Ellesse: The factory head unit plugged in was probably the navigation unit for a Mark Lev system which does not apply to this. There is a person that mounted it right below the Nav screen I forgot the username on here.

drdfblackm: I am still working on it right now. Been busy at work so not much time to update. Only thing I have done is bypass the amp. I am going to redo the harness this weekend probably and make sure I was not getting a bad connection at the RCA's since I kind of did rush it that day. But anyway you will have a Blue/Red Stripe wire coming from the 30A fuse which is your constant 12V to the amp at connector S30 pins 1 and 10. BUT if I had a guess...it looks like the Tuner possibly is what turns on the amp at connector S29 at pin 8. Again these are guesses and I really would feel bad if someone messed up their amp if they tried it. I would rather kind of attempt it and go from there. But again I do not have a full wiring diagram I just have snippets. I will attempt the RCA cables again or I may just wire them directly into the wires behind the unit. Not sure either one would make a difference in sound but it is something to try and get somewhat of a result. If all else fails it's just time to get an amp and speakers. Also I just realized the vehicle you are working on is an 03....as I recall the connectors are different so what I said probably will not apply to your vehicle.

 

No it was definitely a non nav unit, to solve for the hotswapping issue @drdfblackm was describing above. He ran the factory head unit to the glove box and had mounted an aftermarket screen in its place in the dash

 

Alright. I know it has been a minute but I do have an update. I am still utilizing stock amp for now since I cannot find a place to mount the aftermarket alpine amp for my door speakers. I decided to work on my brothers...In short summary from this debacle...TYTO will never work and don't buy it if crutchfield upsales you 04-06 LS430...can't vouch for the older ones...Anyway here is a summary of what I have found out.. Not responsible for any mishaps you may have...but this is what I ended up doing.

Used a previous thread and bought the Metra 70-8117 harness. You will have to re-pin but all the wires are there. I was stupid by not matching the wire colors to what the head unit default was but that was corrected so ignore my notepad from the previous post. This is inside your trunk and this will be your connection. The benefit of this method is:
1. You save buying a module that doesn't work.
2. Utilization of factory wiring
3. Somewhat cleaner install
4. Should work with other setups that are going to use factory head unit to drive speakers and bypass amp


When you do not use the TYTO harness it makes it nicer...This is what the harness I made looks like...I went overkill and used Deutsche connectors but it will make it easier to swap to the amp as both harnesses I made for both cars come with them.


This is the head unit side coming from the trunk connector.


Anyway hooking it up this way the radio works. Anyway I may do some writeup later on in this thread...but thought I would update instead of leaving everybody hanging...I know this issue boggles everyone and no one ever updates it even if they fix it.

Also my previous low volume issue with the Metra harness hooked up with RCA pigtails....RCA's are pre amp so thats why i had to keep my volume at max and barely heard anything...just wire it directly to the wires itself and fixes that issue....Use the RCA's if you are putting in an aftermarket amp for the interior speakers.

 

In a non-nav car, you could just use a Beatsonic SLA-23A. It's just a plastic could, but far better made than the Metra unit and looks more or less like it belongs there. See, e.g.,

https://www.maperformance.com/produc...xoC7S4QAvD_BwE

All that being said, I don't get why you'd put an aftermarket radio in a non-nav car. The stock one works fine, looks fine, and is built like the proverbial brick *****house. Why not just insert one of those little Grom bluetooth boxes behind the radio and be done with it? That way you can stream anything off your phone, including navigation programs, and it will work fine with your steering wheel controls. Plus, almost no aftermarket double-DIN units have a real volume **** ... annoying!.

 

Beatsonic SLA-23A is long out of production. You can sometimes find them on YAJ but the non-nav/non-ML cars are super rare in Japan. Biggest reason to install an aftermarket radio in a non-nav car is to have a backup camera.

 

A backup camera is such a pain in the rear to install (I did it last summer in my 4Runner) that I'll just do without and rely on the parking sonar things on the bumper! An aftermarket stereo won't work with the steering wheel controls which I think it a big whiff. Fact of the matter is that the aftermarket double-DIN screens are nowhere near as good as that of a simple phone. If you need a larger one, I guess you could even mount some sort of tablet like an iPad Mini.

 

To each their own I guess. The information is here for whoever needs it and hopefully saves people some cash when looking for a system and incorrect upsales (crutchfield for me). Personally I find the factory system lacking compared to most of the more modern vehicles. Everyone has their own opinion on sound and listens to different styles of music.

I ran the bluetooth device before on the stock system...I hate programming and finding radio stations when I go out of town for events to sync it up. The bluetooth modules do not sound as nice in my opinion and just ups the gain to make certain things sound louder but not improve on quality. Do I lose steering controls...sure I personally do not care as the alpine is still within a fingers reach for me. If that is an issue they do make modules to fix that issue if that is a real concern for anyone. As for how well they work I cannot comment on something I have not used.

Just to add I also did use an Isimple system in my little brothers car which worked fine...but I did not feel like buying two more accompanying modules to make bluetooth and such work. That is another reason why I preferred to just run an aftermarket head unit. Again that was the best solution in my opinion if you want to keep the stock non nav unit...then if you wanted to use a sub just get a LOC and wire it in also.

As mentioned I would have purchased the beatsonic kit if it was in stock as mentioned by the previous users above that tried to help me out in the beginning of this journey. I hate the fitment of the metra kit but that is all that is available nowadays unless someone copies the SLA-23.

