MattInLex

This past week I recently completed a total replacement of my audio system in my 2002 SC430. I bought the car early last year in fantastic shape - except the audio system. Shortly after buying it, the original lexus speakers disintegrated from dry-rot. I knew that I wanted to upgrade the head unit to a modern unit to get CarPlay and hands-free calling. I was originally going to use one of the (way overpriced) Beatsonic devices to make the job easy. But then the Mark Levinson amp died. The price to repair the amp was $475, plus the beat sonic ~$375 - I decided that I would just save that money and put it into a modern amplifier to go with a new head unit.

Here were my choice of components:

• SPEAKERS: Polk: DB402 (Rear speakers), DB652 (Door lower speakers), DB842 DVC (Subwoofer) - these were the only ones that seemed to fit the openings OK. I replaced the front lower doors, the back seats, and the subwoofer. I wired the DB842 DVC in parallel mode. The speakers fit well and were easy to install. They sound good. I left the upper speakers but decided not to wire them in. I may replace them eventually but there aren't many choices that will fit the space.
• HEAD UNIT: Sony XAV-AX5600. This seemed to have the best combination of user reviews and features I wanted. So far, I'm happy with it. The biggest gripe is that it gets completely washed out in bright sun when the convertible top is down.
• AMPLIFIER: Rockford Fosgate R2-750X5 five channel amp
• STEERING CONTROLS ADAPTER: Axxess ASWC-TOY-LEX
• BACKUP CAMERA: Pioneer ND-BC8
• MISC COMPONENTS:
  • SiriusXM SXV300V1 Tuner
  • Metra 40-UV43 Male to Female Motorola Antenna Cable - allows you to merge the two FM antennas from the car
  • Scosche MDAB Compatible with 1988-05 GM Micro/Delco Antenna Adapter - adapts the 'tiny' FM antenna to the Y adapter above
  • Metra 99-8161S Double DIN Dash Kit
  • 6-channel 15' RCA cable to run from the head unit to the amp. Just about the perfect length for my config.
  • Rockford Fosgate 4-gauge AMP wiring kit - Used 17' of primary cable.
  • Speaker wire.
  • USB & HDMI Cable: Metra HDMI/USB Pass Through Extension - IBR73
  • Scosche SA-69 Speaker Mounting Brackets for the front bottom speakers
  • AntennaMastsRus - Conversion Kit to replace the power antenna with a stubby rubberized one. Reception seems as good as before and I don't have to worry about the car wash.

Overview of my install and things that might help someone else:

1. There are several threads in the forums about how to remove the door panels, back seats, and so on. I won't repeat that here, but it isn't difficult after you've done it once. I was grateful to people who took pictures of doing it - it was easy after that.
2. There are very limited choices of speakers that will fit the factory spaces. Choose carefully. The Polk speakers fit great. The subwoofer wiring lugs were dangerously close (maybe even touching?) the frame of the car so I insulated them well with 2-layers of heat shrink and put a piece of heavy gauge PVC plastic between them and the frame of the car.
3. The hardest part of the install was getting the power from the battery back to the trunk. The existing ML amp only has 30 amps to it - not enough for a modern amplifier. So this required me to run a 4-Gauge wire to the trunk. I removed the battery and horn and there was a cable-grommet behind the battery. I was easily able to pop it out, cut a small hole in the middle, and push the cable through. I cleaned the grommet with alcohol and then caulked around the cable entry when I was done wiring it up. Fishing the cable down from behind the glove box was an exercise in patience but I eventually was able to pull it down and run it under the right side door kick plate, up across the back right, and then through the grommet that is behind the rear passenger right side seat into the trunk.
   1. I used a very long cable tie (~30" long) as my fish tape. It worked really well for fishing through the firewall, through the dash, and down the front side of the door opening. Patience was key. I tipped the glove box all the way down by pulling the plugs you use to get at the cabin filter. This expose a slot on the right side that allowed me to see what I was doing behind the dash board when I was fishing the wire though. I also took off the dash board's right side panel next to the door to be able to see and steer the cable.
4. I chose to re-use the factory speaker wiring from the trunk. I used schematic wiring diagrams that can be found on the forums to locate all of the speaker runs from the original ML amp. If anyone needs the color codings, I can provide them.
5. I removed the ML amp and carefully clipped off each of the speaker wire-pairs from the ML connector. They are twisted pairs, which makes it a bit easy to work with. Just carefully watch the +/- conductor. I then crimped new speaker wire to the ends, and ran these to my new amp. This saved me a lot of work of having to run new speaker wires up the car sides and into the doors.
6. I ran all the other cables (other than the power) from the grommet behind the back seat under the center console. I put them into a loom to keep them neat and protected. To get them in under the armrest, I had to remove all the center console screws and lift it up to fish them under. Not enough room to fish them without lifting it up first. Here's what ran in the loom: RCA cable, Amp turn-on, backup camera signal, Sirius XM antenna cable, and backup-light signal.
7. There are a lot of opinions on where to mount a SiriusXM antenna. The SiriusXM antenna is designed to be flat mounted with an unobstructed view of the horizon in 360 degrees, like on the roof of the car. (That's why putting it on a dash board doesn't work well - the roof casts a 'shadow' from the satellites). I chose to mount it next to the rear antenna, run the cable underneath the trunk weatherstripping and into the trunk, then up the center console with all the other cables. I've had very good luck with where I mounted it. Just have to keep the tail away from the convertible lid and mechanism by tucking it in securely.
8. The Axxess adapter worked very well for me. It plugs into the CAN bus from the steering wheel and converts it into an analog signal to emulate the resistor network used by most cars and head units. The Sony head unit recognized the buttons immediately and it worked like magic. All the buttons do what they're supposed to. (Unlike the beat sonic which maps the 'up/down' to fader controls if you use the ML amp)
9. I mounted the phone mic up on the light assembly that sits above the rear view mirror. Removing the left window pillow block molding made that a 2 minute job to route the cable up there and then fish it through from the left side over to the radio area. Super easy.
10. The Sony unit has 2 USB and 1 HDMI input. Only one of the USB inputs is usable for a phone. The other is for a thumb drive. I see no purpose for that (who carries a thumb drive of music anymore?). I used a Metra HDMI/USB Pass Through Extension and mounted it in place of the power socket inside the center console. I had to slightly enlarge that hole with my dremel to make it fit, but not difficult.
11. I wanted to keep the original 'factory door' over the radio. I couldn't find the right size thread/length of screws that would allow me to mount the Sony unit inside the factory door module. The factory module has thick plastic bosses where the mounting holes are and need about 3mm longer screws. I eventually gave up and decided to use the Metra 'without door' adapter. It looks decent, but I may eventually go find some screws that can allow me to put it back into the factory door module.
12. I tried a few tricks that found on the forum to try to salvage the CAN bus so that I could retain the upper factory NAV door function and buttons. I tried a few things and could get EITHER the Axxess module OR the upper door & buttons to work, but not both at the same time. I gave up and decided that the head unit + apple CarPlay was much better anyway.
13. The rear camera was easy to mount. I drilled a hole above the plate for the cable and then had to fish it out underneath the styrofoam that backs up the bumper. I took out both of the license plate lights and used my fingers through those holes to push the styrofoam back and pull the cable through. I then put the cable in some small loom and cable tied it to the right backup light cable. There is a very convenient grommet next to each of the backup lights where those cables come in (see picture where I'm pointing at one that I pulled up). I poked a small hole in the grommet from the right backup light and pulled the video cable in and then caulked the hole to seal it up after I reinstalled the grommet. I tapped the backup light cable (pick up the red supply-side wire with a power-tap out of the loom on the rear wall of the car) to power & signal the backup camera and carry the signal to the head unit that the car is in reverse.
14. The Sony Unit has a "parking brake wire". I just grounded it with the ground wires. It allows you to use all functions of the head unit without being in park.
15. I'm not completely happy with the physical location of the new amp. I didn't dress the wires since I'll likely move it. It is just slightly too big to tuck into the right side of the trunk. For now, it will sit there, but I may change that when I decide what I can do differently. I used a hole saw to cut neat holes for the speaker & signals, and a separate smaller one for the power/ground to keep them mostly apart.

