taybrynn

Hi all,

My wife inherited a very nice low miles (75k) midnight green sc430 (2002) with cream interior.

My father in law had just put in a new stereo (professionally installed) but to me the sound quality is similar
to that of a $100 cheap head unit. He spent over 1100 (incl. backup camera), so its unfortunate to me it doesn't sound better.
The new head unit is a and does allow carplay, bluetooth and smart phone connectivity via. a
USB plug the installer added (which I hope is not draining, another potential culprit) ... which has no LED light on it to
indicate it is on/off. I looks like no head units currently sold really work with the SC430 and the 3rd party adaptor they used
didn't retained NAV or button bar functionality.

The button panel that controls the NAV no longer works at all and the screen for the NAV also doesn't open or close anymore.
All of this is normal, after reading how the OEM stereo contains parts the enable the NAV and button panel to work normally,
so now all the is broken, so we just keep the NAV door closed.

I am seeing a parasitic draw thats pretty strong, meaning it can go from 12.6+ volts to 12.4 in one day. And drop even lower in another day.
I haven't yet identified the source of the drain, but suspect the old factor amp as a likely suspect (based on research I have done). However,
it seems they are a bit hard to bypass, so I'm interested in anything anyone has done that shows how to bypass and remove the amp.

As I mentioned the sound is really poor overall, just no bass and mostly mid and treble only. It was a newer 2022 pioneer head unit and they
used an adaptor for the car, but it seems like nothing was retained -- no steering wheel controls work for volume or channel changing and
it broke the OEM NAV. I suspect the amp is either dead or isn't wired correctly somehow.

In the end, I don't realy care about the NAV or NAV button bar ... or lack of control of the NAV cover ... it's just that the car doesn't sound great
and the battery drain issue.

So I put a negative battery disconnect on the battery and just unplug it when we are not planning to drive for more than 2 days. And I charge it
back up a lot,
battery disconnect:
charger:
I do have a multimeter now that can read these low parasitic amps and bought a pair of tweezer to use with an amp hound look alike,
which allows you to test all the fuses without removing them.
amp tester:
I am finding it a bit difficult to get to the fuses at my age, so I am hoping the tweezers with make the job a lot easier.

Any advice, comments or experiences appreciated.

There is no way to go back to the shop that did the work as it was east coast and we are in colorado.

It's a real shame such a nice care has such a garbage stereo and the upgrade turned out to be a downgrade. A car that looks this good should sound good also.

Hopefully I can fix it someday.

Scot

jdkampfer

Scott,

Sorry to hear about this. If you search the posts for Jdkampfer, you can see the components that Best Buy used in my install. The old amplifier was totally removed as was the old navigation system. I have no drain on the battery and the sound is excellent with thumping bass. The price was about the same as you mentioned, and it took Best Buy almost 2 days to do it. I'm wondering if they totally changed the wiring to 4 ohm when they did your install. That might explain the poor bass performance. Alternatively, it could be the speakers. Mine were relatively inexpensive JBL's. I didn't even have a subwoofer put in and I have more base than I can handle. The head and is JVC and controls front and rear cameras and is also hooked up to steering wheel controls.

Bgw70

here is the link to your list..
it sounds like the OP had a very poor installation…my Nav door still works fine with my pioneer radio as well as the steering wheel controls.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc4...l#post11532372

Mike205

Grottoman, take a look at the Nav unit offered by SC430Mods.com. I have pre-ordered one and the required BT kit. It’s a DIY and the total cost is $730 plus minor shipping cost.

https://www.sc430mods.com/product-pa...sion-gen-iii-1

Tanker

I'll bet some of your speakers are blown. The foam gives up after 20 years.

I did Hertz speakers throughout the car on their own amp and an Audiofrog sub in the factory location with its own amp. Car has a Pioneer deck and I promise you is sounds better than the factory system.

These cars loose power just sitting, I put a battery maintainer on when mine is parked for winter.

mandyfig

Hence a battery tender (a good one) is a good investment. Mine is installed on the wall and has a quick connect-disconnect for ease of charging, means laziness is not an option.