TL;DR / BLUF: Fans to replace the active cooling present in P/N 86280-0W780 are: Y.S. Tech YW04510012LM, which is a 45MM x 10MM 12V 0.14A fan (set of two) with standard three-wire config. I'll put a more in-depth DIY and pics if anyone wants. Total fix: ~$40 and maybe 1hr of time. One banana job.
Hello All,
I'm a pretty young/new member of the LC/LX cult and dipping my toes into the contribution end of what makes this forum great. You guys have helped on several of my projects for my former 2006 LC (RIP....freeway accident, which I was not at fault) and I'm eager to find my small ways to help out the 200-series group, now.
I thought I'd put this out there to memorialize a quick fix I'm in the middle of performing for my "new-to-me" LX570. The only searches I've found for defects in the Mark Levinson Amplifier resulted in replacement or repair of the unit, which was quite costly. Obviously the reasons for that can warrant a pricey refurbish, but my issues were solely related to the fans and the amp's performance was otherwise as-expected.
I bought my 2011 LX570 with ~125k miles recently, after some time in a 100-series LC. The 2011 has been great in my two weeks of ownership; only issue was a minor, consistent noise in the cabin. Sounding like some fan or small motor, I isolated the noise by first cycling through all HVAC options, AHC , braking, chill box, DVD drive, etc to no avail. This was not A/C-related, not speed dependent, did not change in tone when driving, and I've watched too many clips already of random chirps, screeches, or humming, so now I know what to watch out for with all of the above! If I were to summarize the sound I heard (for others who think they may have this), it was a cyclical "whirring" or "humming" type sound that I have been familiar through building a few PCs over the past few years. If you have tried troubleshooting all of the above components, maybe this is the fix for you.
In any event, recalling the Mark Levinson amp resides under the Driver's seat and seeing a few postings about "popping," "no sound," or other failures of the component, I figured I'd check the amp. Didn't have those issues, but it was another component to check -- ran my hand under the car with ignition on and sure enough, vibration was consistent with the audible hum over the section housing the amp. You can (gently) maneuver your hand over the fans from the rear of the seat when you slide your seat as far forward as possible. They are facing the center console and have a cutout in the carpet for intake and I was able to lightly press down and stop one of the fans; noise immediately subsided. Score. Rather than sending in the amp to a repair facility ($350-700+ from my research), I figured I'd try to take the amp out and have a look before bringing out the checkbook.
I was able to remove the amp after unbolting the seat, unplugging the amp's wires through the access area in the carpet, and (begrudgingly) making small cuts in the carpet to easily unbolt the amp at its three secure points and pull out through the flap I had just created. Not sure if there's a set of extensions, swivel joints, or other to combination of socket hardware to reach two of the three bolts without some tugging on the carpet as-is. Maybe I just didn't have the patience or small enough hands, but I struggled to find a way to access, free up, and remove the amp without cuts and simply assumed the amp is installed before carpet (unlike my former 100-series).
Using a PC repair kit and its T10 bit, I easily removed the fan's intake module on the side of the amplifier and was pleasantly surprised to see a simple fan header (like a PC's motherboard) vice any soldering for these fans. The interior of the amp was dusty so I took some compressed air to it. I cleared out some human hair that had been wrapped around the fan's axes. Wasn't like it was a rat's nest down there, but the debris may have added to the shorting of the fan bearings' life spans. It's clear that the fan intakes facing the console are susceptible to whatever falls between the console and seat. I found all sorts of items (set of random keys, a standard size sharpie, a full size plastic knife (utensil), and some random nuts/snacks under amp after removed.
Anyway, the P/Ns for the fans are from Y. S. Tech and the model number is YW4510012LM. The tech specs for this are 45MM x 10MM and operate at 12V DC 0.14A. The amplifier has a sleeve to keep the pair's wires together, which doesn't seem to be a necessity (save for reduction in any airflow interference). From a space perspective, there is no room for a larger diameter, or deeper fan -- the casing will only accommodate 45MM and the thickness of the fans sits flush with the fan case's depth. A thicker fan may prevent mounting of the fan housing and the rest of the amplifier's body.
I investigated the model number to understand the differences in their other 45MM offerings and found this PDF on YS Tech's model numbering. I was able to find an exact replacement for this pair on ebay, but in case others have this same issue, I wanted to make sure others were aware of the differences in "....12LM" versus "...12BH" models. The L-series bearing looks to be superior to B-series or S-series, from a technology standpoint. YS Tech has a blog post about the Sentitco bearings if you feel the need for due diligence and/or want to "drink the Kool Aid" with its superior design to normal sleeve bearings. The M-coding implies a "medium" speed which I don't know the RPM/CFM for, but it's worth observing that H-coded may increase dB of the fans underneath the seat, for what seems to be unnecessarily added CFM. The other variants are much cheaper (more what I'd expect for such a small fan), but I was comfortable putting the exact replacement in for another 9+ years. I'll let someone else explore other combinations of bearings, speed, or manufacturers...for science!
I cannot confirm that these particular models are still in production and they don't really have a storefront for low-quantity buys. I also cannot confirm whether there any alternate 45MM x 10MM 12V fan suppliers will work in this spot, but will gladly do my best to take pics or provide measurements while the amp is out of the truck. I paid ~$36 for the assembled pair in new condition and will follow-up when the replacement is complete. Thought to post now in case anyone had any other questions.
