LX470 Stereo Upgrade with Nakamichi (1 Viewer)

[sk8salomon]

Thought I would post up my recent upgrade to a Pioneer FXH-720-BT in my '99 LX470. The factory radio with Nakamichi was giving the famous Err3 code, cd's not ejecting and/or playing. Tried removing fuse & holding down eject button for 27 minutes but no luck. Went thru a ton of old threads here but this one was to me the most important!
http://tlcfaq.com/main/2012/05/land-cruiser-lx-470-stereo-wiring/
As of today (12/20/14) there is not a harness available to adapt the 22-pin Nakamichi radio plug. YES, YOU HAVE TO SPLICE INTO THE FACTORY HARNESS!!!
Overall, the install went well, start to finish 2 hours. I spent the extra $ and bought the special Lexus trim panel by the link below:
http://www.beatsonicusa.com/stereo/.../landcruiser-lx-470/beat-sonic-sla-100fb.html
I bought the Pioneer deck because I wanted Bluetooth & iPhone compatibility for things like Pandora, don't have a need for DVD or Navigation. The deck is super user friendly, works better than my Ford Fusion with Sinc technology IMO. Bought off Amazon for $125 shipped to my door!

 

[sk8salomon]

First step is carefully remove the outer trim for radio and temp controls. Get a medium width flat screwdriver and run some electrical tape around it to protect the dash from scratches. Work top to bottom.
Next step is remove the 4 screws that hold the factory deck in place. Unplug the 22-pin harness and 2 antennae connectors. Just FYI, you will have one large and one small antennae plug. The large one is for the motorized one mounted in your passenger fender. The smaller one is for the rear passenger quarter glass. I chose to eliminate the smaller one and just run the main antennae wire. Will monitor for now, if i see an issue with reception i will get a Y-connector and join both into one.

 

[sk8salomon]

Depending on what you want to do, you will have to attach mounting brackets to your new deck. Option 1 is to re-use the factory brackets. Since i purchesed the aftermarket trim panel from BeatSonic, that kit also comes with an additional set of brackets so i used them. Position identical to the factory radio, width from face of bracket to deck and top of deck down to bracket. Your new deck will have a variety of screw holes to choose from. Get it right the first time, otherwise once you mount the deck you will soon know if flush or not.

 

[sk8salomon]

The previous owner (PO) i bought the truck from said he had the deck replaced years ago. New deck worked for a few years, then crapped out again...just like history has shown
So, IMO don't spend the time to repair the POS Nakamichi deck!!! For $125, you'd be stupid not to do this upgrade and get new technology!

 

[sk8salomon]

So, now the nitty gritty. Don't be afraid to cut into the factory wiring. Yes, not my favorite thing to do but don't be afraid young skywalker!
This is your best friend! Items in yellow are all you need to worry about.

 

[sk8salomon]

So what i chose to do was cut the factory wiring about 1" away from the plug. Just in case I ever had to re-use the plug, I'd have something left to work with. Start with the main, most important wires (1,4,5,10,11,14) You can share 10&14 which is your keyed power ON switch (usually red wire on new deck harness)
After that, then concentrate on your speaker wires. I made 2 bundles separating each as I did above.

 

[sk8salomon]

Finished product. Overall, I'm extremely happy so far. I read that some may experience interference so I bought the recommended ground loop isolator from Radio Shack for $15. Didn't hear any interference so i'm returning it
The Pioneer deck is amazing. As soon as I hooked up the USB cable and iPhone, i only had to recognize the phone via one button push. Calls are made easily via the Phone button on the deck. Also, the deck keeps your phone contacts so making calls is super easy. One button push and you can select missed calls, recent calls, etc. This deck has about 8 different color schemes too so you can personalize the buttons vs outer surround or make all one color. Pandora works great and overall sound quality is much better than the Nakamichi. I used the external mic cable and mounted just near the console.

Only one real thing is was disappointed with was the trim panel. It includes 2 super thin pcs of adhesive for sticking to the inside of the dash panel. The adhesive strips were junk IMO, didn't hold up so first attempt at installation the panel fell thru the back of the radio...DOH. I used a few small spots of super glue on the inside to hold to the inner flange of the dash and this fixed. You can't see it so not a big deal.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

Really nice write up Sean. I want to replace my Eclipse with something that has Garmin, and an audio jack in the front. The eclipse is decent but it does not support Asian maps for nav and has so little memory I can't upgrade the maps anyway. In the meantime, there is some problem with the FM antenna.

Was looking at some Kenwoods.

Question- is one of the factory antennas FM and one AM do you know?

Edit: that little trim piece was $120???? Jeez!

