mesallem

hey guys i am trying to install a parrot ck3100 in my 03 ls430 with nav and mark lev, i have the quick connect harness for the parrot but i still have to tap into the speaker wires by bypassing the amp i believe, the problem is i cannot find the amplifier, or any speaker wire behind the radio, did anyone do this install that can help me? does anyone know where the amplifier is? does any one know what the wiring colors from the amp to the speaker? can anyone help?

Haylands

Hi,

Amplifier is in the boot, sorry trunk, remove the passenger side (LHD) trunk liner and its in the void between the outer fender and the inner strengthening panel, sort of in the same location as the gas filler on the other wing. When I fitted mine I got a custom cable for the parrot that just piggy backed with the stock wireing, much easier and done in a flash.... hardest part was getting the wireing to the front of the car, I ended up going out through the boot floor under the rear air con unit, there were spare clips under the plastic trims that coat the underside of the floor, then up into the engine bay and back into the dash to the centre console.... took a bit of fiddling but the kit works great now.

Good Luck

Pete

Kansas

I don't see it on the Parrot website but as of recently Parrot was selling an optional external speaker to use with their phone kits. I've also seen threads on the Howard phone forums about people using Nokia phone kit speakers with Parrot kits so that might be an option too. The newer Nokia car kit speakers are really tiny, easy to hide under the dash and sound great. I always use an external speaker when I install a phone kit. Often a phone kit can be installed without cutting or splicing a single wire on the car's wiring loom and it can be especially easy to do on a pre-2004 LS that was pre-wired for a dealer installed phone kit. Attached is a pic of the phone kit speaker I installed under the dash in my 2000 LS400 - it's an older Nokia speaker - the newer Nokia speakers are half that size.

mesallem

can i just remove the door panel and tap in to the speakers from there? if i can, can anyone tell me how to remove the door panel?

Kansas

Well, I guess you could remove the door panel to get to the speaker wires but the way a pro installer would do it is to intercept the speaker wires under the dash before they go to the door panel. What does the "Quick Connect" harness do for you? Is it a "mute lead" like the ones sold in Europe and the UK? Other than provide power and ground, a "mute lead" normally routes the phone kit's audio to a door speaker and either mutes the radio during a call or provides a mute wire to attach to a mute pin on the head unit or amplifier or the radio will mute during a call.

I will attach the 2003 LS430 audio wiring diagrams from ARRC. It will show you the wire color of the door speakers in case you can intercept the wire you want under the dash.

If you are going to use a door speaker for your phone kit, it is particularly important that your phone kit's mute wire is attached to the mute connection on the head unit, amplifier or the factory installed telephone prewire harness -- unless your "Quick Connect" harness takes care of the mute for you.

Using an external speaker is way easier -- especially if you are not a pro.

Kansas

Here is part 2 of the 2003 LS430 audio system wiring diagram from ARRC.

mesallem

ya but i think i need to intercept the wiring after the amp, i have used other quick connect harnesses and you dont have to do this, u just plug it in and its done, this lexus one u have to tap into the speakers directly because of the amp

Kansas

Well, I guess I don't get it. If your quick connect harness or some other mute connection from your phone kit to your radio system mutes your door speaker when a call is in progress, all you have to do is tap your phone kit's speaker wire into the wire for one of your door speakers. When your radio/audio system mutes when a phone call is in progress, your door speaker will be available for use with your phone kit if you tap into the door speaker wire under the dash just before the wire goes into your door.

By doing what I am suggesting you will be intercepting the speaker wires after the amp. If you want to tap into the driver side door speaker, locate the door speaker wire under the dash on the driver's side just before it goes into the door. I've given you the wire colors of the door speaker so I don't know what else you need.

I remember someone posting photos a few years back on how he did what you want to do on his GS. He was able to tap into a door speaker and make other connections in the passenger side kick panel but the wire locations in a GS is different than in an LS.

It can be difficult to locate the cable bundle that contains the door speaker wire that runs from under the dash into the front left door - the same cable bundle may contain the wires for the power window, seat memory and driver door mirror. Once you locate the cable bundle that contains the wires, you have to carefully cut through the insulation and separate the wires, locate the two wires you need and connect your Parrot kit's speaker wires to them. Some (OK, many) people find hacking into these wires to be a little scary so they use an external speaker.

mesallem

so just to read it right pink and violet is the front driver door and light green and blue is the right front door speaker right?

Kansas

Yes, that is the way I read it -- assuming of course that the wiring diagrams on the ARRC website are correct - which they usually are - and that I downloaded the correct ones.

The ARRC website can be viewed at many public libraries and sometimes from home by logging on to a public library's website. If you want further comfirmation, you could subscribe to online Lexus techinfo. Before I knew the wiring diagrams were online, I relied on my Lexus dealer to print out the portions of wiring diagrams I needed - I don't know if all Lexus dealers would do that.

I've never had a pre-2004 Lexus LS with a dealer installed Lexus phone but my understanding is that the dealer installed phone used the left rear door speaker - not the driver door speaker. Seems odd that the driver door speaker would not be used for the phone but I would think it would work fine.

You'll get this done eventually. I spent over 12 hours one Saturday installing the phone kit in my 2000 LS400 to get it exactly the way I wanted and probably 50 hours before that researching how to do it. I even used the factory phone antenna imprinted on the rear window of my LS and ran a separate coax to the trunk not realizing that there was a factory installed antenna coax cable under the center console.