'00 LX470 radio & climate controls not working (2 Viewers)

[nwrig90]

First time poster but already indebted to the collective knowledge on here. Apologies in advance for the novel, but I'll try to give all the details of my current issue in hopes someone can assist.

I drive a 2000 LX470 with the stock Nakamichi. Was headed home from being out of town and had a slow crank on my LX470 yesterday morning but she started up. Then I noticed the radio flash out of the corner of my eye when backing out. Thought I was seeing things until it went out again and heard a pop. The radio, climate controls, (3) cigarette lighters (cigarette lighter, power next to it and in-console power) power mirrors and power folding mirror controls now aren't working. Truck performed well otherwise.

Had to stop for fuel, left the ignition in ACC position, as I always do when fueling up to see how long I have til full. Radio and cigarette were working again. When I cranked it, it started up but issue persisted.

Got home, had to do some other things but got back to it about 5 hours later. Had been reading the posts on here and ClubLexus kind of unanimously suggesting the 15A fuse for the cigarette lighter. Was going to test it with my multimeter, but it turns out my multimeter doesn't work so I then went to head to the parts store to buy a new one and it wouldn't crank. Jump started it fine. Expressed what brought me to the parts store and they tested my battery. Said I needed a new battery (not terribly far-fetched, was a Lexus battery manufactured in January 2018) but confirmed alternator and starter were good.

Bought a new battery from Costco, cranked up but issue persists. Still needed a multimeter, so went to a buddy's house and used his. Tested all fuses next to driver kick plate, all were good. Tested the fuses under the hood, all were good. Lastly, tested the accessory relay and both ignition relays. Noticed while checking all of this that the radio and clock were intermittently powering on when key was in ACC position, but would lose power to both when switched to ON and START positions.

No clue where to go from here. Again, on more than 1 occasion, I found other posts on this issue to be attributed to the CIG 15A fuse. It looks fine and was getting power according to the multimeter. Regardless, I have not changed any fuses however.

Obviously I want to get this issue sorted, but the main concern is getting the climate controls functioning again. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[excessive]

there are some known issues with early 100 series fuse blocks, i would start doing a bit of research on ih8mud to learn more about that.
Next try re-seating all fuses and relays in the fuse block

 

[nwrig90]

there are some known issues with early 100 series fuse blocks, i would start doing a bit of research on ih8mud to learn more about that.
Next try re-seating all fuses and relays in the fuse block

Thanks for the reply. I did do some preliminary research on this and was convinced it was a fuse or relay before posting. Confirming they were all good prompted me to post here, as it seems the issue is stemming from something else.

I made a post about it on my Instagram and some people in the LC community suggested it could be a bad ignition switch. I think mostly because I do get power to the radio, climate controls (although that panel still isn't backlit as it should be), power folding mirrors and mirror adjustment panels when the key is in ACC position.

I ordered this one (not OEM, so we'll see). I have no idea if this is actually going to solve my issue but am hopeful. One concern I have is my LX is equipped with an anti-theft system, so I'm not sure if it will require some kind of reprogramming and if I'd just be better off taking it in somewhere. And the overarching concern that it may cause more problems. Electrical issues can be so specific, I wish it were more cut and dry.

 

[nwrig90]

I'm back to report that I have solved this conundrum. It turns out it was the ignition switch. I bought a Duralast unit from AutoZone for $35. I had been seeing OEM units anywhere from $90-150 on eBay and the OEM part suppliers/dealerships. Time will tell if that decision bites me in the buttocks. Install wasn't difficult, but if you've ever been back in the dash, it is a rat's nest of wires and a little tricky to navigate. I referenced this video, even though it was addressing a different issue with the cylinder/barrel.

I would say, if you're having electrical gremlins and you can rule out water damage, test the fuses and relays first. Then there may be a chance it could be your ignition switch, especially if you're getting power to the components in different ignition positions. I imagine these issues aren't cut and dry and could affect a range of different things but don't rule out the ignition switch. I'm sharing this in hopes it could help someone else, as I didn't find any write ups on this (maybe it's just that it's obvious to a lot of youse guys but not me). Additionally, when I was looking through reviews on the different parts available, I was seeing a lot of other models mentioned like Corollas and Tundras, even some Hondas. Apparently it's a somewhat universal part. Only 2 LX470's mentioned in product reviews after a fair amount of digging, reinforcing my suspicions that it may be kind of a rare event. Hope this helps someone!

Cheers