cbrf23

So this is new - I hopped in the lexus the other day, and the radio is not working properly.
The radio tunes (it seeks stations, and shows they are playing) but no sound comes out.
This is true for both FM and AM tuners.
I tried the mute button - there is no sound regardless of mute engagement.

However, the CD player (changer) works just fine! I can play any of the 5 discs in it and can adjust bass/treble/etc. and it is plenty loud (too loud if you ask me!).

I read a few other threads, but on all of the other threads I read there was no sounds no matter what the source.

Anyone have any suggestions where to start? Pull the dash apart and check wiring behind the screen? Somewhere else?


--------SOLVED----------------
New radio fixed it. Everything is working now.
Not sure how or why a radio would just suddenly go bad, but there it is.

cbrf23

Bump.
I pulled the hatch panels off and checked the antenna connection. No problem there - but that was as expected since like I said it does seek stations just fine.

Not sure where to look next. Any help greatly appreciated!!

cbrf23

Also, I noticed she I'm on radio and I turn it up to full volume I hear a very quiet high pitch wine. Not sure if that means anything.

matts6887

This sounds to me like you could have a tuner issue w a bad tuner. Might consider looking on ebay for a replacement tuner and swap it out and see what happens.

cbrf23

Matt, by "tuner" do you mean the radio unit? Or is there another component somewhere I'm missing.

The part circled in red:



I can't think of any other components that would cause this. Everything I've read about bad amps indicate that the radio would not output sound in CD player mode either, and also none of the audio adjustments (bass, treble, fade, etc) would not work.
My car works fine in CD mode - and all the adjustments work in all modes.

I pulled the rear trim off to check the antenna connnection - all good there.
It looks like the (Black) antenna wire runs right up the D pillar and around the DLO down the A pillar and comes in behind the glovebox right into the radio. The wiring diagram appears to confirm this. I feel like it has to be the radio unit but not sure how to test. If i find one cheap enough on ebay I'll just buy it and try it I guess.

cbrf23

Well, I ordered a new radio on ebay so hopefully that works!

rudyH

Have you tried AM and FM? on AM if you can hear static when tuning to any frequency, you probably have an antenna problem. Even with no antenna, if you use seek, there MIGHT be a station strong enough to come in even with an antenna problem. Takes just 2 minutes to try so why not?

cbrf23

Yes, as I mentioned in my original post AM and FM both do not work - there is no sound in either mode, no static or anything. All I get is an almost imperceptible high pitch noise if I turn the volume up all the way in either mode.

rudyH

Sorry. Sometimes I glaze over when reading posts. Short attention span. Well, I hope the new unit works. I'm sure the old unit can be repaired and possibly be sold or a spare. Good luck with it all.

matts6887

Yes; that was a good idea i would say. When i said it was possibly a bad tuner; that is what i meant is that white unit sticking out when you remove the front panel where the radio is; the part sticking out on the backside is the radio tuner. Yours probably suddenly developed a bad circuit(s) of some sort or another causing it to stop working properly.

cbrf23

New radio fixed it. Everything is working now.
Not sure how or why a radio would just suddenly go bad, but there it is.

matts6887

Well; just like with almost any other components of vehicles of this age; over time things can just go bad. Especially if its electronics related and or other electronic sensors or components related. On my first rx300 that was a 2000(before it sadly got totaled this past december) I had a radio issue as well where the sound kept cutting in and out where it sounded like it was going back and forth between mono and stereo sound for no apparent reason. I tried getting a inline amp for it thinking that would have solved it but nope. That did nothing so i was gonna just replace the radio tuner but before i could do that i was in accident and they totaled out that 300. Fortunately for me the one i have now everything seems to work perfectly on it.so far