Pre-03 nav delete how-to (4 Viewers)

[Unrulykid]

100 Series Button Repair How-To - A/C, Defrost, Recirc etc

April 2020 edit - after 18 months, everything is still working great! Edit - Its been about 5 weeks of daily driving since i did this and all the buttons are still working great! Hi All, I have taken tons of valuable info from this site and now it is my turn to contribute something. This...

forum.ih8mud.com

I used this reference to replace the button contacts on my climate control

 

[Unrulykid]

If you want it to work correctly, I strongly recommend reading this thread…

Soldering is quite easy… you will want a solder sucker… Japanese company Engineer makes an excellent one

 

[kgrove]

I'd recommend the Alpine iLX-407 or iLX-650 because they both are low profile units and will make it easier to get all those wires back in the dash. They also both have a dedicated power antenna lead, so your antenna will only extend when you are listening to the radio. I've use a Pioneer NEX head unit as well, but it doesn't have a dedicated power antenna controller, so instead you have to use the amp on/off switch to also control the power antenna, which means your antenna has a full erection any time your stereo has power, plus even if you override the stereo's permanent state of excitement with the antenna switch, the antenna will only mostly retract and will still have a ~3" extension.

The iLX-407 and 650 are very similar to each other ... the primary difference is the 407 is $100 more expensive and in exchange has HD radio and the USB charger is 1.5A instead of 1.0A. Both have pre-amp outputs, so the ideal solution would be to run RCA cables from the head unit to underneath the passenger seat where you install an aftermarket 4- or 5-channel amp so you can abandon the 20 yr old and underpowered factory amp. I would skip the cost and effort of an aftermarket amp unless you are also replacing all your speakers.

Now I just need to fine a good stereo. Any recommendations?

 

[TheBooth1984]

I understand your plight. Buy the Metra TYTO adapter. I used it on my 01 ML amp with a Pioneer head unit before I junked the rest of the ML stereo system.

It is the one to use. The 8113 will not work. It doesn't contain any interface to control the volume on the ML amp.

I have been through this myself before.

You can try other alternatives and waste time, but this one works as plug n play

There is another option BTW. You can buy the TYTO adapter, rip open the black box, duplicate it yourself, and achieve the same result.

Can you link the specific TYTO? When I google, only JBL comes up. I have the Marks Levinson system. I have completed everything and no sound. Used the 8113. Should have known.

 

[Tallenhouston]

Thanks to those of you who pioneered the solution for the Nav delete. I was able to get this done on my 02 LC in several hours and bypassed the Rear Heat vs. Rear AC-only issue. Based on a reference to the thread on repairing / replacing the buttons as they stop working (post #822 above), I realized the main circuit board is the same for all of the non-Nav units. You just have to make sure you put the blank plate over the second button and the "Rear" over the third button. I bought rotary controls from a salvage yard that had the rear heat, but my original Nav controls had rear AC only. You can pry off the buttons without opening up the unit to access the circuit board.

Everything works perfectly with zero troubleshooting. As stated many times on this thread . . . label everything, triple check your labels, cut and solder one at a time. There was only one wire in the entire process that did not perfectly match the other wire it was being soldered with (and it was close to a match white/blue vs. white/gray).

 

[TheBooth1984]

Thanks to those of you who pioneered the solution for the Nav delete. I was able to get this done on my 02 LC in several hours and bypassed the Rear Heat vs. Rear AC-only issue. Based on a reference to the thread on repairing / replacing the buttons as they stop working, I realized the main circuit board is the same for all of the non-Nav units. You just have to make sure you put the blank plate over the second button and the "Rear" over the third button. I bought rotary controls from a salvage yard that had the rear heat, but my original Nav controls had rear AC only. You can pry off the buttons without opening up the unit to access the circuit board.

Everything works perfectly with zero troubleshooting. As stated many times on this thread . . . label everything, triple check your labels, cut and solder one at a time. There was only one wire in the entire process that did not perfectly match the other wire it was being soldered with (and it was close to a match white/blue vs. white/gray).

View attachment 2971315View attachment 2971318View attachment 2971320View attachment 2971316View attachment 2971322

Did you have a Mark Levinson system? If so, did you keep the amp?

 

[Tallenhouston]

Did you have a Mark Levinson system? If so, did you keep the amp?

I have (had) the JBL system. Going to start from scratch with my stereo via Crutchfield. Several other projects first . . . sound deadening, new carpet, rust mitigation. I've admittedly had some analysis paralysis on my overall 12v power system with the overwhelming amount of information here and on YouTube. Dual battery set up, solar?, power distribution blocks, relays, auxiliary lighting control panel, higher current lines for fridge/misc., independent (adequate) stereo power.

 

[TheBooth1984]

Can you link the specific TYTO? When I google, only JBL comes up. I have the Marks Levinson system. I have completed everything and no sound. Used the 8113. Should have known.

View attachment 2970403

OK guys, I am at the end. Unless one of you geniuses comes out of the woodwork to help. Still nothing with my ML amp. It fires up for a few seconds and stops. I have tried all of the mention adapters. Surely there is a way to make this amp work with a modern receiver. I really do not want to reverse all of my wiring back to the original screen. PLEASE HELP!!!