 

[sk8salomon]

Thanks Chris. Yeah, $120 for a piece of plastic trim was a little pricey. I just wanted a nice look to the install. As for the 2 antennas, from what I read they are both am/fm. The factory radio has a built in module that pics the best reception so AFAIK they are equal. Radio just switches back & forth continually between the 2.
Forgot to add a couple pics of the extra goodies. This is where I mounted the mic. I know, not very close to your head but I tried out with a few calls & people seem to hear me fine. Pioneer also includes a remote!

 

[tabraha]

I have no idea where they found it but several years ago (5 or so) my stereo guy bought a harness when I had my Clarion Nav unit installed. Maybe they don't make them anymore? I just had the new AppRadio4 land at my office a couple weeks ago and am hoping to get it installed in the other 100. Maybe it won't be an issue as it never had a Nak but rather the old dime-a-dozen Toyota unit.

Good looking install!

 

[sk8salomon]

I have no idea where they found it but several years ago (5 or so) my stereo guy bought a harness when I had my Clarion Nav unit installed. Maybe they don't make them anymore? I just had the new AppRadio4 land at my office a couple weeks ago and am hoping to get it installed in the other 100. Maybe it won't be an issue as it never had a Nak but rather the old dime-a-dozen Toyota unit.

Good looking install!

Thanks!
Interesting, so you did have a 6disc Nakamichi deck when your stereo guy upgraded 5 years ago? For a typical Toyota 100 deck, it has a 20 pin connector and yes a harness is available. Only the 22pin Nak deck is the one not avail IMO.

 

[SmoothLC]

Nice install!

I put a double din replacement unit in and put the mic up by the rear view mirror/headliner.

However, on the highway or interstate people say there's a bunch of noise. So you probably have a better location for it.

 

[tabraha]

Thanks!
Interesting, so you did have a 6disc Nakamichi deck when your stereo guy upgraded 5 years ago? For a typical Toyota 100 deck, it has a 20 pin connector and yes a harness is available. Only the 22pin Nak deck is the one not avail IMO.

Yep the Clarion is in my LX. Unfortunately the shop is out of business so I don't have them around to ask.

 

[99RichieLx470]

looks great !

I have a questions regarding the power antenna. Are you still able to use the integrated buttons below the unit for the antenna or do you go up and down with the h/u turning on and off?

Do you know if your factory subwooofer is working? it looks like you are running the deck through the stock amplifier with no trouble. This is what I hope to do.

 

[JC303]

This is awesome - thanks for the write-up.

 

[sk8salomon]

looks great !

I have a questions regarding the power antenna. Are you still able to use the integrated buttons below the unit for the antenna or do you go up and down with the h/u turning on and off?

Do you know if your factory subwooofer is working? it looks like you are running the deck through the stock amplifier with no trouble. This is what I hope to do.

the power antennae still works as normal, also giving manual control with up/down buttons. Just make sure to power pin5 like the drawing shows above. sound is great, much better than factory Crapanichi imo.

 

[sk8salomon]

one more thing, i saw this on ebay. if you don't want to spend the $120 for beatsonic's trim, here's one from China, $30. Take your chances.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Din-Radio...Parts_Accessories&hash=item43cc9f0554&vxp=mtr

 

[99RichieLx470]

Thanks for your help. I just finished my install.
I ran the ebay double din knock off version from the ebay seller "spiral installations" it was 40$. The fitment was ok and sounds a lot like you described with the beatsonic needing a touch of superglue. After that was done it looked very clean. Well worth its cost.
I had to run RCA to speaker wire kick downs with my install. I installed an avic 4000nex carplay and when SIRI came on she sounded terrible and was overpowering even on low volume. This when I was running through speaker the wire hookups on the back of tIhe radio. I could hear a little feedback as well. Its funny because the radio sounded great, but in carplay SIRI and using apple maps it was terrible.
I was able to retain my factory subwoofer using the RCAS because the 4v preamp was closer to the actual output of the original NAKAMICHI.
For me running through pioneers original internal amp disabled the subwoofer.

I would recommend using the RCA to speaker wire method if you have front and rear speaker outputs. looks something like this.

 

[PabloCruise]

Thanks!
Interesting, so you did have a 6disc Nakamichi deck when your stereo guy upgraded 5 years ago? For a typical Toyota 100 deck, it has a 20 pin connector and yes a harness is available. Only the 22pin Nak deck is the one not avail IMO.

Thanks for this write-up with pictures. I have the same set-up: '99 LX w/ Nakamichi. As of today, Crutchfield had no harness for us. Guess we are on our own, so thanks for the wiring diagrams.

 

[Gold Leader]

This post is fantastic! Does the new head unit drive the factory sub too? My Nakamitchi just stop working too (loaded with 6 cd's..bummer)