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So I bought a radio from a popular auction site. Radio had a manufactured date of early ‘07 so assume was from ‘08 model. Get my radio out, hook up new radio to test, volume control on radio d/n work. CD, tape, steering wheel controls, everything else works. Read a few posts/threads hoping to find an easy fix. No such luck. Was hoping to add modern features via an updated radio.
My radio was good except cd changer shows all full and won’t eject or load. So ..... decided to take the plunge. Read earlier several posts about repairing cd changer - thought I’d give it a try.
Took apart top cover. Sure enough cds present from previous owner. One cd actually cracked- cause of lockup.
p.s. sorry I couldn't get picture rotated, can't figure it out.
Youtube video sure makes the three spring repair look easy - prolly not his first. I battled those little buggers for about two hours :-(
Lost two springs at one point - they like to go flying everywhere. Grrrr. Well after battling the springs, removing and replacing the changer plates multiple times to reattach the springs, I finally got it assembled. (Only stretched one of the springs slightly ;-) )
Put the head unit back together and much to my DELIGHT!!, cd player works now. Thinking I might just keep my radio and add the VAIS tech unit to get an AUX input, then call it good enough. Whew, one more project of my list.
Have had this car ('03 SC) for 2 months now and have several projects like this completed to get things up to snuff.
This Wednesday biting the big bullet and taking to dealer to have front shocks replaced, alignment, and airbag recall resolved.
Hoping to get it cleaned up good one more time before putting it to bed for the winter - so looking forward to Spring!!
Last edited by HardTimes; 11-19-17 at 08:12 PM.
Reason: iphone not cooperating - switched to laptop to add more
.....I'm not sure if I wired something wrong or not, but wasn't able to get the quarter window mod to work. I think I followed Shawns directions pretty accurately, but still no luck....NOW THE HEART ATTACK MOMENT....lol....after re-wiring the positive, the window mod modulator started to smoke !!!! I immediately disconnected it, but tested the top & it would not cycle through....I went into panic mode !!!! I couldn't think straight & feared the worse.Shawn & I talked over the phone, but couldn't come up with a solution.I told Shawn that I was going to leave it alone & clear my head, so I went to the bar...lol......Shawn suggested going to a radio shop to have it looked at, but I told him they wouldn't be able to do anything, but maybe a electrical shop.......but after a few Crown on the rocks, Shawn's radio shop thought came to my mind. I remembered all electrical circuits make a loop & when I unplugged the module, I possibly interrupted the loop.......so today when I got home from work, I disconnected all the power/ground wires to the module & plugged the harness back into it.......and like magic, the top cycled just like it was suppose to !!!! I am a happy camper.....but now I'm trying to decide if I should just leave this mod alone or order another module & go for it..
.....I'm not sure if I wired something wrong or not, but wasn't able to get the quarter window mod to work. I think I followed Shawns directions pretty accurately, but still no luck....NOW THE HEART ATTACK MOMENT....lol....after re-wiring the positive, the window mod modulator started to smoke !!!! I immediately disconnected it, but tested the top & it would not cycle through....I went into panic mode !!!! I couldn't think straight & feared the worse.Shawn & I talked over the phone, but couldn't come up with a solution.I told Shawn that I was going to leave it alone & clear my head, so I went to the bar...lol......Shawn suggested going to a radio shop to have it looked at, but I told him they wouldn't be able to do anything, but maybe a electrical shop.......but after a few Crown on the rocks, Shawn's radio shop thought came to my mind. I remembered all electrical circuits make a loop & when I unplugged the module, I possibly interrupted the loop.......so today when I got home from work, I disconnected all the power/ground wires to the module & plugged the harness back into it.......and like magic, the top cycled just like it was suppose to !!!! I am a happy camper.....but now I'm trying to decide if I should just leave this mod alone or order another module & go for it..
