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I have .. It's "almost" installed. Ran into some serious hiccups which are slowly being rectified lol.
The main one is the amp. It works, it plays. BUT the gain on the factory amp is too low and I need to get it back to a certain level. When I initially tested the PAC tato which sends my audio to the factory amp, it ran perfectly. So I followed the same directions (setting my volume to a certain level to allow the amp to retain the same gain structure it needed). However, I wanted to test the unit Rafa sent with his circuit boards. His stuff worked perfectly. Except, whatever the last volume setting was on his unit, has now locked into my amp, messing up the setting I was supposed to have LOL.
I should have just wired his without testing, but seriously, who does that lol.
Anyway, I need to find someone with a 2nd gen non Mark Levinson system so I can set my amp to the right volume/EQ setting (which is all flat at 0 and a volume of 47) so I can retain my normal volume lol. It's an hour job at the most. Lexus said they would do it, but it goes against their standards so they won't do it. (But they sympathize and think the project is really cool).
I'd plug in the original dash, but I'd have to undo the 5 hours or wiring and tracing and soldering and then redo it.
Anybody in the GTA/Mississauga wanna help out? Lol
Last edited by djbuddha; May 29, 2014 at 02:37 PM.
Well .. it's still in progress ... There's a bit of work to be done. I gotta make a video about this when I have some time.
I will say that the Lexus wiring is a PAIN IN THE ***. For more reasons than one can count. Majority of the wasted time here is because of the wiring. I tried for 2 days to avoid cutting any factory wires. I tried combinations of resistors, harnesses with empty promises, you name it. I had to cut the wires. At the very least I soldered all my connections now. (some of these factory harnesses have connections that go into the old CD changer circuit board AND into the PAC harness for the amp turn-on). After so much retarded tracing.... the damn thing works lol. As my last post stated, I'm still looking for somebody with the same OEM Lexus IS audio system that will let me set my amp so I can get volume back. Also the trim pieces, don't fit. Not his fault, he didn't have the car, so I gotta "trim" the trim pieces (nyuk nyuk nyuk)
I gotta figure out why the airbag lights are on in the gauge cluster, and why the passenger seat belt light seems to be behaving backwards It's either the ribbon cable which connects the hazard button to the car has an issue, or there is something in this dash that's "different".
Also, you will notice the gap. The front of the radio pokes out slightly if you mount it flush (it fits), but you can't slide the iPad in if you push the single DIN radio all the way back. Me and a friend of mine are coming up with a solution so that it stays out just that amount (these pictures don't do any justice to how cool it actually looks, even though it isn't finished). If I pull the bottom out a bit (as you see in the pics), everything works perfectly. The bottom of the fiberglass frame of the iPad isn't bolted to the frame which gives it room to be manuevered (thank God). Rafa did the best he could as he didn't have the car...... BUT .... I gotta call him about the dock cable he used. THAT sucked ... that's all I'll say about that lol.... and his painter, while he has a great eye, uses TERRIBLE paint (it chips way too easily ... it's a ****-off)
I have to say that while the Sony App is cool, there are some funny *** glitches. Like if you have songs on your iPad (which you would...) the deck will load the iPad immediately when the car starts and choose a song at complete random and will just start playing LOL. It also does this when certain apps stop playing audio momentarily .. which at first was hilarious, but grew QUICKLY annoying. To remedy this, I'm using nPlayer to manage all my media (I despise iTunes anyway), and I only synced one song to my iTunes library. It's a 30 second silent MP3. This stops me from being scared to death when I stop a YouTube video or start my car.
Again, this project is very beta. A video is coming soon, promise lol
Sorry to hear you having such a hard time with it but I'm sure it'll be all worth it once you figure everything out. It looks awesome already!
You're telling me. To add to the stress, the iPad randomly said it was overheating .. This happened at home, on my coffee table, in an air conditioned room lol. And it was actually cold to the touch ... I returned it and am waiting for them to get the 128 GB LTE version for me ... I have to figure out how to clean this thing up cosmetically. There is also one other wiring issue I ran into I need to resolve before it's "complete".
Grrrrrrr ... This road is bumpy.
I'd like to add though, yes it looks amazing installed. Thanks Jennie! It's actually EXTREMELY functional. A few little glitches and workarounds had to be done from the iPad side of things. But man, navigation with google maps is amazing. The Apple maps just aren't accurate enough for me yet so I can't recommend them.
Bluetooth audio and calling with as simple as turning on bluetooth on my phone? It's amazing. The bluetooth protocol has improved so much it's no different than the aux port. (I believe it's uncompressed data now).
It's been a busy few weeks. I just got back from my anniversary trip with my girlfriend so I haven't really paid the project much attention for the last little while. Sorry for the lack of updates everyone!
Last edited by djbuddha; Jun 12, 2014 at 05:55 PM.
Any updates to this. I'm really considering on doing this with a mini
So I went with an iPad Air 2. It works extremely well. if you're doing the mini it would be easier. Be advised (to make your life easier) to avoid relocating the hazard light / clock. Sourcing that cable is a PAIN.
I just got the email notifying me about the post to this thread and am on my way to work. I'll add more to the thread this week.
So I went with an iPad Air 2. It works extremely well. if you're doing the mini it would be easier. Be advised (to make your life easier) to avoid relocating the hazard light / clock. Sourcing that cable is a PAIN. I just got the email notifying me about the post to this thread and am on my way to work. I'll add more to the thread this week.
its too late now but I would of cut out or slimmed down the main vents this would of giving you more room to maneuver and giving you a more stock look. and to avoid the head ache of the sound just gone with bluetooth for audio. Here is mine, it was my first crack at it, I will redo it with an Ipad air and a float mount kit later on, but for now it works great.
It's either the ribbon cable which connects the hazard button to the car has an issue, or there is something in this dash that's "different". 
