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Comments
Thanks
You can get my email by clicking on my login name on this post also... if you are logged into this site.
I tried by-passing the amp but to no avail.
NOTE: I CANNOT be certain I jumped ins and out correctly. It is one complicated mess. There are 18 wires on that plug - 16 for speakers and 2 others for antenna and amp detect. Some of the labeling in the manual's diagram was ambiguous.
In brief - here's what I did.
First, with radio power OFF, I UNPLUGGED the power plug from the trunk amp to avoid the possibility of burning out the amp by operating it without a load.
Then I unplugged the bigger "C1" plug for sound feeds and returns.
Next,I jumped the following on the "C1" plug:
LEFT CH RIGHT CH
B1 to B2 A1 to A2
B3 to B4 A3 to A4
B9 to B10 A9 to A10
B11 to B12 A11 to A12
I don't know if this was correct but it was my best guess based on the info in the diagram .
When I put the key in and turned on the radio, it lit up but nothing happened - No sound from any speaker whatsoever. Same with the tape player.
It was rather awkard bending over that trunk lip and trying to push my makeshift jumper wires into those little holes on the connector.
With radio OFF and ignition key pulled, I removed the jumpers and reconnected the power and audio plugs to the amp. Yes, it still worked.
Maybe someone else will have better results than I did.
I DO NOT HAVE A WEBSITE BUT IF SOMEONE WANTS TO POST THE SERVICE MANUAL DIAGRAM, (presuming humahuma does not object) I WILL MAKE IT AVAILABLE FOR OTHERS TO SEE AND MAYBE COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT COMBINATION OF JUMPS.
I also look forward to smithy 101 on Impala V posting his Impala stereo setup this weekend.
Frankg@equitrac.com
Very interested in studying these schematics!
(Thanks for your last comments in the Impala V topic....we'll have fun this weekend...and make sure you do too!)
#150 of 169: CD-CHANGER in trunk??? (mahler1) Sat 06 May '00 (10:07 AM)
Does anyone have the option (MX9) for a trunk mounted CD-CHANGER. This option consists of having the RDS radio with cassette only (ULO). I have been unable to find a changer that works. Has anyone been successful.
I have the 2000 Monte and purchased this option and have gotten a 12 disc changer that works with the car. Check out http://www.radiosandmore.com/ and pick General Motors and 2000 Impala and that will show your their 12 disc changer for your car, it is the same one for the Monte. In addition the radio MIGHT need to be reprogrammed with the Tech 2 instrument by a dealer in order to talk correctly to the cd changer. In my case my dealer found that even though the wiring harness was installed at the factory it was not connected to the back of the radio. The changer is MUCH cheaper from the website than your dealer will see it to you, but you may need the dealers help to get it up and working.
Good luck.
Hope you or others come up with a simple or relatively inexpensive fix.
http://members.theglobe.com/reimanjw/
Be warned it is fairly large (319K).
I just wanted to get it online quickly so I did'nt play with resizing it. I'll probably put a smaller sized image up later. Also If anyone has any 2000 Impala related material they would like to be put up on the web I would be happy to put it up there if they emailed it too me. I just don't have the time or motivation search for stuff to put up on the page myself.
Unless my original amp is an aberration or they've changed the innards in some way, the new one will probably sound the same.
Has anyone else had their amp replaced by the dealer under warranty?
Left spkr Right spkr
B1-to-B9 (LF-) A1-to-A9 (RF-)
B2 to B10 (LF+) A2 to A10 (RF-+)
B3 to B11 (LR-) A3 to A11 (RR-)
B4 to B12 (LR+) A4 to A12 (RR+)
I have been reading the last two forums and thought I would add my .02 cents. I am in law enforcement. My new "unmarked" car is a green base model with the light oak cloth interior. For undercover use, we get base models, no police package. I love the car! In fact, I recently decided to sell my suburban and 24 foot jayco TT and buy a new Impala of my own. I am looking for a Black LS with everything on it. I will opt for the leather buckets and sunroof.
I have noticed one problem with my car that was addressed in the previous forum. A reader indicated that the drive selection indicator did not light in certain conditions. My car has had that problem. I have not yet returned it for repair, but found the cause to be in the passenger side fuse box. The problem is related to the theatre lighting - I noticed it originally when coming out of the garage. The headlights would shut off but the dash lights (and drive indicator) would not get brighter. After experimentation I discovered I was not hearing the relay kick in. The problem has been traced to the fuse not making good contact. When you touch the fuse, it is VERY hot. Wiggle it and it will begin to work. I have even seen sparks from the base of the fuse holder when wiggling the fuse. Hopefully this wont be a complicated fix.
Last week when test driving an LS with the 3.8, I noticed the extremely poor quality of the radio. I have been following the info on that as I too am one who couldn't stand the weak sound of the premium system, especially compared to the superior sound of my base stereo in the "plain wrapper."