I am so glad it cleared! Whew! I can't understand what went wrong and I know you checked all the wiring and connections. I just hope it wasn't from that moment when the splice wires weren't cut on the first attempt. Since you have the wiring done, I would try again. Call in the warranty exchange on the one you bought and try again. I only say this bc you did all the leg work already. I'm sure they will honor the warranty or even their return or exchange policy on it. You're already over half way there. Also this time rather than going to the cig lighter, just hardware to the battery to test it. Keep us posted buddy! Fingers crossed.
I am so glad it cleared! Whew! I can't understand what went wrong and I know you checked all the wiring and connections. I just hope it wasn't from that moment when the splice wires weren't cut on the first attempt. Since you have the wiring done, I would try again. Call in the warranty exchange on the one you bought and try again. I only say this bc you did all the leg work already. I'm sure they will honor the warranty or even their return or exchange policy on it. You're already over half way there. Also this time rather than going to the cig lighter, just hardware to the battery to test it. Keep us posted buddy! Fingers crossed.
other option now that seat is out and wiring is done, once you get the unit, go to any stereo shop and have them check it and install it. You did all the hard work so shouldn't cost too much. Maybe even free if you sweeten the deal with a pizza. Just had my tpms removed for the cost of a Large Pepperoni from Little Cesars Grab and Go $5.
Finally pulled the trigger on a new set of winter rims. Got rid of the "busted" chrome rims I was using to save money after my TRD/Runflat (with nearly 30k miles) blowout a few years ago down in Shreveport, LA. These rims are FK Ethos through Velocity Wheels via Costco.com. 20 inch x 8.5 with a 40mm offset. I reused my all season tires. All parts cleared rear OEM brake calipers and the front Supra Twin Turbo Big Brake kit. Costco is running a great special. They were $179 each including tax with all hardware (hub centric rings, lugs, center caps, decals, etc). Total was $700 delivered. Only issue was that I had them mounted and balanced ($76 total) on a Sunday and Costco didn't have the TPMS valve kit so no TPMS in the tires at this moment. I bought the hardware direct from Lexus and now have to sweet talk Costco into putting them in. Total so far (hopefully nothing extra) is $776. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!
Finally pulled the trigger on a new set of winter rims. Got rid of the "busted" chrome rims I was using to save money after my TRD/Runflat (with nearly 30k miles) blowout a few years ago down in Shreveport, LA. These rims are FK Ethos through Velocity Wheels via Costco.com. 20 inch x 8.5 with a 40mm offset. I reused my all season tires. All parts cleared rear OEM brake calipers and the front Supra Twin Turbo Big Brake kit. Costco is running a great special. They were $179 each including tax with all hardware (hub centric rings, lugs, center caps, decals, etc). Total was $700 delivered. Only issue was that I had them mounted and balanced ($76 total) on a Sunday and Costco didn't have the TPMS valve kit so no TPMS in the tires at this moment. I bought the hardware direct from Lexus and now have to sweet talk Costco into putting them in. Total so far (hopefully nothing extra) is $776. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!
PS. 30mm Akata Bolt On Rear Spacers Soon!
.....looking good.....but it looks so different without your summer wheels. The spacers will definitely help with the stance also
other option now that seat is out and wiring is done, once you get the unit, go to any stereo shop and have them check it and install it. You did all the hard work so shouldn't cost too much. Maybe even free if you sweeten the deal with a pizza. Just had my tpms removed for the cost of a Large Pepperoni from Little Cesars Grab and Go $5.
I think I'm going to give it another try, but I'm just going to buy a new module & use the new wiring also. I don't want to take a chance that I may have burnt a wire in the old harness. Also when I do this, I'll be giving you a call...lol...all the wiring is laid out, I just want to make sure on a couple of things that you mentioned , during your install....thanx for the help buddy
Glad the damage was limited tex. I hope the new module and wiring will do the trick. I'd offer to help but I've never worked on this before, so I might would be more of a distraction than a help.
10-16-17, 03:23 PM
Repaired cd changer
,:eek2, 
, & 
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