seattleSC

You're welcome one, sorry it took so long, taking 20 credits this quarter and I dont get out till the post office closes But it seems like it got there pretty fast granted I sent it on saturday the 26th. Hehe, have fun with it and good luck.

seattle

nextlevelcoupe

iTrader: (1)

i tried to wait on another alternative to changing my radio....but couldn't..i too went for an alpine radio(waiting for the in dash hardrive now)...good luck!!!

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

A long time ago there was question as to whether or not there was an aftermarket lexus plug or radio for integrating into the sc300/400's and i said yes. someone else said no. i wasn't guessing... they were in my attic and i just found them. these are BOTH the male AND female aftermarket plugs for the sc models. I combined all three angle shots of them plus one of the shots is the aftermarket plug going into the factory radio. I'm certain a few on here might have found the plug by now, but when i was asked a few months back noone stepped up to say they had it as well so here's the pics just in case. The male plug is from an ECLIPSE radio.

When the radio is built, it will plug directly into the factory lexus wiring and IT WILL WORK with the FACTORY AMP. I am adding a voltage inverter to drop the headunit's power back down to milivolts for the proper drive into the factory amp.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

ok guys, take a look at this image and tell me what you think. if i am to use the stock faceplate it is going to take a brand new board and that'll take a few weeks to build. I was kicking this idea around below. is it worth considering using the factory faceplate on a spring loaded hinge so it flips out and retracts to reveal the alpine behind it? What's your input?

wmulli

Hmmm... Interesting idea. Might be worthwhile if you can make it look neat and tidy when it was retracted. If you can do that, the next step would be to motorize it so that it opened automatically when the car was started

Interesting project! I'm in the process of going the other way, installing new amps to run from the stock head unit (for now). I'd love to have Alpine internals with the stock faceplate

You mentioned building an inverter to drop the voltage. Could you build some kind of amp that stepped the voltage up to the 2-5 volt range? Right now I have to use a line converter (ugh), but a nice clean little amplifier would be great! (but not as good as an Alpine head unit )

Keep up the good work!

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

That would be a line driver. audiocontrol makes a great one. www.audiocontrol.com there are literally hundreds of them out there by major companies.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

BY THE WAY, the faceplate and all it's buttons would light up on the stock face, so you wouldn't be able to tell it's nonfunctional.

LexLS

one,
You're the MAN!!!!! Wow, this is no easy project and it looks like it's coming along nicely. This thing is going to be sweet, can't wait to see the final product.
Nice work so far
Earl!

lexusaudio

i was the one originally questioning the compatible plugs. the Internal amp radio being converted in this project is the exception for the plug being the same as toyota and eclipse. most LEXUS RADIOS AROUND 95% of FIRST GENERATION SC MODELS have external amps in the trunk. .YOUR PROJECT OF USING THE TOYOTA AND ECLIPSE 2 CONNCTOR RADIO HARNESS WOULD ONLY WORK ON RADIOS WITH NO EXTERNAL AMP. THE 15 PIN RADIO PLUG ON THE FACTORY AMP SC CARS HAS NO COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE 15 PIN RADIO HARNESS ADAPTERS. THOSE ARE TOYOTA ADAPTERS IN THE PICTURE.. even high end toyotas with an external amp use the 15 pin plug (92 to 99 models, it became a 20 pin radio plug in 2000). only the lowest end lexus models could use those adapters for a plug in and play instalation. onelasty did win the bet though. there is a sc radio with those toyota plugs. but its a very rare radio . after researching it the other that model that uses the 2 connector 10 pin and 6 pin each is the 95 to 97 lx450. the rest of lexus use the 1 plug 15 pin radio harness connecter which has no commercially available adapter to tap into the wire harness going to the amp. it would have to be done by splicing 1 wire at a time like every stereo shop has to do when there is no adapter available.

rossman66

I don't know if I'm just a needle in the haystack here, but I replaced my stock radio in my 93' SC300 and was able to "pulg and play" with a toyota wiring harness. I had a pioneer stock unit without a cd player, if that helps. I also think I have an amp in the trunk, but its not being used now. Just my 2 cents...

Mark

hemogoblin

which wiring harness will work for the SC ? is it just plug out and plug in? I plan on changing the HU this weekend in my 92 SC.

lexusaudio

if your radio has a large finned aluminum heat sinc on the back the 2 piece toyota adapters will work. if you dont have aluminum heat sinc on the back then there is no one piece 15 pin adapter that i have ever found. if someone knows where to buy the 15 pin adapter used from 1992 to 1999 on lexus radios with external amplifiers i need one for a 92 to 96 es300 indash 6 cd player project. the best buy part number for the 2 piece toyota adapter is 88-why2 but they have no 1 piece 15 pin adapter available. which means the 2 piece adapter with 10 pin and 6 pin connctor fits all toyotas and lexus from 1988 up which do not have a 4 or 5 channel amp in the trunk right quarterpanel. some lexus have a 1 channel subwoofer amp up by the subwoofer.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

there is a universal adapter that will plug in so you don't have to cut the wires, but you have to use a DMM and probe for the correct wires. Both scoche and metra make the universals but the scoche seems to be a better fit. The metra is easier to find. I wish i'd wrote those part numbers down in a log book before i quit installing. I figured i'd always remember them. Maybe a quick search on ebay for universal metra or universal scoche will bring something up, otherwise both companies have websites.

wmulli

For those who don't have a Multi-meter, here's two sites that have the stereo wiring diagrams. This first site has printable diagrams for both old and new models as seen from the back of the HU:

Car Audio Wire Diagrams

While this site has downloadable executables that also produce diagrams as seen from amp side of the harness:

TechnicalHelp4U

The one for SC is for older models, the one for Pioneer or NAK is for the newer models.

I can vouch for the Pioneer executable as being correct. I haven't tried the others.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Excellent post wmulli.

The radio is coming along slowly but surely. this is the hard part. i'll snap pics tommorrow of the unit in the chassis, now i'm working on the faceplate's integration to the alpines controls. i haven't ruled out the swinging faceplate, but i'm trying something first