Jayson

How does the **** come off, just yank away? Where can I find electronic contact cleaner?

Thanks again.

Carbon J

iTrader: (3)

I agree with all who said the contacts are dirty. Working in the electronics industry, I see this all the time. Dirt, dust, grit, sticky residue will cause a faulty volume control. Use contact cleaner, but be careful not to spray the plastic ****, because it will discolor the plastic. Also as stated before you can use denatured alcohol or sand,or use a very fine file on the contacts. Also you can use compressed air after cleaning and sanding, this will remove any moisture that has accumalated. Contact cleaner can be purchased at any electronic parts supplier and some auto parts stores.

AJ
93sc400

asfaltsurfer1

. NOOOOO..... You have to remove the whole trim around the radio/AC control, I think it is held on by clips. After you remove the trim then the volume control unit will be held to the trim with either screws or clips. Now disassemble the volume control unit VERY CAREFULLY and follow my steps. It seems you have limited knowledge of mechanics so ya might want to find a friend to do this. Good luck

Jayson

I'm no mechanic on autos, so I think I'll just take a gander at it and call it quits if I feel like I'm doing it wrong. What's the easiest way to get the trim ring off?

asfaltsurfer1

I don't have my car with me right now but I think you have to remove the shifter ****, remove the panel around the shifter, and there should be some 10mm bolts that secure the trim at the bottom. After removing the bolts the top section is held on by clips. To remove these clips you must pull the trim out toward you being careful not to break the trim. It's been about 2 years since I've had it out so my instructions may be a little off. Yeah you may want to have someone else help you...maybe a friend who installs stereos professionally and understands the basics around interior assembly. Good luck

HD-GS4

I just got off the phone with Carson Toyota. They said a brand new radio **** is only $6. I'm going to go this route, since I would spend more than that for the cleaning alcohol, as well as time spent if I removed the existing one and cleaned it. There is also no guarantee that cleaning it will fix it, or that it will become even more damaged.

asfaltsurfer1

I think that's for just the **** not the complete volume control assembly.

HD-GS4

Ya know what? I bet you're right. Carson Toyota has good prices, but their workers are mostly Spanish speaking, and tend to miss some of the details. If the **** doesn't come with the rest of the required parts, they should have said something. Besides, it seems like more times than not, you have to buy more than you need in order to get the small part that you actually DO need. A good example, would be that little plastic ring with "ON, ACC", etc. that goes around the ignition where you insert the key to start the vehicle. I called Carson to order this small plastic piece, and they said it would be $90. After further questioning them about the price, they said you have to buy the entire ignition mechanism in order to get the plastic piece. Too bad it has to be so damn difficult to order a blasted radio ****...

I take back everything I said in the last post. I guess I'll be cleaning the old one afterall...

strongsail

If you want to replace the volume control with a new one, you must remove the trim piece because the control is installed from the back.

If you want to clean the existing control with contact cleaner, you must take the trim off to remove the control so you don't damage the trim or the **** with the contact cleaner - it is basically aerosol drycleaning solvent, and it will ruin plastic finishes. You can buy it at Radio Shack.

So, bite the bullet. Do a search. Removal of the console trim has been covered a lot here. There are pictures of the procedure on the LSOC site.

Then try to clean the control with contact cleaner. Look for openings in the body of the control once you get it off the trim piece. Squirt the cleaner into the holes and spaces and then work the control min-to-max a bunch of times before the cleaner evaporates. Then hook it up to the radio before you put the trim back. If it sounds better, assemble. If it doesn't, get a new one, assemble, done.

CICHLID

Just pull the radio **** off and you can spray a little WD-40 or contact cleaner right in the shaft and the noise will go away.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

http://www.jkwebdesign.co.uk/lexuscl...treconsole.htm

hiyabrad

I just fully cleaned mine - Took the console out, removed the ****, opened the volume control up, ran some high-grit sandpaper over the brass contacts, used a Q-Tip to clean the electronic contact area, reassembled and presto, works perfectly!

oversteer

Just as another follow-up. I had exactly the same problem and did exactly the same thing - took apart the volume control, sanded the contacts, cleaned the contact surface and replaced and now it works perfect. I also have a spare volume control now that I can do the same service to and sell for cheap if anyone needs one and doesn't have the time.

Chet

Nomis

Old post, I know, but I just wanted to let anyone else having the same problem - this fix works! My volume control is working perfectly now! Many thanks to whoever listed the fix.

Shaffer

Not sure if is the same problem, but the radio **** on my LS400 was "loose" I pulled off the **** and what had actually happened was the nut behind that **** had came loose. Tightened it up and all was fine.