 

[chogunn]

OK guys, I am at the end. Unless one of you geniuses comes out of the woodwork to help. Still nothing with my ML amp. It fires up for a few seconds and stops. I have tried all of the mention adapters. Surely there is a way to make this amp work with a modern receiver. I really do not want to reverse all of my wiring back to the original screen. PLEASE HELP!!!

I think the answer is that there was something in the Levinson system that initiated the original amp to start or whatever, and the nav delete removed that trigger. At any rate, I yanked the ML amp and sub and I bought a self contained under seat unit and stuck it under the passenger seat. I ran new power and signal down there. It works great - good enough for me. Everything ML is gone. Don't reverse your wiring, just go a little bit further

 

[TheBooth1984]

I think the answer is that there was something in the Levinson system that initiated the original amp to start or whatever, and the nav delete removed that trigger. At any rate, I yanked the ML amp and sub and I bought a self contained under seat unit and stuck it under the passenger seat. I ran new power and signal down there. It works great - good enough for me. Everything ML is gone. Don't reverse your wiring, just go a little bit further

I just don't want to replace the ML amp. I paid to have it repaired before getting into all of this.

 

[chogunn]

I just don't want to replace the ML amp. I paid to have it repaired before getting into all of this

FWIW I was able to sell all of my functioning nav and ML parts including sub and speakers on eBay and ended up in the green for the whole project. The nav display fetched $400 alone.

 

[Patassa]

I think the answer is that there was something in the Levinson system that initiated the original amp to start or whatever, and the nav delete removed that trigger. At any rate, I yanked the ML amp and sub and I bought a self contained under seat unit and stuck it under the passenger seat. I ran new power and signal down there. It works great - good enough for me. Everything ML is gone. Don't reverse your wiring, just go a little bit further

There should be a remote trigger wire input or something similar for the ML amp, do you have a wiring diagram for it?

 

[TheBooth1984]

There should be a remote trigger wire input or something similar for the ML amp, do you have a wiring diagram for it?

For the amp? I do not.

 

[Patassa]

For the amp? I do not.

You could find a 12v source (battery, another wire, an external power supply, whatever) and run a wire with a low amp fuse to random wires on the ML until it turns on. Could you fry something in the amp?...eh, possibly, but likely/hopefully the fuse would blow first. One of the wires you hook up to is the signal wire and it needs to see a 12V signal from the key being in the acc position for the amp to power up and stay on.

 

[Patassa]

For the amp? I do not.

Also, try searching for this, surely someone has posted it on the googles at some point.

 

[chogunn]

I might have the wiring diagram at home in the manual. can check tonight.

 

[TheBooth1984]

I might have the wiring diagram at home in the manual. can check tonight.

That would be great. Thanks.

 

[TheBooth1984]

OK guys, I'm trowing in the towel. I finally took it to a sound shop that concluded the ML amp just will not work with a modern receiver. So my loss is your gain. I'm feeling virtually everything you will need to do a nav delete. The pig tails are even labeled as you can see in the pic. The head unit works fine as I have been riding around with it installed for 3 months. All buttons work, some need a little more pressure than others. Essentially all you will need is an adapter such as a metra and brackets. The whole lot is yours for $750.
Head Unit
Boss BE62CP Stereo
Pigtails
Antenna Cable
Antenna Adapter

 

[Patassa]

OK guys, I'm trowing in the towel. I finally took it to a sound shop that concluded the ML amp just will not work with a modern receiver. So my loss is your gain. I'm feeling virtually everything you will need to do a nav delete. The pig tails are even labeled as you can see in the pic. The head unit works fine as I have been riding around with it installed for 3 months. All buttons work, some need a little more pressure than others. Essentially all you will need is an adapter such as a metra and brackets. The whole lot is yours for $750.
Head Unit
Boss BE62CP Stereo
Pigtails
Antenna Cable
Antenna Adapter


View attachment 3044187

View attachment 3044188

View attachment 3044189

Modern h/u >>> keeping that orginal amp. Putting in a modern h/u and having spotify, google maps, and google assistant, was probably the biggest factor in me deciding I could keep driving my 100 series for another 15-20 years.

 

[JZelnick]

Looking for some help on a holiday weekend...

I have a local Lexus Master Tech that works on my Cruisers and he has been trying to get this right for about a month (working nights and weekends). Trying to get the Mrs.' 100 updated with a proper radio. The swap has been completed and the audio is fully functional, but we are now experiencing an issue with the HVAC system. System was fully functional before the swap.

The system is constantly blowing hot air with no change when adjusting the temperature, auto button, or fan speed. Oddly, the rear AC functions when turned on and blows cold when adjusting the third row controls.

The "off" button also does not seem to work, other buttons are slow to respond. I am not too worried about this. It may be resolved by cleaning the button's contacts. With the current situation, not having an off button basically renders the truck unuseable during a hot, humid NJ summer.

In the picture below you will see that the truck thinks it's -22*F outside. Most of the time the Outside temp reading does not acutally show a temperature. I think this temperature sensor may be related, as in the truck thinking it is cold out so it is trying to heat up even when set at 60*F. This project took longer than expected and now the climate controls don't work so she is starting to lose patience with me. I will be taking this back to the shop, but need to get this pointed in the right direction.