Nakamichi Update - '99 LX 470 (3 Viewers)

[PabloCruise]

Yes, I know this has been done and posted before - big thanks to @sk8salomon for their thread where I learned a lot: LX470 Stereo Upgrade with Nakamichi

As many folks know, there is no adapter you can order to plug an aftermarket deck into the 22-pin connector (F) that our LX470s are equipped with from the factory.

In this thread, I will be installing a Pioneer AVH-4201NEX into my '99 LX.

I did research into Toyota connectors and figured out there is a connector out there that can be ordered from certain dealers that will plug right into the LX body harness at the connector that plugs into the Nakamichi.

More on the connector here: How To Find A Companion Connector - Electrical/Stereo/Nakamichi

 

[PabloCruise]

At first, I thought I would convert the harness in my LX to use a LC connector.

That way I could order the LC adaptor for the stereo from Crutchfield and just plug it in.

Metra sells both the male plug (the end that gets wired to your stereo, and the female end (the end that would be on your vehicle harness).

I ordered the Pioneer head unit from Crutchfield and told them it was going into a '99 100 series, so they sent me this:

Metra Part # 70-8112 | Toyota wire harness | Metra Online

The cool thing about this is it had the color coded RCA jacks to keep track of F/R & L/R.

 

[PabloCruise]

Then I ordered this companion connector from Metra with the plan to convert to LX harness to look like an LC harness and plug right in:

Metra Part # 71-8112 | Toyota wire harness | Metra Online

Then I realized the Toyota amp used a common ground for the pre-amp inputs, while the LX w/ Nakamichi uses individual grounds for the pre-amp inputs. Bummer!

So I never used this piece, if anyone needs one, shoot me a PM.

 

[PabloCruise]

Here you can see the awesome resource @RobRed put together showing us all the connections for the LX w/ Nakamichi 22-pin connector:

Stereo Wiring: Land Cruiser / LX 470 (1998-02)

(My notes will probably only make sense if you make one of the connectors I detail below)

 

[PabloCruise]

At this time I found a Toyota wire harness repair manual, and started combing through to see if I could find a connector that would plug into the LX harness.

The short story is yes, there is.

The longer story is here:

How To Find A Companion Connector - Electrical/Stereo/Nakamichi

This connector will plug into your 22-pin LX 470 w/ Nakamichi connector:

 

[PabloCruise]

Just to back up a little...

The Nakamichi with the 6-disc changer was a sweet little unit back in the day w/ built in tape deck, but the disc player would skip the second we went over any bump in the road.

It turns out the unit in our LX had already been refurbished once - back in 2012. It was skipping for a while last year, so the refurb unit lasted less than 5 years.

 

[PabloCruise]

First, disconnect your battery.

I know this has been covered, but in case it helps anyone, get you some plastic trim removal tools and pry at the outer edges and upper corners of the stereo and climate surround.

Once that comes loose, disconnect the plugs for the climate control. There are 4, and they are all different configurations, so you can't really mess up when putting things back together.

Then loosen the 4 screws holding the adapter plates in:

 

[PabloCruise]

Then, disconnect your 22-pin connector on the back of the stereo. Then deal with the 2 antenna jacks - 1 larger, 1 smaller.

Like I said, our unit was refurbished once already. If anybody wants this unit, it is yours for the price of shipping.

 

[PabloCruise]

The 90980-11502 fit the back of the stereo perfectly, which made me continue my quest to find its counterpart, the 90980-11503 connector.

 

[NC-Grayson]

Great post. Wondering if this would be the same for non-nakamichi units from 98-02

 

[PabloCruise]

I was going to de-pin the connector I got from Crutchfield and plug those male pins into the 90980-11503, but it turns out those pins don't fit the Toyota connector. So I bought some repair wires from Toyota that come with the 1.3mm male terminals pre-crimped, and those fit the connector perfectly.

These are a little pricey, so I would go through this page and see if you can find the correct terminals here:

Pin Terminals for Motorsport Connectors - Corsa Technic

 

[PabloCruise]

Great post. Wondering if this would be the same for non-nakamichi units from 98-02

According to @RobRed - the non-Nakamichi uses the same connector as the 98-02 LC, so you can get the adapter from Metra - see above.

