08 Sequoia Entertainment System Issue

[Juhls22]

Hi all:

Love the site. Finding lots of useful info.

We just picked up a 2008 Sequoia LTD with NAV and DVD/rear entertainment system. My wife was a big Sirius radio fan in our old truck, so I had Sirius installed by a professional installer. Problem is, now we can not get the sound to come out of the speakers when we play a DVD for the kids. The wireless headphone work fine, but no sound out of the speakers and the DVD menu does not even come up on the screen.

Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[jliltd]

First, I'd disconnect your negative battery terminal for about 10 minutes and then reconnect. This will force a "reboot" of your audio system and might clear things up. This is a quick and easy check without having to dig into the dash.

If that doesn't work it sounds like your professional installer disconnected the RSE plug (rear-seat-entertainment). He would do this to install the Sirius interface harness. They both share the same port on the back of the Nav and both should be teed together somehow.

As an example, when the Toyota OEM XM kit is installed with the 2007+ Toyota factory Nav systems the XM plugs into the RSE plug on the back of the head unit. There is a pass-through pigtail on the XM harness that allows the rear-seat plug to be plugged back in downstream on the XM harness. It's kind of a piggy-back thing.

Sounds like you are using an aftermarket Sirius harness. If your installer used the RSE plug on the Nav unit for your Sirius and the new Sirius harness didn't have provisions to piggy-back on the original RSE harness that could well be your problem. Or maybe your guy didn't notice the attaching tee on the Sirius harness. Also, if the harnesses are connected together maybe the pinouts are wrong for your vehicle on the Sirius harness thereby scrambling the connections.

That's just my guess.

[Juhls22]

Thanks for the response. The RSE plug was unplugged and has since been plugged back in. Now the Entertainment system works, but the Sirius doesn't.

Is anyone aware of some sort of "Y" plug that might be able to remedy this situation?

Thanks,
Glenn

[jliltd]

Originally Posted by Juhls22

Thanks for the response. The RSE plug was unplugged and has since been plugged back in. Now the Entertainment system works, but the Sirius doesn't.

Is anyone aware of some sort of "Y" plug that might be able to remedy this situation?

Thanks,
Glenn

Glenn,

Sounds like your guy unplugged the Sirius and plugged the RSE jack back where it was originally directly into the Nav unit. These two items share the same port. I only have experience with the XM kit for the Tundra / Sequoia but I can only assume they are the same for Sirius. Here is what I'm talking about. In the following photo you can see the XM sattelite plug on the left labeled "XM" with a permanent marker.



This new "XM" plug goes directly into the RSE port on the back of the Nav unit to take the place of the original RSE plug from the factory. There is a new RSE plug farther up the new XM harness that effectively creates a "Y" in the RSE circuit. That plug is circled with red on the right. The original RSE plug from your vehicle harness should be plugged back into this new piggyback plug so that both entertainment elements go into the one RSE port on the Nav unit.

For more information on this installation see the 2008 Sequoia Sirius instructions, more specifically figure 6-5 on page 10 and the text of step (5) of the following document:

http://www.trdsparks.com/install/PT545-0C081inst.pdf

There is also the outside chance that your installer put the "Y" down by the Sirius tuner rather than up at the head unit (i.e. it's backwards). In that case he won't see a "Y" behind the Nav and he needs to check at the other end.

If your Sirius harness does not have this built-in extra plug (the "Y") on either end maybe it's not an original Toyota Fit Kit Sirius harness that's being used. I don't know if there is a simple Y that can be attached to your Sirius harness or whether you need a new one.

If there is a "Y" and both are plugged in then it must be a problem with your Sirius harness that needs to be addressed by whomever sold it to you.

Finally, your installer is a professional and should know all this and have access to installation documents like that above. If not you're paying him to learn and the tuition could be high. He did use the real factory Toyota Sirius fit kit, didn't he?

[Juhls22]

Great post...thanks for the insights. I have come to the realization that my installer is a moron.

Any idea how to get my hands on a Sirius "Y" adapter? Is it part of the fit kit? I guess my installer should have know this.

Thanks

[jliltd]

None of this would have been an issue if your installer realized what having a rear-seat-entertainment system meant. If he installed his same stuff in a base Tundra or bare Sequoia it would have worked fine.
If he really paid attention to life he'd be the one with the new Sequoia instead of installing radios.

TRD Sparks has the fit kit for $90. Part Number PT545-0C081. If it were me I'd try to get your installer to get you the right harness as it's been his fault all along. You as the customer shouldn't have to know all this detailed radio stuff. That's what you hired him for. The fit kit has more than just the harness and there would be parts left over if all you needed was the harness. Then again if your installer put the Sirius tuner somewhere different than behind the glove box as Toyota designed, even this correct harness may be too short. Here's more information on the fit kit:

SIRIUS Satellite Radio Fit Kit at Sparks Toyota-Scion, Myrtle Beach, SC

In a worse-case scenario where there was an incompatibility between what your pro installed and what your Sequoia really needs you'll have to get him to remove all his stuff and put in the Toyota Fit Kit ($90) and the Toyota Sirius Receiver ($180) so it all works like it should with the factory sound system. If the new equipment costs more than what he used you may have to make up the difference but under no circumstances should you have to pay any additional labor. He will just have to sell his removed stuff to some guy with a Gremlin or Pacer.

[Juhls22]

Let's hope the guy with the Gremlin or the Pacer doesn't have a Rear Entertainment system!

Thanks again for the help.

[jliltd]

Originally Posted by Juhls22

Let's hope the guy with the Gremlin or the Pacer doesn't have a Rear Entertainment system!

Hahahaha