Beamish

Hi All,
My car is a 2006 IS250 with the Mark Levinson sound system. I have owned the car since last November and it has been trouble free. However, from just last week, when I try to play a CD I have absolutely no sound. The player selects and appears to be playing the CD I have chosen but does not respond to the volume controls. I have tried a DVD with same result, I get picture but no sound.
Today I have replaced the CD player unit with a used unit but this has made no difference - I'm back exactly where I was!! I have checked ( and double checked ) all connections to the head unit and the amp in the trunk but all appear to be fine. The fibre-optic cable looks to be OK with no sharp bends visible.
Can anybody throw any light on this? I am considering a used ML amp but as these are not cheap I am worried about throwing good money after bad. I have searched the internet for a solution to this problem but have only come across instances where loose connections were causing similar problems.
Any help would be much appreciated.

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

Moisture gets in the amp area. I would take it out and use a blow dryer to see if it clears anything up. You can search the topic under "IS250 No Sound" tons of threads on this topic.

GL

Beamish

Thanks for that Mike. I am aware of the moisture/dampness issue but mine is bone dry. I did remove the amp and used moderate heat on it just in case but to no avail.
Perhaps I didn't make it clear but the volume works perfectly for the radio, the only issue I have is with playing discs. I do not use the "aux" input so I am uncertain as to whether this works or not.

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

I'm not very familiar with the wiring diagram. Can you unhook the wiring at the CD unit, and trace the wires to match at the Amp? I would check continuity at both ends. If all contacts check out. For all speakers to just not work it sounds like a short to ground probably.

Also just found this.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-no-sound.html

Beamish

Thanks again Mike.
I had come across that thread and have tried gently hitting the amp with a rubber mallet but again to no avail. I have ruled out the CD head unit as both my original and the replacement I fitted perform exactly the same.
I am coming to the conclusion that a replacement amp may be worth a try. I can obtain one at a particularly good price from the guy who sold me the CD unit so I thing I will go that route. If that does'nt solve it I will live with it and try connecting my phone to the aux socket.
It will take a week to get the amp as I am in Ireland and the seller is in the UK but I will update the thread as things progress.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

I don't understand how if you have perfectly fine and functional audio through the "radio" audio setting how a replacement amp would fix the cd/dvd audio problem. I'd still say you've got a cd/dvd player issue or wiring harness issue. Who's to say the replacement drive wasn't bad too?

Beamish

Apparently the output from the radio to the amp is carried over normal wiring while the output from the CD player is carried over a fibre-optic cable which has it's own input port in the amp.
If the fibre-optic cable is damaged (unlikely in my view) or the amp develops a fault where the cable inputs it's signal you will get the fault which I now have.
It's a gamble I know, but I'm willing to give it a try as the amps are known to develop faults.

whitebeast

iTrader: (5)

Do me a favor, please disconnect the fiber opt cable from both DVD AND AMP to see if you got sound. My customer car has same problem and she end up using normal wiring instead of fiber-optic

Beamish

I had checked this with the fiber-optic cable disconnected from the amp I still have sounds from the radio. I have not tried it with the cable disconnected at both ends - ( I'm not keen to start pulling the dashboard apart again ) - but
logically it should'nt make any difference whether it is disconnected at both ends or just one.

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

I'd guess that even if the ends of the fiber cable or output from CD or Input to amp were dirty it would produce something. Having replaced the player with no change I'd open the Amp up and thoroughly inspect that input and the electrical path on the circuit board to the pre-amp.

If you can power it with the cover off a quick test to find failed/failing components is to use an alcohol soaked q-tip and dab the body of the components. Ones that are cool the alcohol stays. Ones that are hot it flashes off evaporating instantly. In general tiny parts are not hot.

If you do any cleaning of the fiber cable or the optical transducer, use methanol as it evaporates leaving nothing behind.

Beamish

Thank you for the advice re cleaning of the fiber cable etc - I have just learned something new. I had used contact cleaner on the "normal" wire connections but had left the fiber ones untouched.
As I have bought a replacement amp I will wait and see if that solves my problem - all fingers crossed!!!
The advice re testing the amp is appreciated and may prove useful in the future.
Thanks again for your input.

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

You might play a CD and pull the fiber cable from the amp (in a dark area) and see if it glows red. Most of the optical transducers of that era produce visible light. That said if the cable is compromised or not connected at the player, there will be no light at the cables end at the amp.

Beamish

I had tried checking the fiber cable at the amp for any visible light while a CD was playing but could not see anything obvious. This was one of the reasons that prompted me to try a replacement CD player unit.
However, I tried this test during daylight and perhaps I may have missed something. I do accept that there is a possibility that the cable may have been damaged though how this could have happened during my ownership is beyond me.
From what you have said, is there a possibility that the car may be fitted with an optical transducer that would not necessarily produce a light?
If I can I will repeat the test in darkness tonight.

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

In the darkness, try shining the cable from the player on a white business card while CD player is playing.

That said my modern day 55" TV glows red, so maybe technology has not made a leap here....

Beamish

OK. Tried that test in darkness - no joy I'm afraid. There is absolutely no sign of light.

From the thread linked at post No.4 above I see that a poster refers to the cable in question as a "S/PDIF Digital Cable".
According to Wikipedia a S/PDIF cable can be an optical cable ( as we have assumed ) or a coaxial cable:

TOSLINK connector (JIS F05)S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface)[1]
[2] is a type of digital audio interconnect used in consumer audio equipment to output audio over reasonably short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a coaxial cable with RCA connectors or a fibre optic cable with TOSLINK connectors. S/PDIF interconnects components in home theatres and other digital high-fidelity systems.

I'm wondering if the cable in the ML system is indeed a coaxial type. I'm leaning in this direction as I remember while looking for any sign of a glowing light yesterday in daylight that I said to myself that the connector looked similar to a female coaxial connection. If this is the case it would explain the absence of any light.
In any event I will find out if the amp is the problem when the replacement arrives next week.