At the end of the day this is for all the threads I have seen with no solutions for the non-nav LS430s. I just thought I would invest some of my time and learn off of the few people on this board to provide useable information. The time spent and the extra harnesses I have just laying around will hopefully save people time and money when building up their system. I just want to find a solution instead of leaving threads on a cliffhanger with no updates.

 

So, I am reviving this thread because it has been 8 months...and a lot can happen in "The electronics world" in that time.

Can I expect any new Apple Car Play head units to " Plug and play" , PROPERLY, in my Non Nav, 2006 LS430?

I don't mind buying adaptors, but really do not want to "re terminal" any OE wiring. I would rather not re-terminal anything, if possible. I would consider running a antenna cable into the trunk, buy really do not want to go through the trouble. It's for my sons LS and he can do without AM/Fm. He mainly wants to play his iPhone music and use the iPhone "hands free".

Our first choice..Apple Carplay head unit.

I guess, second choice would be the GROM adaptors.


THAN YOU SO MUCH! Mike Celi

 

There are Android head units for non-nav cars which support apple carplay. They are the same thing as the all the other Android head units mentioned here on the forum except they are in a different trim bezel that places the screen lower to accommodate for the different air vents in non-nav cars. The one I installed in a friends LS430 was plug and play with no re-pinning or cutting of wires. His car had nav, but I'm 99.9% sure the non-nav versions are similarly plug and play since all LS430s use canbus for the radio. There is an adapter you can get to use the factory GPS antenna, or it came with an aftermarket GPS antenna. The FM antenna is an issue, but my friend never listens to FM so we just didn't bother pursuing a solution for that. You could probably put a stubby FM antenna on it, or get a stick on antenna with a short lead and stick it to the underside of the dashboard behind the head unit. That's how and where I mounted the aftermarket GPS and cellular antennas in my friends car.

 

Did you have any challenges with the climate controls? One really nice thing about non-nav LS430s is that the climate control system is all hard buttons ... would sure hate to lose that unless the screen was a really bombproof alternative.

 

"DrVlikhell" Your experience is the most optimistic thing I have read. My (and I) really would prefer an Apple Carplay head unit, to adapters for the OE head unit (HU) ! What make model did you install? Are Android HU's available from reliable brands? Like Alpine, Kenwood Etc? Please advise. Thanks, again! Mike celi

 

The antenna on my LS, is in the center of the roof, towards the back. It is approx. 3" long, 4mm x 0.7 threaded into what looks like an OE mount. If there is any antenna embedded in the glass, I can not see it. Odd, such a short antenna for AM/FM (Non Nav car).

MC

 

Unfortunately I believe you would loose the climate control hard buttons. All of the pictures of non-nav cars with these types of Android head units do not show the factory climate control buttons. The climate control in my friends car works via an app and he has no issues with it except that the defogger won't turn on. Others don't have that issue, so maybe I messed up one of the plugs when installing it. But here in Florida it hasn't been an issue for him. With a non-nav car you have the option of installing any other single or double din car stereo, however getting it to integrate properly with the factory radio has varying results. In a previous non-nav LS430 my friend had a standard single din Kenwood head unit and the recommended adapter but it sounded sub-par, to be polite. You had to choose between either distortion or amplifier hiss. Maybe there are better options out there, but I never explored them because that car got totaled in a flood.

When I talk about Android head units I mean the Chinese made ones from companies you've never heard of that come with a replacement bezel and have a factory look. Those are the only ones (that I have ever heard of) that integrate well with the LS430s AC controls and factory stereo as both are canbus controlled. Here's a link to the one I installed into my friends 2001 UL: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802558475382.html We chose that one because other members here on the forum have also bought from that seller on Aliexpress and had good experiences. It has worked well for the past year and a half with no issues. Another option for nav cars is the Grom. I forget the full name but if you search here on the forum you'll find lots of posts about them. They basically hijack the factory screen and turn it into an android head unit. All of the factory features and buttons remain untouched. The Car Care Nut (who generally doesn't like aftermarket anything) actually installed one into his own LS430 and he has a video showing how to install it and how it works. For non-nav cars you have tons of options of fitting virtually any brand of single din or double din head unit, it's just that getting them to work with the factory stereo system has been a sub-par experience resulting in poor audio quality. When I say poor audio quality, some may disagree and that is likely either because they just don't notice because they aren't picky about sound like I am, or because they happened to use a better adapter. With the Chinese Android had unit, I had low expectations but it actually sounds far better than I would have imagined even if I didn't have low expectations.

All that said, if I had a non-nav car myself, I would use a Sony ES head unit that has apple carplay/android auto, and I would completely replace the entire factory stereo system including the amplifier and speakers with aftermarket components. That would yield the best results as far as sound quality goes as well as offering modern features.

They're all that way on the LS430. FM antennas don't necessarily need to be large, they just need to be high.

 

Thank you, DrVilkhell .

So if we could discuss only my Nan Nav LS, it would be easier for me to understand.

I wish to rule out, replacing or re-wiring the OE speakers.

I also will rule out anything that would deteriorate or eliminate any of the HVAC, Heated Glass Defrost functions or pretty much anything else. I would like to maintain the steering wheel controls, if possible.

With that in mind, please advise about Carplay head Units and GROM (or other high quality adapters)
I am hoping to decide and order equipment by early next week.
Thanks, again . Mike Celi

 

If you think that is your FM antenna unscrew it while listening to a station and should degrade considerably. That antenna on my 2001 was for the phone and I think later years satellite radio also. When I put in my android unit I tried using that for my FM and was very poor so ran an antenna to back top glass. FM antenna is in the glass.