BTW, if anyone would like a nice trailer...
Basicly all you are doing with the bypass is redirecting the Amp input to the speakers. This would mean that the Head unit is a high level output and not a pre-amp signal. This would explain the lack of bass. If you amplify an already amplified signal, you will get tons of bass distortion. This is wy GM tuned the amp to cut out the really low bass. This prevents you from blowing the speakers and creating a warranty claim. Kinda a Half-Assed way for GM to do this. The correct way for GM to have added the amp would have been to send a preamp signal to the amp and let it ampligy the full range. Oh-Well, at least there is a cure. Oh,, for those of you wondering what the "amp detect" wire is for, this turns the amp on when you start the car.
As for hanging wires,, I would just get some electrical tape from radio shack, tape it up and zip tieit to the underside of the rear deck. That should clean up the install a little.
Oh,, and I too have a different kind of Impala Radio bypass...
http://www.myloudcar.com
This is what I came up with...
Basicly all you are doing with the bypass is redirecting the Amp input to the speakers. This would mean that the Head unit is a high level output and not a pre-amp signal. This would explain the lack of bass. If you amplify an already amplified signal, you will get tons of bass distortion. This is wy GM tuned the amp to cut out the really low bass. This prevents you from blowing the speakers and creating a warranty claim. Kinda a Half-Assed way for GM to do this. The correct way for GM to have added the amp would have been to send a preamp signal to the amp and let it ampligy the full range. Oh-Well, at least there is a cure. Oh,, for those of you wondering what the "amp detect" wire is for, this turns the amp on when you start the car.
As for hanging wires,, I would just get some electrical tape from radio shack, tape it up and zip tieit to the underside of the rear deck. That should clean up the install a little.
Oh,, and I too have a different kind of Impala Radio bypass...
http://www.myloudcar.com
This is what I came up with...
This is on reason why standard speakers of 6.5in
will not fit. I plan to go to a car stereo store
to see what might fit that would not cost an arm and a leg. At he same time I will inquire about another amp, I will try to find a small, 25-50watt
per channel. If I do replace the amp I plan to replace the rear speakers also with some upgraded
6x9. I don't plan to spend alot, but do plan to do the work myself. Rewiring the amp will be the worst part but certainly it can be done.
I'll repost what information I can find.
If the polarity is reversed, the speaker will still work, but will be out of phase with the other and hence you will not get as much bass as you would like. If you do this, replace both speakers, and see how that sounds. The factory speakers should sound fine. The only drawback to the factory speakers is that they can not handel any power. If you ever add an amp to the system, you will need to replace these.
I'm actually getting BASS out of my front speakers like I should. Even before I hooked my subwoofer back in the system it sounded great.
And with the subwoofer I've got tons of bass plus enough power coming out of the front speakers to make it sound just awesome. I wish I had known about bypassing the amp a couple of months ago, I might not have even bought the subwoofer box and amp. Oh well It was my tax refund anyway that I spent on the subs.
Someone who has by-passed the amp has to demonstrate this to a chevy dealer to prove:
The amp is a problem.
Duraflex, did you ever get your replacement amp installed. Did it have the same problem????
Take care everyone and enjoy the richness of your new improved radio w/o that worthless amp.
As I posted earlier, even the Auto volume adjust for speed compensation works.
It does not solve all the reception problems - however WITHOUT the amp, AM seems somewhat less prone to interference when driving alongside power lines. Also, the AM signal from NYC, about 90 miles away seems slightly stronger with less white noise.
It was jjmahler who figured it out. God Bless him. He wrote me that he has YEARS of experience reading schematics and he did us all a great service.
No - I did not get the replacement amp installed last Wednesday because of an unanticipated scheduling problem on my end. They're still holding it for me. I'll probably get it but my expectations are low.
If you decide you want to sell the subwoofers and reclaim some trunk space and some dollars, there's always regional ebay and the local newpapers!
My guess is you could get at least half of what you paid.
Don't know why it dropped my username.
I was reading post #180, but since my knowledge of car radio wiring installations is very limited, I would like to know, exactly in detail, how you bypassed the AMP and what Cable/Connector you used to by pass the thing. Is this a cable connector I can buy at my nearest Radio Shack?
It seems a very simple procedure, But I would like good instructions before I start to tinker with the amp cables.
What baffles me is, why in the world GM would spend $$$ to install an AMP that limits and deteriorates the sound quality of the Impala Radio? It appears to be that their intent was to protect the speakers and the radio and in the process the AMP, became more of a volume and sound limiter than an actual AMP device.
In any case I want to congratulate the people that helped in solving this dillemma. I think this is the cheapest repair/recall in history, if GM is willing to do something about it sometime within the next 20 years!
