AdoboPanda

I searched and found a bunch of threads on Grom products but it seems like everyone's installs have gone smoothly. Not so much for me.

What I'm starting with: '04 GS430 with the Mark Levinson stereo/nav. I ordered the BT-3 because the audio quality on my FM adapter isn't that great and there's too many radio stations in my area to find a channel that's empty on my whole commute. Ordered it, got the wrong harness because the compatibility listing was unclear, Grom was cool and sent me the correct harness for free a week later.

Attempt #1: Got the head unit out no problem, plugged in the harness, paired my phone to the Grom, all great so far. Pressing the Disc button to switch to the Grom did nothing. AM, FM, Tape, none of the buttons do anything. Volume and tuner ***** still work, radio still works fine.

Attempt #2: I've only had the car for about a month and I never checked to see if the AM, FM, Tape, Disc buttons did anything because I don't even own tapes or CD's anymore nor do I listen to AM radio. So I took the Grom harness off and returned everything to factory condition to check. Now I'm in trouble: The audio source buttons still don't work, and all my FM presets have returned to default. Not that it matters because the radio is stuck tuned to 122MHz. Turning the tuner **** flicks it to 86.something for a second then it reverts to 122 (which isn't even a valid FM radio frequency in the US). Same thing happens if I try to select any of the presets on the screen. Volume **** does work.

Have I tripped an anti-theft mechanism? There's no indicator on the screen that anything is wrong except for the weird radio behavior. GPS seems to still work. Climate controls and on-screen menus all work fine. Engine starts no problem. I've tried every reset procedure I could find: holding the power button, holding different combinations of buttons while cycling main power, mashing random buttons in frustration. Nothing seems to have any effect. I looked in the owner's manuals for anything that might be a radio security code (previous owners seemed to keep pretty good records) but no luck.

Anyone encountered this before?

jettate

My BT-3 did not work until I unplugged the cd changer in the glovebox on my 03GS3. Ended up removing the changer completely. The owner manual fits perfectly in the slot now.

AdoboPanda

I did disconnect and remove the CD changer after attempt #2 but still no change in the radio behavior. I am looking forward to having that extra space in the glove box, though. Nothing you put in that cavity falls into the void behind the glovebox?

jettate

That is a great point about the slot, something falling down. Since the owner's manual is thick with the padded outside, it just sits there. But, yes something else could fall down. Maybe rig up a back plate of some kind for that possible issue. Of course you did the battery terminal pull already correct?

AdoboPanda

Somehow I thought just pulling the plug out of the back of the head unit would be enough, but I guess I was wrong. Disconnecting the battery got the radio working properly again, but the AM, FM, Tape, and Disc buttons still don't work. I wonder if maybe they never did. I didn't try reverting everything to stock again to find out because if It's kinda working at least I don't have to drive to work in silence tomorrow. I'll see if I can dig up a cassette somewhere and see if that works. Maybe the whole bottom portion of the head unit is busted and I never noticed.

And I see what you mean about the new cargo cavity. I wouldn't throw loose change in there but It's great for keeping the owner's manuals out of the way.

captainva

iTrader: (1)

I had one of those and ended up trashing it. The sound quality it put out was just horrible

jettate

I have the basic radio with the Grom is all I have. Stock speakers, tweeter and sub. Grom is bad ***. Charging port, Aux input and 2 phone pairing. Don't turn the phone volume all the way up it gets crackling. 80% on the phone works perfectly. Mounted the mic right above the ignition. In car calling with the ability to adjust the volume is awesome.