I probably have about 16 hours invested in this overhaul over 4 evenings.

Here are a few pix. I'm really happy with how it turned out and sounds. It is so nice to have a modern stereo, good hands free calling, bluetooth, and CarPlay. Feels like a 'new car' even though it was built 20 years ago!



Grommet behind the battery that I used to run power.




Power cable installed. I used loom around it to protect it. Routed in front of the fusebox and over to the + terminal.



All buttoned back up with the battery and horn reinstalled. That part was very straight forward.




Amp and Nav removed. Extending each of the factory speaker wires from the original output connector of the factory harness that plugged into the ML amp.



Running the power up the back left part of the door frame and along the side of the rear passenger seat. The red cable is the new power cable.


Through the grommet hole behind the seat.


Hole for the camera cable. The camera sticks on with industrial double-stick tape. I cleaned the area well with alcohol before attaching the camera.


Grommet where the back-right tail light cable comes into the car. This is the easiest place to bring the camera cable into the car. Trace up that existing loom and you'll find a red wire in there that carries the voltage when the reverse gear is engaged. Tap into that to power the camera and signal the head unit about going in reverse.


Not the neatest wiring job (yet). But you can see the amp is just slightly too big to fit into the cubby. Not sure what I'll do with it permanently, but for now, it is working.


My new antenna and Sirius XM antenna. Tuck the tail of the XM antenna down behind the black plastic inside the trunk edge so it doesn't get pinched/rubbed when you open the convertible top. Then I dropped it behind the interior trim and it fell out right where I needed it to put it in the loom I was pulling the audio wiring in. Convenient.



Finished product. Sounds good. Metra frame matches the silver trim nicely.

Harold57

Okay, now you can't just keep us hanging... Please describe what you replaced and what you installed. Then, of course, you need to post some pictures! How do you like the new setup?

MattInLex

LOL - yeah something happened and it posted before I was done editing. So the original post now has everything and a few pix. I don't have a glamor-shot of the car out in the sun, but trust me that she looks pretty and shiny

I'm really happy with it. Would have liked to get the factory door assembly and the factory nav system buttons working - mostly because I kinda think that's 'vintage' and makes it looks stock. But really, not needed since the new system is much better than a 20-year-old nav system.

khuong

Congrats man. Looks great!

Neil E

Nice work and an excellent finished look to the head unit.
.

oneround

Great work. Makes me ashamed I didn't take pictures myself.

Harold57

Looks sharp MattInLex. The frame even matches the metal color above it. Nice job. How does it sound?

MattInLex

Thanks. It was helpful to see your upgrade thread too. As I said above, the axxess module worked perfectly for me, but couldn’t make it work with the CAN bus bridge. Thanks for the pointer on the bus.

MattInLex

pleased with the sound. Plenty of power and crispness. The overall sound is very good. I can tell that the upper door speakers are not connected because of the directionality of the sound. Not bad, just not quite as full sounding. I might go in and connect them to the head unit directly to see how that works. But for now, I’m quite happy with the sound and function.

MattInLex

I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I thought I would. I didn’t want to slow myself down I guess. I really appreciated some of the pictures other people had posted and wanted to pay that forward to someone else… but alas I fell short . The one thing I couldn’t find much documentation on was the holes in the firewall to run the power. So that’s why I posted them in case someone has the same questions as I did before starting.

GmanSC

Why does it look lopsided? The photo angle?

MattInLex

Yeah, not a great picture. It is straight and square - I'd twitch every time I got in the car if it wasn't.

Bgw70

EXCELLENT write up and very professional installation with instructions.
have you considered placing the XM antenna inside?
I put mine here and no dropouts at all.

MattInLex

that would definitely be easier, for sure and looks great. Before I did the install, I had a standalone XM unit piped in through the FM antenna. I tried a few spots for the antenna and most didn’t get good reception. I tried that spot too. I settled on the spot next to the antenna and have had good results for a few months.

Glad your spot works well. It could be because of where I live compared to where the satellites orbit. The ‘line of sight’ might be more overhead in my area?? Just a guess.

whlng88

Great job. So patient n meticulous. My 2001 SC430 original M Levinson sound system still going fine but have jotted down your notes. Thanks