Long story short, this video shows what the problem is. Anyone know how to fix it?

Some info:
A few months back I drove through some deep water. I got no audio from the speakers for about a week, then it came back (assuming after everything dried out).

Flash forward to last month, audio went out again! I found a tip to unplug the orange clip under the rear driver-side passenger seat. While this did disable the radio antenna (I don't use radio at all, so don't care) the speakers worked fine again!

Then last week, it started doing this chopping sound. You can slightly make out the music as the choppy sound goes in and out if you recognize the song, so it seems to be accepting some type of signal. But I've never ran into such a thing before. Anyone know of a cause/fix?

 

i had that "thumping" sound too
seems to be that my Nak amp was fried , sent it to a amp specialist and he couldn't repair it




those capacitors were leaking , but after replacing them it still didn't work , its a long story and i don't have much knowledge about amps but it was toast

bought a aftermarket 2 din headunit

 

Have you checked to see if there is any water that got into the trunk (right side under the CD changer) where the Nakamichi amp resides? I've had my sound go out when water accumulated after a hard rain - causing water to "drown" the amp. Seems the drain hole was plugged. Once I got the water out, the amp dried and it worked fine. No issues recently in CA since we've had a drought for the last 6-7 years LOL. The sound I got was not exactly like yours though.

 

^ this, was going to suggest the same thing.

 

Yep, sounds like the old water on the amp thing again. Lexus did a bad thing putting it in the qtr panel. When you fix it move the amp up into the trunk so it won't get wet again.

 

From the initial issue and this one, I had a feeling the amp would be the cause of the audio issue. Both occurrences did happen with wet weather, and I recall hearing about water getting into it.

If anyone has a suggested replacement amp that could work with the stock sound system it'd be much appreciated. Thanks for the feedback, guys.

 

only replacement is another working nak amp. it has to be a nak amp specifically as there is another premium version that was used. premium amp/system is standard, nak is an upgrade. either that or go to an aftermarket headunit and bypass the amp like many of us have done. that frees up all that space in the trunk for a battery which also offsets the drivers weight if you are into that sort of thing =)

 

Throw the original nak amp in the trash......

I installed an aftermarket amp in the stock location and cut the corresponding correct wires for power, ground, remote and speakers.....This approach completely bypasses the stock audio system

This can be accomplished by using an ipod to RCA adapter and running that straight to the aftermarket amp.....not the best way to do it but it works

But I dont listen to music that much....I prefer the sound of the turbo spooling......

 

Yes sir this is all true!! It's the Nakamichi amp..the systems sound great but not as reliable as the pioneers.. I have a 99 SC and had to replace the amp and that was a very tough find because the last two years are somehow not compatible with the other years...I found one on ebay and it's been fine for 4 1/2 yrs now...that's the easiest way..