Dura, thanks for your help and patience.
and actually received a response. I have a phone
number and a reference number. We'll see what happens. Perhaps Chevy is actually listening, whether anything is resolved remains to be seen.
I am doing the amp bypass this weekend to see if there really is a difference in the sound quality.
I think what I'll do is jumper the leads at the connector and take it to the dealer and then it will be very evident, once someone listens to the stereo with the jumpers and then all I have to do
is pull the jumpers from the plug, reconnect and let them make a determination. I'll post the results.
Using the manual tone adjustment, remember to turn the BASS WAY DOWN (and the VOLUME DOWN too) before you turn the radio power OFF. Then it's okay to disconnect the two big plugs on the back of the amp.
You will be amazed at the amount of BASS.
It will be very interesting to read what the dealer tells you and to see if GM ever comes up with anything. I gave up on them a long time ago.
My service manager - weeks ago - with the amp still connected - said everything sounded fine to him. Of course he also claimed he has a hearing problem.
http://www.myloudcar.com/2000impala/bypass/Bypass1d.jpg
that you used the bigger holes in the top and bottom of the plug rather than the smaller center holes. Is there any difference? Because I used the center ones. Should we maybe run the jumpers on both sets of holes? Does anyone know?
Thanks
jreimann
The wires were merely an expedient - sounds great, looks dumb. I'm always looking for a better mousetrap. Seems like you found it.
Apparently you like the improved sound, Yes?
If you don't wan't it hanging around, you can leave it hooked up. This will not cause any damage to the system by leaveing the main power to it.
The Amp will not turn on without the remote wire being conected. The remote wire is one of the white wires in the other plug.
Most amps work by having power on all the time, and they turn on with a remote wire that sends a signal to turn the amp on. The Impala Amp seems to work this way as well...
Just an FYI...
1) Why TWO 25 pin plugs?
2) You're naming 9 jumps instead of 8?
1 thru 4 = 4
9 thru 13= 5
3) How are you jumping within that male plug?
An image or diagram would definitely help.
Thanks.
We are very close to the solution of this problem.
Thanks TEO
(Feel free to E-mail me the pics at: frankg@equitrac.com)
which and you install and crimp the wire to whatever configuration you want.If you can wait until the weekend I can send you pictures.Also I'll ask smithy101 if I could send him the pics.
So it seems that duraflex has the solution for the Impala...does anyone know if the Impala amp bypass works for the MC stereo? Could someone post the part numbers of the stereo and the amp of the Impalas? The parts could be cross checked to see if they are the same (I have a feeling they are).
My question is this...if I was presented with the connector schematic (at the site that jreimann posted in #174), I would have done what duraflex did in his original post/attempt #167. It would seem proper to jumper the right subwoofer speaker feed (A2) the the right subwoofer speaker return (A1) (different color wires?...sorry, I'm mechanical, not electrical). So why does it work to connect the left rear speaker return (A9) to the right subwoofer speaker return (A1)? I can't wait to get my car (I've been waiting a long time, but that's another story), and I want good stereo without the added cost of major mods.
Also, do these mods affect the ability to adjust balance or fade?
Thanks for you help! Good job!
It's late here for me but I had too much caffeine at dinner so I'm awake but I'm not sure I'm coherent.
Presumably, you understand that the bad audio is only on Impalas with the trunk amp.
Anyway, be aware that at least one guy posted that his Monte Carlo with trunk amp sounded just fine. BOTH His model and reference numbers on his TRUNK AMP were SLIGHTLY different than mine.
(Numbers posted on this site somewhere way back.)
I've been wiring video and audio stuff for years and that C1 plug diagram made no sense to me.
I never saw such terminology and there were errors and inconsistencies in its labeling.
It may even have been from an outdated 2000 Impala manual that humahuma had that was later replaced with a subsequent edition.
Anyhow, the definitive post is #180 on this forum. Poster jjmahler figured out the pattern and it works.
YOU DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK and the BASS is so powerful that you can blow the speakers IF you really crank it up and overdrive the speakers.
Frankly, I like the volume low to midlin.
I'm DRIVING after all and I want - NO, WE ALL NEED TO HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON OUTSIDE the car - sirens, other cars, kids etc. The radio sound is just an add-on.
The advantage of the bypass over the amp is the sound is FULL FIDELITY at all volume settings from the lowest to as loud as I want to hear it.
If you keep the thing on Manual tone control with the BASS DOWN - a couple notches to LEFT of center - you'll probably be very happy as others who have done it are.
And yes - you still have full balance and fade control. Treble has a lot better range too. You can cut it back substantially to drop the music frequencies below your conversation.
However, with the Monte amp, all this may not even be an issue.
Good Luck with your new Chevy !
