to me. I am never happy with the look of aftermarket, even if it has been professionally installed and such. That's just my opinion. Many people love aftermarket equipment and look, but not me. I considered a full screen pioneer unit with the accelerometer and all b/c I could have bought one off ebay for just a little more than what I spent on this project, but I opted for the factory look.

The only time I rotate my tires is when I replace them. Move front to back and new ones on front.

I'll check into the ball joints. The suspension shop did say that my ball joint boots were busted but the joints themselves were tight. Maybe this is the culprit. Do I have to replace the entire lower arm to replace the ball joints (on the front)?

Some preliminary pics. Everything isn't finalized yet. . .still have to hook my lcd to the carnetix psu that powers the computer, finish mounting computer, other odds and ends.

Well, I can get you some pictures of the bezel next time I take the radio apart again. I didn't take pictures. I wish I had, but my sister has my digital camera. It was an interesting project that is now almost complete. Just ordered the power supply for the computer. I still have to figure a way to install the laptop in the trunk, but shouldn't be too difficult. Plan on putting it where the cd changer was. I did it only b/c I got tired of listening to the radio and wanted to be able to listen to mp3s. They make no adapter for the sc400 radio, so I decided to go this route instead of aftermarket or used radio. I don't like the look of aftermarket. I wanted a factory look preserved, so I decided on this route. The main thing I'll use it for is mp3's. It will also hook up with a bluetooth phone and do hands free functions if I set that up, but I don't have a bluetooth phone. Biggest hassle is making the bezel which is still not totally finished. My cousin did some of the work on it, but it looks too amateurish. It doesn't look bad, just not perfect. I want it to look totally factory after totally complete. I plan on sending it off somewhere to get it finished. He did a great job matching the paint to the original factory black trim, though.

I was debating on replacing my springs as well (one of my front springs sags ever so slightly). The sagging bothers me even though no one else seems to see it but me. The say I'm OCD or something. Anyways, I'm going to replace my suspension components next summer when I have some time off and I plan on replacing at least the front springs b/c of that one side sagging about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch. I feel like my car leans a little. I think it will also help the cars tracking as it wanders right now a bit. A reputable suspension shop told me all my parts are in good condition, but I believe I would benefit from all new parts.

It sounds great. At least as good as factory. I'll post pictures of my setup later this week. I am using a laptop computer for my sound system (which I've yet to complete, but it's almost done). I fabricated a touch screen lcd monitor into the original pioneer factory head unit and used its cage as the mount. worked quite nicely and looks almost factory (would have looked better if I were better with fabrication). It looks very nice though. I'm waiting on a power supply for my laptop so I can use it in the car. This allows me GPS, MP3's, DVD, OBD2, or anything I want to do. The sky is the limit. so far I've spent less than 500 dollars on the whole setup (including the laptop which is an 1100mhz amd duron by HP). Just working out the bugs right now. It would be going faster, but I'm buying a new engine for my boat right now too (200 hp mercury, whoo hoo). Anyways. Long story short. The amplifiers take a low level signal input. This means that you can play pretty much anything you want through them from aftermarket heat units to ipods to computers. The only catch is that you have to tap into the wiring (I haven't spliced any wires). I used wire taps to tap into the inputs in the trunk. The hardest one was the subwoofer b/c it isn't stereo and my outputs were stereo. This means you either have to build a mixer out of resistors or hook up only one channel to the input meaning you loose half of the bass. I plan on building the mixer in the near future once the computer is totally in the car. No radio for now, just a screen.

