hoisted

I've got a 2003 LS430 Ultra Luxury with the Mark Levinson system and the head unit along with navigation. Lately my head unit is spontaneously turning itself off and on (sometimes rapidly in succession)...changing the radio channels...skipping and fast forwarding tracks when trying to play CDs...you get the idea. I'm wondering if anyone has had something similar, and, even though I'll sound like an idiot asking, I'm wondering if these functions are controlled within the head unit itself (with it needing repair or replacement) or if this is controlled by a separate brain.

If anyone has dealt with this I'd love to hear your thoughts!

largenoogs

ML head unit sends data signal to ML amplifier/controller for most every button press. That is my understanding. Same for the non-ML stereo. That said... one or the other could be the cause and you know you want an aftermarket CarPlay unit in there with a full sound quality stereo system anyway so go find yourself $4,000 and a trusted car audio shop.

Yamae

That's the typical symptom of the failing DC power supply circuit of the unit. Your problems are caused by the too much ripple voltage of it. It could be fixed just replacing electrolytic capacitors used there, if semiconductors are not damaged yet and you are comfortable doing the soldering work.

hoisted

Appreciate the info!

hoisted

Appreciate the reply. This is a stupid question, but when you say power supply of the unit, I'm assuming you mean with the radio and not related to the amp?

Yamae

Your symptoms are caused by the malfunction of the processor in the radio unit. Too much ripple voltage causes those problems. Engineers of Mark Levinson prefer to use electrolytic capacitors that contain QAS (quaternary ammonium salt) for the power supply circuits and actually those show good performance results but those are prone to fail causing the corrosion of the lead wire and the QAS leaks when aged. The amplifier side also has QAS capacitors too. If I were you, I'd replace all of them before the leak starts using Rubycon's ZLH series of electrolytic capacitors. Also Nippon Chemi-Con's / United Chemi-Con's KZH series are OK to replace.

hoisted

Awesome info. Much appreciated.