Stereo Wiring: Land Cruiser / LX 470 (1998-02)

 

[PabloCruise]

Since I had to wait for the repair terminals to come in, I thought I would wire up some USB ports that would plug into the back of the Pioneer.

I swapped out the power port on the passenger side of the center console:

 

[PabloCruise]

Since I could not simply de-pin the Metra adapter and slide those terminals into the Toyota connector, I had to get busy cutting and splicing.

I am glad I got that Metra adapter from Crutchfield, because it gave me color coded RCA wiring to go from the Pioneer pre-amp outputs into the factory wriring.

In the next picture you can see how they used a common ground for the Toyota ampifier. The Nakamichi does not. I had to take that common ground apart and give each one a terminal. Not sure if everyone knows, but with RCA wires, it is the outer conductor that is the ground.

The last picture shows how the crimps in the Metra piece were not all that great. I did not have any problems (other than $) with the Toyota repair terminals. If you get your own terminals, make sure you have a good set of crimpers!

 

[PabloCruise]

I followed the color coding that Pioneer and Metra both used when wiring up the pre-amp output.

Gray = Front Right
White = Front Left

Violet = Rear Right
Green = Rear Left

 

[PabloCruise]

A few things about the splices I made between the Pioneer wiring and the Toyota connector...

I was glad I had the chance to make my splices on the kitchen table, instead of in the vehicle. I had room to spread out and get organized.

I used solder seal terminals - these are cool! They have solder material inside a clear heat shrink w/ adhesive tubing. You slide the solder seal on the wire. Twist your two wires together, slide your solder seal over the junction so the solder bead is nice and central, and then fire up the heat gun. I tried to take pictures of how it looks after the solder flows, but my phone would always focus on the table.

Partway through my process, I noticed that the solder seal terminals had a small end, and a slightly bigger end! The small end is perfect for sliding onto the conductor before twisting the two wires together. The slightly bigger end clears the junction easier. Crazy! That made things much easier.

I also used a little extra heat shrink tubing to make sure nothing would come apart down the road. Don't go too crazy here - there is a lot of wiring you will be tucking behind the new head unit!

 

[PabloCruise]

The last thing I wanted after all this effort was to make a mistake with connections.

I worked in groups that made sense in my mind, and then inserted terminals into the Toyota connector.

Before I started plugging into the connector, I labeled the connector according to my diagram.

To my amazement - I got it right! The stereo worked! You can de-pin these connectors, but it is a pain. Better to get things right the first time!

 

[PabloCruise]

Now that the wiring is all connected, it would be time to move into the vehicle.

This Pioneer has a DVD player and back-up camera, so it is looking for connections at the parking brake and revers lights.

I also have to run the wires for back-up camera. This meant digging into the center console by the shifter, and underneath the center console where my wife keeps any amazing amount of things. I won't even go into details here, except to say she loves the storage in our LX 470!

 

[PabloCruise]

To pull the console by the shifter, you need to unscrew the knob on the transfer case shift lever.

It also helps to put the shifter in N - chock your wheels!

Once you pop free of the 4 clips, you need to reach under and disconnect the plugs for seat heaters, then the plugs for 2nd gear start, and EFT shifting.

Since we have a connector for the AHC, disconnect that too.

The seat heaters are color coded since the driver and passenger seat heater switches sit at different heights. I pulled the switches out and cleaned them, the seat heater switches had a lot of build up from whatever debris leaked in from the console.

 

[PabloCruise]

Then to remove the arm rest portion of the console you have to move the seats back and forth to get the side screws out.

I disconnected the battery when I removed the factory stereo, then connected again to move the seats.

To get the back of the arm rest off, open the cup holder and look in to see some Phillips screws inside (2) that need to be removed. After those screws and the 3 screws on each side are removed, then you remove the floor from under the arm rest and there are 4 bolts holding everything down. Remove those and you can lift off the arm rest portion of the center console.

Don't forget to disconnect power that goes to the charging port inside the arm rest cubby.