Hi, I took my car to a transmission shop a few weeks ago, and ever since I've been noticing a metallic sounding sraping sound. sounds like a hollow metal pipe that's scraping against something. It also rattles a little bit sometimes. Transmission doesn't seem to be slipping, and the sound is worst in the morning (or when the transmission is cold). I just got the transmission mount replaced when it was in the shop (to fix some rattling and engine vibrations) and they changed the fluid (and filter again. . .I had just replaced it a little while back, but they wanted to look in the pan to check everything out). They found nothing wrong when they had it. What could cause this scraping sound? It sounds like it comes from directly below the shifter. I was thinking the drive shaft support bearing as I've read somewhere on here about that. 2nd prob, When it's in reverse I can hear a faint clunking sound coming from the rear of the car and the frequency varies based on the speed I'm going in reverse. Just thought I'd throw this one out there too.

Hi, just following up from a previous question I posted. I decided to just go ahead and try it. I took out my factory unit and jumpered a1 to a3 (radio/amp output plugs) and presto, I had sound. Hooked a mini jack to the low level inputs to see if it would do OK with my IPOD, and it sounded beautiful. Long story short, it is possible to patch into the factory amps. It was very easy after I got the radio out (that was the hardest part. . .that and soldering me a 1/8" jack to be plugged into the factory harness). Onward now to finish my carputer. Just butchered and gutted my factory radio to install a 7" LCD in its place. Looking good so far!

I figure its somewhere under the console. You could find the solonoid then give it a good cleaning with contact cleaner from your local electronics store, but I would just replace it. Shouldn't be an expensive part. I don't know exactly where it is as I've not had any trouble with mine. Also, check all the wiring going to the thing (either with an ohm meter or with visual inspection). Maybe someone here knows where to locate it. I think you will probably have to remove the console trim and such.

There are 2 positive at the input connector for the amp (+12v ACC from radio fuse 2, and +12v from Radio A1) and one in the output connector (+B 12v from Radio Fuse 1). Here's the link that shows the connections: http://www.intellexual.net/faq/lexusstereo.swf I have a touchscreen (that will be modified to match the radio's shape) and a laptop to construct a carputer from. Do you know whether the amps will accept low level input or they take speaker level input? Is there a way to test this with a voltage meter or ohm meter? Thanks for the assistance!

This happened to me once with my '96 sc400. It started misfiring and whatnot, but that gave me a check engine code. I was studdering as well when sitting at lights when it had this problems like it was going to die. Once I replaced the wires and caps, all was well. Even better after new plugs. After I did the wires and plugs I forgot to hook the intake back to the throttle body and it wouldn't even stay started then. Very low on power, so maybe check MAF? Just a shot, but I think it should throw a code too, but I don't remember.

One other question, It the wiring diagram, the amp has pretty much what any aftermarket amp would have wiring wise except for something called +B 12V from Radio Fuse 1. What is this for, and why are there 3 12 v positive connections? I know two of them, one for remote turn on and one for main power, but why the extra power outlet?

Glad to see another Louisianian here. Don't know what the problem could be with your a/c, but fuse sounds logical. If not, they had one on ebay yesterday for a pretty fair price (around 50 dollars last I checked). I was considering it for my car b/c my display has just a little bit of bleeding, but its not really bad enough yet to fix. Still readable and works good.

When this happens, do you hear a slight click when you depress the brakes. I believe mine makes a slight click. That should be the relay/solenoid disengaging the shift lock. I know that solenoids and relays can go out, so maybe that's what's bad?

Unfortunately, I have no changer. It was removed before I bought the car. Decided to go in totally different direction. . .carputer for gps, mp3, xm radio, and dvd. The screen should be molded to look just like the factory head unit when its done (I'll trim it down or have someone else do it for me). Hopefully, It will look pretty much factory when done. I was hoping, though, to be able to use the factory amps to save some on the installation. Does anyone know why the factory amps can't be used with aftermarket devices? Is it b/c they don't have low level inputs or b/c they communicate somehow with the factory HU?

Yuck, Thanks!

Hi, I'm considering eliminating my factory head unit since I cannot hook up my ipod to it (tape deck out and don't want an fm modulator). Is there a way to hook up a low level input to the factory amps or are they speaker level inputs on the amp? Thanks!