2004 Hdj 100

[D.D.]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum. I was lurking for a while to get a feel and decided to join because I feel that this is a fun place to be.

I live in the Carribbean (Dominican Republic). About six monthes ago I purchased a new 2004 fully loaded European version LC 100 with a diesel engine. I really enjoy driving my machine. It's a wonderful toy and fun to drive. I have already put 30,000 km on it.

I have encountered an irritating problem with my LC however. It seems like there is a loose connection to the navigation screen where AC, audio, telephone, etc controls are operated on the screen (touch sensetive). The system comes on whenever it is hot ouside parked under the sun and when I turn on the ignition. Then, if I hit a pot hole it goes off. if I whack on the dashbord it comes back on. As the interior cools down it goes off. then afterwards no amount of whacking makes it come back on again. In the morning or on cooler days it doesn't come on at all. I am thinking to take it apart and check to see if there is a bad connection somewhere behind the screen. I have already figured out how to take the unit out of the dashboard, thanks to a post on this board.

I am nervous about unpluging the radio however. I have heard, on some vehicles, if a radio is somehow disconnected it would not work when you plug it back on again. I guess it is supposed to be some type of a security measure (be mean to radio thieves?). Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone is familiar with a safe removal of the unit.

Since the version I own is not offered in the Dominican Republic, the dealer is not too motivated to work on any part of the car that is not offerd by him. My LC was imported by an individual importer. That means I must somehow figure out to solve the problem.

Any thoughts?

 

[NMuzj100]

The dealer is probably not motivated to work on any problem that will probably not require any expensive parts to fix. A common enough problem with all dealers. They are really only interested in work that will cost you a lot of money and make them a lot of money. He may also know that his techs are "Remove and Replace" only and are not really capable of troubleshooting without a step-by-step guide telling them exactly what to do.

This sounds to me like a simple electrical connection problem. Probably in the power feed to the unit. One way to troubleshoot would be to get the dash open and trace wiring harnesses from the control panel to the power source checking connections (pay attention to grounds also).

• Start from the cold condition without the unit working at all.
• Visually check each connection.
• Vibration check each connection by shaking the part up and down.
• If visual inspection and vibration testing haven't found the problem then I would move to heating each connection point with something like a hair dryer since the problem seems temperature dependent.

I think most anti-theft devices like you are worried about have a connection between the radio and the ECU that checks a code before the radio will operate. It does not just shut down when it loses power. I haven't heard of this kind of protection on any toyotas and know that several people on this board have replaced defective head units with replacement toyota head units without issue. I don't think you probably need to worry about an anti-theft system. The unit sounds like it is losing power several times a day already.

A FSM for your specific model may be helpful. I use my manuals a lot and I bring mine to my mechanic when I am having work done. He appreciates having the best information and I get my work done the right way and maybe even quicker than if he had to guess on an issue. No mechanic can know all the details of all cars.

 

[D.D.]

Thanks NM. I appreciate your help. What you have suggested was exactly what I was going to do when I take it apart right down to the hair dryer. After your comment on anti-theft, I feel safer to unplug the unit if I have to, for further inspection.

I have been looking to buy a FSM for my model. I haven't been succesful yet. Any idea where I can purchase one? Has EPC (electronic parts catalouge) been discussed on this board? I guess I wil have to do a search on that.

Thanks a million MN

 

[Jim_Chow]

On my honda, the factory stereo requires entering a code (that you, the owner, has) whenever the power is cut to the unit. Otherwise, it remains inoperable. Maybe that's what you're thinking about?