Hope this helps, and maybe it's a lot to post for a ~$40 fix, but I hope it may potentially save a Mudder $360-700+ on sending in their amp as a flat-fee refurbish when it's simply the fan that must be replaced.
-Eric
Hello All,
I'm a pretty young/new member of the LC/LX cult and dipping my toes into the contribution end of what makes this forum great. You guys have helped on several of my projects for my former 2006 LC (RIP....freeway accident, which I was not at fault) and I'm eager to find my small ways to help out the 200-series group, now.
I thought I'd put this out there to memorialize a quick fix I'm in the middle of performing for my "new-to-me" LX570. The only searches I've found for defects in the Mark Levinson Amplifier resulted in replacement or repair of the unit, which was quite costly. Obviously the reasons for that can warrant a pricey refurbish, but my issues were solely related to the fans and the amp's performance was otherwise as-expected.
I bought my 2011 LX570 with ~125k miles recently, after some time in a 100-series LC. The 2011 has been great in my two weeks of ownership; only issue was a minor, consistent noise in the cabin. Sounding like some fan or small motor, I isolated the noise by first cycling through all HVAC options, AHC , braking, chill box, DVD drive, etc to no avail. This was not A/C-related, not speed dependent, did not change in tone when driving, and I've watched too many clips already of random chirps, screeches, or humming, so now I know what to watch out for with all of the above! If I were to summarize the sound I heard (for others who think they may have this), it was a cyclical "whirring" or "humming" type sound that I have been familiar through building a few PCs over the past few years. If you have tried troubleshooting all of the above components, maybe this is the fix for you.
In any event, recalling the Mark Levinson amp resides under the Driver's seat and seeing a few postings about "popping," "no sound," or other failures of the component, I figured I'd check the amp. Didn't have those issues, but it was another component to check -- ran my hand under the car with ignition on and sure enough, vibration was consistent with the audible hum over the section housing the amp. You can (gently) maneuver your hand over the fans from the rear of the seat when you slide your seat as far forward as possible. They are facing the center console and have a cutout in the carpet for intake and I was able to lightly press down and stop one of the fans; noise immediately subsided. Score. Rather than sending in the amp to a repair facility ($350-700+ from my research), I figured I'd try to take the amp out and have a look before bringing out the checkbook.
I was able to remove the amp after unbolting the seat, unplugging the amp's wires through the access area in the carpet, and (begrudgingly) making small cuts in the carpet to easily unbolt the amp at its three secure points and pull out through the flap I had just created. Not sure if there's a set of extensions, swivel joints, or other to combination of socket hardware to reach two of the three bolts without some tugging on the carpet as-is. Maybe I just didn't have the patience or small enough hands, but I struggled to find a way to access, free up, and remove the amp without cuts and simply assumed the amp is installed before carpet (unlike my former 100-series).
Using a PC repair kit and its T10 bit, I easily removed the fan's intake module on the side of the amplifier and was pleasantly surprised to see a simple fan header (like a PC's motherboard) vice any soldering for these fans. The interior of the amp was dusty so I took some compressed air to it. I cleared out some human hair that had been wrapped around the fan's axes. Wasn't like it was a rat's nest down there, but the debris may have added to the shorting of the fan bearings' life spans. It's clear that the fan intakes facing the console are susceptible to whatever falls between the console and seat. I found all sorts of items (set of random keys, a standard size sharpie, a full size plastic knife (utensil), and some random nuts/snacks under amp after removed.
Anyway, the P/Ns for the fans are from Y. S. Tech and the model number is YW4510012LM. The tech specs for this are 45MM x 10MM and operate at 12V DC 0.14A. The amplifier has a sleeve to keep the pair's wires together, which doesn't seem to be a necessity (save for reduction in any airflow interference). From a space perspective, there is no room for a larger diameter, or deeper fan -- the casing will only accommodate 45MM and the thickness of the fans sits flush with the fan case's depth. A thicker fan may prevent mounting of the fan housing and the rest of the amplifier's body.
I investigated the model number to understand the differences in their other 45MM offerings and found this PDF on YS Tech's model numbering. I was able to find an exact replacement for this pair on ebay, but in case others have this same issue, I wanted to make sure others were aware of the differences in "....12LM" versus "...12BH" models. The L-series bearing looks to be superior to B-series or S-series, from a technology standpoint. YS Tech has a blog post about the Sentitco bearings if you feel the need for due diligence and/or want to "drink the Kool Aid" with its superior design to normal sleeve bearings. The M-coding implies a "medium" speed which I don't know the RPM/CFM for, but it's worth observing that H-coded may increase dB of the fans underneath the seat, for what seems to be unnecessarily added CFM. The other variants are much cheaper (more what I'd expect for such a small fan), but I was comfortable putting the exact replacement in for another 9+ years. I'll let someone else explore other combinations of bearings, speed, or manufacturers...for science!
I cannot confirm that these particular models are still in production and they don't really have a storefront for low-quantity buys. I also cannot confirm whether there any alternate 45MM x 10MM 12V fan suppliers will work in this spot, but will gladly do my best to take pics or provide measurements while the amp is out of the truck. I paid ~$36 for the assembled pair in new condition and will follow-up when the replacement is complete. Thought to post now in case anyone had any other questions.
Hope this helps, and maybe it's a lot to post for a ~$40 fix, but I hope it may potentially save a Mudder $360-700+ on sending in their amp as a flat-fee refurbish when it's simply the fan that must be replaced.
-Eric
