SOOOO.... I took apart the whole center console and then got to the harness which then i cut the speed sensor and then grounded the park brake bothe wires are violet/purple on the #59 harness which is the biggest harness on the back of the nav unit. it was working and everything was fine i was ready to run wires for the double pole switch and then the DVD had no sound so then i tried several things and still didnt kick in so then i left it that way and waited till the morning and its like the DVD has a back up speed sensor that kicked in so when you come to a complete stop it works, i know of another speed sensor 2 but that controls the nav so we dont mess with that wire AT ALL.... so if you guys have any advice let me know. but taking apart the car was easy 4 screws and 1.5million clips and snaps.

 

Great work thus far..........keep up the effort. Wish I could contribute but I have never even seen the wiring diagram.

 

here are some pics from my phone i will try and scan the diagrams later tonite. FYI the car is my grandfathers i got it as a gift for him and this is 4 days into ownership the Old Man is crazy..lol This was by his request and hes 78 I love this guy haha..

 

Thx for sharing your experience and pics! Hopefully you can get the sound to work, but who knows where the backup sensor is. At the minimum hopefully no OEM functions are impaired.

 

The other speed sensor on the diagram is teal it says spd 2 and i asked the Tech @lexus he says dont touch that 1 because that will impair the Nav function it wont know where the car is and the arrow wont move and GPS wont catch up it would be slow about 10-15 sec behind( which is like a block or 2 off from streets) i know because it happened on the 06 GS. but the funny thing about it is when i put everything back to stock the sound came back. So the system is much different then the other Lexus' and more complex the tech said gen5 is a totally diff unit overall so i think thats why it dummies out when i tried to mess with it but i cant give up now were so close.

A. either the ground is scewing the sound because the Picture comes up as soon as you ground the wire

B. the other wire to the park brake should be grounded too

C. should i hook it up to the switch and see what happens I had everything loose and never hooked anything to the switch it self.

 

I forgot to mention how to take apart the dash if anyone is interested in trying it.

1.the Left and right leather panels are all snaps if you start from the footwell and pry it with your fingers they will pop right off.

2. open your center glove box and then you will see the plastic piece half moon shaped pry it off using hands also fromthe center then outwards is the easiest way then unscrew the shift **** counter clockwise.
-Pull up on the shift console from the back(glove box) and it will all pop out then the ashtray/cig 12v will come up seperate.
unclip all the harnesses and then stick it your bnack seat or where ever

3. there is 2 bolts I think there 10mm on the right and left side of the radio.
if you look you will see a cut out/circle and if you have a light look up and you will see it, you want to put the car in Neutral so the radio has room top get out.
NOW the radio will not come out without a little force so take a flat head screw driver and take it to the corner of the radio on rthe lower part of the radio you should see triangles on each corner place the flat head back there and yank the radio towrds you and the snaps will get loose then do the same on the other side.
note: take off the wood face plate of the CD player so you dont scratch it by prying it from the bottom with your fingers.
-unclip

4. the nav unit is now exposed theres these tiny screw that you unscrew with a phillips screw driver and then pry the Nav out and theres 6 clips back there unclip everything and you good to go. Most the harnesses are color coded so you wont have a problem finding wher they go later and each one has a diff shape. Except 1 that plugs in to the clock at the top. i accidentally plugged that in to the back of the Nav and the rear view cam and clock stopped working so thats that all harnesses are exposed and then try at your own risk.

Good luck
-Rashed

 

Does this hack allow you to access the NAv menus while driving, or was it only for watching DVDs while driving?

If Nav is unlocked, are all radio functions unlocked as well (meaning, was everything unlocked and working except you lost DVD audio?)

Thanks

 

.... so if you guys have any advice let me know.

How about put it all back, if you can, and let your poor Grandfather enjoy his car!

 

I havent tried that, My main Goal was to get the DVD working the nav thing to him is not important. But i will check when i go to his house.

and Nospinzone:
Please Please Please... if you have nothing to add that will be informational to my post dont reply to MY thread Thanks.

 

Thanks - a few people on these forums want to act like our mothers'...wait, I thought Lexus was my Mother....

 

Keep up the good work.

I would love to have full function of my system when driving.

Then I could have the choice instead of someone choosing for me.

 

We anxiously await- any progress?

Thanks

 

didnt get anywhere it keeps going back to stock... Sooo I got a hold of a Tech at the dealership said he can bypass it but he wants to get $$ under the table so i said No prob. if it works im going to take it apart and see waht they did so i know.

 

Hopefully it works, and can be done *fairly* reasonably! Indeed this is quite an issue for a number of LS owners on the board. Too bad there's no OS override feature like in the LS 430 and some IS/GS models.

 

Update: The tech says the speed sensor will work but the GPS antenna/Nav kicks in the 2nd sensor and blocks the DVD image. The tech is ordering some device/unit that blocks the gps from sending signal out and then wire it to a switch and either the DVD or GPS but not at the same time. oh he is taking less then 100.00 so were moving forward...