Help Required Near Plymouth Please Mark Levinson Multimedia!

[volitans]

Bit of a cheeky one but hoping someone can assist. I have a 55 plate IS250 with the Mark Levinson mutimedia set up. For a couple of months now my unit is not producing any sound (except when it rains when it will occasionally spring to life for an hour or so!) After much research this has LED me to suspect there is a component problem in the amp (or headunit). Now before I get an anorack to take apart and look for a problem (Lexus will only replace) I need to work out which is at fault and check it's not a wiring problem, so I am wondering if any like owners would be happy for me to plug in my amp to see if it works on their unit? (It's easily accessed in the boot space and will take 2 mins) don't know what else to do without spending a fortune...

[volitans]

unplug yours, plug mine in... I will of course make it worth your while.. anyone?!

[F.A.]

Have you tried asking a Lexus dealer to do this for you. I.E. take it out of one of their cars?

[fjcfarrar]

Bit of a cheeky one but hoping someone can assist. I have a 55 plate IS250 with the Mark Levinson mutimedia set up. For a couple of months now my unit is not producing any sound (except when it rains when it will occasionally spring to life for an hour or so!) After much research this has led me to suspect there is a component problem in the amp (or headunit). Now before I get an anorack to take apart and look for a problem (Lexus will only replace) I need to work out which is at fault and check it's not a wiring problem, so I am wondering if any like owners would be happy for me to plug in my amp to see if it works on their unit? (It's easily accessed in the boot space and will take 2 mins) don't know what else to do without spending a fortune...

If no luck, try checking that power is reaching the amp with a multimeter. Then carefully checking ALL the relevant fuses are ok and seated properly. Chances are strong that if it sometimes works, the Amp & head unit are fine and either power or signal is getting lost in the wiring or connectors at each end; so finding, unplugging, inspecting for corrosion & replugging them may clear the problem. A bit time-consuming, but at least cheap, and a good chance effective.

[volitans]

I have already taken the car to Lexus who charged £100 to tell me either the amp or headunit was at fault (I knew that already!) At which point they explained a new amp would be £2000 or the head unit £5000! They then want another £100 for me to take the car back and swap the amp with a dummy from another car to test which is at fault. I personally feel they should have done this anyway at the time instead of giving me a "courtesy" hand car wash!!

So before I start the laborious task of finding the problem (I can't justify paying 2k for a new one) I just want to check if it is an internal fault with the amp by testing it in another car. Thanks fjc you give me some optimism! Still hoping a nice fellow owner may be able to help me with the first step : )

[Exdee]

In case you are unable to find someone locally with an is250 to help you out you may want to try the independent car audio shops. I bet they won't charge you an arm and a leg for the diagnosis.

[fjcfarrar]

I have already taken the car to Lexus who charged £100 to tell me either the amp or headunit was at fault (I knew that already!) At which point they explained a new amp would be £2000 or the head unit £5000! They then want another £100 for me to take the car back and swap the amp with a dummy from another car to test which is at fault. I personally feel they should have done this anyway at the time instead of giving me a "courtesy" hand car wash!!

So before I start the laborious task of finding the problem (I can't justify paying 2k for a new one) I just want to check if it is an internal fault with the amp by testing it in another car. Thanks fjc you give me some optimism! Still hoping a nice fellow owner may be able to help me with the first step : )

Would like to help but Camberley is a bit far and am not sure if my multimedia is identical or just similar. If your problem proves to be that amp all is not lost. Because it occasionally works, running it with the casing off and poking with a plastic prod (dead Bic Biro) may locate a dry joint or similar problem. The head unit is a bit more of a pain to get at to do something similar. And then there are breakers yards.........

[volitans]

Well...... I had the AMP removed by a tech geek who opened it up to find corrosion beyond repair. How it got "wet" is beyond me... So, after logging on with "1st choice breakers" I managed to find one for £252 delivered (result!!!) but... everything works accept the voice commmands, I have checked they are turned on, volume on max - nothing... Any suggestions!??!

[briatore]

Have you tried shouting? :D

It's very unusual. I wouldn't think voice commands have anything to do with the amp. It could be that only one speaker is used for voice commands and that one is not connected, maybe.... :) Or there could be a fuse that is blown, or the amp needs to be registered with the head unit in which case you'd need someone with a Toyota Intelligent Tester 2. I'm only guessing. I hope someone will offer a more educated answer. :)