zogan

I have a 1994 GS 300 as my day car. My stereo has no sound, no buzz, nothing is coming out of the speakers. At first it would come in and out, but now it deosn't play anything. It is the stock radio w/ a tape player. I checked to see if it was Antenna, but it shows a full signal. Everything on the head unit displays well, just no sound, can anyone help or let me know what I need to do????

LB Lex

maybe something is wrong with the amp. I don't know where it is or how to diagnose the amp, but someone here might know. Or maybe the wires from the back of the radio came unplugged.

Jmai22

the amp is located at the bottom of the right hand side of the trunk. like like 93lexo suggested check the plugs to make sure they are tight. if thats not that case. water must have gotton on the amp. that place is prone to water damage. thats the same way my cd-changer got damamged.

zogan

thanks,
I checked earlier to see if there were any loose wires, b/c I thought that was the problem to begin w/. They seemed tight to me, how much does it cost to replace one of those, or what is my best option??? I am going crazy w/ out an stereo

Jmai22

well you can drive your 350z. lol. actually like i said in your other post, you should check e-bay. i see them come up once in a while. your only other option would be just to upgrade your soundsystem

zogan

I wish I could drive it a lot. I didn't see any on ebay, I did a search on "completed" auctions as well. If I were to upgrade my sound system, could I by pass the amp all together and put in a different head unit? For instance, I saw one at Circut City for which was 45x4 watts. It was a bigger Head unit w/ a CD and tape, just a thought. I don't know much about audio or lexus, How much would that amp be from Lexus?? thanks again

zogan

one more thing, I don't know if this has anything to do w/ it, but my "check engine" light is on as well.

Jmai22

engine check light would probly be due to many other things but your radio. like low oil. timing belt. and a few other symtoms.

i'm sure one will turn up in the next month or so. or you can even ask a few members on here. i'm sure about 1/2 the members upgraded there sound system. i did, but i sold all my stock stuff.

If you were to upgrade your headunit, you would more than likely need to buy an amp to go with it. only because the stock speakers are i believe 2 ohms which means you would need a little more power to get decent sound out of them. also you would have to run new speakers wire and power cable everything to the trunk.

Pianoman72

Sorry to hear that the GS stereo died. How are you going to play cassettes now? LOL I just bought like 6 cassettes for mine. Only set me back $20.

I would listen to Jmai because he knows the 1st gen audio, and so do others here that I'm sure will have some comments. Basically if you get a used one on Ebay you will get ripped because they are rare, as you have found. SOme guy has SEALED nakamichi GS300 1st gen stereos and he is always trying to hack them for $500. However, we all know you need a different amp, different speakers, and wiring for that to work if you didn't have it to begin with. Plus, for that price, you could get a full system. WHatever. Finding an aftermarket unit you like and getting a kit made at a good audio shop is probably your best solution.

I think it would be sweet to have that factory nakamichi system, though. But a CD player is still a step up for some of us. If you can manage to find one of those (pioneer version) you can wire it up easily and then maybe add the CD later.

zogan

Prob. something I couldn't do at circut city is it????? JW, b/c I have a $500 Gift certificate there.

Jmai22

don't even take it to cc or best buys or any of those places. its just a rip off and asking for trouble. most of those guys only work on honda's and toyota. they rarely work on lexus. lexus electronics is very fragile. even something as simple as disconecting the negative on the battery before doing ANY electronic on the car is crucial. if not done you can and will ruin something on the car.

zogan

thanks guys for all of your help. Great Forum and site, if you hear or see any amps for sale, please let me know asap. I will post another post later seeing if anyone has an amp for sale. For now I will get quotes from the dealer, salvages, and Ebay.

2Lexos

actually i had the same problem with my 95 GS. my amp went out so that gave me a reason to get an entire new stereo system i have a changer if anyone is interested

007

What type of radio do you have? nevermind you said tape player so not Nak. right?

Did the check engine light come on before, after or during the problem with your radio? You may want to check that first. I know that if you car is having a problem with the electrical system the computer will cut off non-essential components so the radio will be the first to go since the factory amp draws a lot of power. This can also happen when the battery is about to die or losing a cell.

If the check-engine light is non-related it is probably the amp..moisture does seem to get into that area of the trunk and the spare tire region..i havent traced it yet but i am thinking it may be a clogged runnoff tube from the sunroof. IF it is the amp they cost a lot for the factory units.. and for the Nak. units you can only use a Nak amp.. the others are Pioneer right? I think you can add a aftermarket amp to them (I havent seen one) you will need to get a 5-Channel amp to power the sub and interior speakers... I suggest Kenwood at sites like ezorder.com or discountcarstereo.com and lastly crutchfield (The Kenwood doesnt need to be Excelon) Circuit City generally wont have the type of installers it will take to put this in your lexus since some rewiring will need to be done and if you change the head unit .. custom work will need to be done since there isnt a dash kit or wiring harness avail for the GS.. This will run cost on replacing the entire system pretty high. If you were here in Birmingham,Alabama i could do it for you.

You can take the amp out and get it repaired at a shop that repairs stereo equip. will cost about $200 or less. and will not be too reliable as remanufactured stereo equip. doesnt last long.

I have a Nakamichi CD Changer if anyone needs one?

zogan

thanks for the info, do you by any chance know the part number for the amp unit. I don't have the nak(?). I have just the tape player.