Wow. What a difference. this is the first time since I owned my Impala that I really enjoyed the stereo. You gotta do it.
Just refer to post 180 for the directions, post 174 for the amp schematic, and post 203 for a picture of the actual bypass. Good luck.
Back on post 200, MIRIC opened a formal complaint to Chevy thru their website and received a response. MIRIC has a phone number and a reference number.
MIRIC please post that information.
Then...
Lets set a date and all of us happy campers who
by-passed the amp should call on that exact date and use Miric's reference number.
We'll join forces on that day and make some real noise.
I doubt if Chevy will have a fix by supplying a better amp that really makes our stereos sound better. But we all can demand a rebate of say $150.00.
ALL of us on the same day - GOOD IDEA - maybe then they'll stop the denials and do the right thing - Service Bulletin recall.
I've spent(wasted?) needless hours finding a solution for this STUPID, ANNOYING problem that GM should have fixed for us.
Although I'm quite satisfied with the sound, I'm still not happy with two dangling plugs and jumpered wires in my trunk...and the uncertainity of whether this presents any safety or fire hazard. I doubt there's a problem but I don't know for sure. I trust it enough to park the car the garage of our house every night but still I'd like GM to do a recall and make it look right and provide some assurances.
GM owes me/us BIG TIME.
First, with radio power OFF, I UNPLUGGED the
smaller power plug from the trunk amp to avoid the
possibility of burning out the amp by operating itwithout a load.
Then I carefully unplugged the bigger "C1" plugfor sound feeds and returns.
You will need 8 small gauge wires, each about 70mm
in length, with both ends stripped about 6mm.
Following jjmahler's POST #176, I jumped thefollowing on the "C1" plug:
Left spkrs Right spkrs
B1-to-B9 (LF-) A1-to-A9 (RF-)
B2 to B10 (LF+) A2 to A10 (RF-+)
B3 to B11 (LR-) A3 to A11 (RR-)
B4 to B12 (LR+) A4 to A12 (RR+)
When I put the key in and turned on the radio, it
lit up and sounded absolutely GREAT. To those who
try this, you will not believe your ears.
The difference is like night and day. It sounds
very rich - just as good as the Impala radioswithout the trunk amp.
IMPORTANT UNRESOLVED ISSUES:I DID NOT replug the power plug into the amp.
Why power something that isn't working? I do not
know if leaving it hang unconnected presents asafety or electrical hazard.
I DO NOT know if leaving the radio wired this way
will damage anything in the car.
The speaker plug with its 8 pigtail jumpers looks
pretty sad hanging up there in the trunk and there
must be a more elegant solution like a factory
supplied male jumper plug. How cheap would that be
for GM to provide that fix? VERY CHEAP.
To those who try the amp bypass, please post your
results. I am anxious to know what you think.Good Luck! "duraflex"
The poster above was trying to be helpful but did NOT quote my post #180 in its entirety.
Aside from omitting important details, he also left out this caveat:
If you do the trunk amp bypass, IT IS COMPLETELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
This is merely a makeshift "fix" for something GM/Chevrolet should have gotten right in the first place. Although it sounds much better, especially at low to moderate listening levels, I still have reservations about it. I still think GM should do a recall and fix it properly and assure us of its safety.
I did not arrive at this "solution" alone - although I may have helped push the issue and lead the way.
CREDITS:
Jmahler - a guy who's been reading prints for 40 years - came up with the wiring combo.
Humahuma first planted the notion that a trunk amp bypass was possible.
Smithy101 - another neat guy over here who participates in car audio competitions posted my composite picture of just how simple it is.
To see it, click on this link:
http://www.myloudcar.com/2000impala/bypass/Bypass1d.jpg
(Look at what he's doing while you're at it!)
Also, bypassers-to-be should at least read all the subsequent posts (after 180) to get a full picture of what this is all about BEFORE deciding to do it.
*************************************************
Finally let me add this:
This bypass will give you a LOT MORE BASS - potentially TOO MUCH BASS if you're not careful - you COULD literally blow the speakers!!!
SOOOOOOOOOO When you're finally ready to try this and are just about to do it, Re-read this:
(Please, PRINT THIS or WRITE IT DOWN.)
The radio is a push-on/push-off design, so some precautions are required to avoid post bypass overload!
Turn the radio on.
Turn the VOLUME DOWN VERY LOW.
Put the tone on MANUAL.
Turn the BASS DOWN - at least two notches left of center.
Next, push off the radio power.
Take the key out.
Refer to POST#180.
--------------------------------------
You're likely to love the new sound.
When it's all said and done, DO NOT play it TOO loud or with too much BASS. I repeat - IF you do, YOU can and YOU will blow your speakers!!!
And for safety's sake, please remember you're still DRIVING a car!
Be careful and Good Luck. "Duraflex"