Replacing dead amp
 

I have a dead amp on my 02 GS430 with nav and ML. About a month ago started to get these random crazy loud pops and screeching coming from my radio. This happened for about 3 or 4 days then everything was fine again. I thought it was just a fluke, but then about 2 weeks ago it started up again, but this time the popping and screeching would last for like 2-3 min and then the sound from the radio would stop working until I turned the car off and on again.

After reading various threads about radios, amps and speakers I figured out that it's most likely a dead or dieing amp.

I figured that I could just pick up a 5 channel amp and be on my way, but yesterday I was playing around with the stereo, seeing what would happen if I turned it on while the amp was unplugged, as expected, there was no sound but the display showed that the radio was working fine. When I clicked on the CD button, the stereo said that it wasn't connected.

Does that mean all CD changer is controlled by the amp? I was thinking I could pick up any 5 channel amp to replace the ML amp, and everything would be fine, but now I'm not sure. I know quite a few people have done total upgrades of their stereo, but has anyone just replaced the amp?

i was in the same boat as you and after 2months of search around NYC/NJ - you can't replace ML amp with a aftermarket 5ch. Although one shop did say it was possible but for their quoted price of $900 i kinda said noo thannk youu.

And as for replacing with another ML amp - i've found used for $300(no guarantee it works) to $600(3months of warranty). If you are completely satisfied with the sound ML gives you - i say get another MLamp and call it a day.

damn, that sux. So what did you end up doing? Did you replace with another ML amp or did you gut and redo your whole sound system?

yep i redid the whole system. I just couldnt justify spending at least $350 for an amp that could possibly die in a month. Plus i wasnt too thrilled with ML sound. Now after LOT of trial and error, and with help of a fellow CLer(Thanks Vlad!!!) i'm finally satistied with clarity of my tunes.

No problem Alex. :)

Honestly when factory amps die it create several problems. As not many people want to change their headunits, ur options become limited in a hurry. You can buy a brand new amp for over $1000, scour junkyards with no guarantees that they work, or upgrade to aftermarket. Personally I dont like the facory GS system offered, Pioneer, Nakamichi, Mark Levinson are all pretty crappy compared to most mid grade aftermarket options, lets not even compare high quality offerings.

But as far as your options you can either replace your stock amp and call it a day. Or change everything up, you can replace the stock headunit and go with something else, or you can keep it and go aftermarket amp. There are many signal processors that you can utilize in order to be able to get an aftermarket amp working. Or you can add another headunit into the picture and and amp just like Alex did.

wow, what a headache!!! So if I go the aftermarket route, how does the cd changer interface with the new hu? or am I gonna have to junk that too?

And what about the audio controls on the nav, are they useless after the upgrade? I'm sure this topic has been debated to death already but man, what a pain in the ass this ML amp is...:egads:

If you go aftermarket you need to select what you want to do. If you want to retain the stock headunit and cd changer you can get something like the rockford fosgate 3sixty and interface with the stock headunit. However what Alex did was he left the stock headunit in place and tapped a aftermarket headunit underneath the navi screen. The navi still works thru the driver side speaker but you now get all audio thru the aftermarket headunit.

Just in case anyone was interested, I ended up getting a used LS430 ML amp which looked like it had the same plugs as my GS430 ML amp. I swapped out the dead one for the used one and it works just great, and i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.

The amp will hold temporarily. Nasty thing about the ML amps is that they rely on a very small fan (1 inch diameter) to cool the entire amp. I have a ML amp that I took apart (kindly donated from another member) and the parts that they use inside are made to almost the lowest bidder. Plus ML/Lexus never took into consideration that amount of heat and the shortened life due to the heat. Very poor engineering and I expected MUCH more than the current ML products that they are using in the cars.

Yeah, i wish i had the funds to do it properly now, but it's gonna have to wait until some bills get paid first. In the meantime, I can plan for the future and do more research on components, speakers, amps, subs, etc.

It seems most people are using JL, Alpine, RF for the mainstream stuff. I don't think i need anything higher end than that since I can barely tell the diff anyway.

your right about the heat problem . the next generation of mark levinson amps have 2 fans.

They would have to be larger diameter, dual ball bearings and at least 40mm diameter fans for enough airflow.

The ones they use are cheapo sleeve bearings. Fan failures happen with the cheapies. But they're cutting cost on everything throughout the chain, at least from what I see, audio / video wise. And they're probably going to raise the price and market the Mark L name even more. Gotta love marketing.