Chevrolet Impala Audio

hunter39 · July 2001

etcarroll, maybe others could do the same thing. There might be a tsb out there for the popping and fade out, has anyone seen one? There could be an internal memo on this and could use it as leverage.

etcarroll · July 2001

The first line of my post this morning should have the phrase 'CD player' in place of the word 'amp', as in;

A few months back, I posted that my 'CD player' on my '01 LS cut in and out.

Sorry for any confusion.

impalanator · July 2001

Well, I went to the dealer on friday to have the oil changed and tires rotated. While there I went to see the service manager personally. I took a copy of 2k_impala_ls post #655 and gave it to him. He goes and talks to his parts guy. Tells me that the new amp# 10309548 is not listed for the Impala but is listed as being for the Monte Carlo? However, they have a local Delphi shop that they deal with and all their radio work has to go thru them. He said if he could pull my amp and send it to the manager over there he would see what he could do. I told him to go ahead and I would just bypass it when I got home. He just looked at me puzzled and said "I dont think you can"? Called him back today and he said they ordered the new amp. WOOOHHOOO!!!. Hopefully it will be in Thursday. BTW I have the first series part number 102 amp.

While there I found my saleman and went out on the lot and listened to a new 2k1. Checked the amp part number in this new Impala and guess what? Its the 10309548 number. Guess its not just Monte Carlo. Just like 2k_impala_ls said the sound was night and day difference. With my bass fully up it sounded like the new car with bass at only one notch up. What a difference!

Now for a question. Up to this point I had not bothered with the amp bypass. I did it after I got home (otherwise no radio at all). Has anyone noticed that with the bypass some radio stations have very high bass levels when you switch to them? If you just turn the bass down a notch and back it sounds normal again and not the high distorted level when you first tuned it in. This happens on two of the radio stations I listen to but not the others. It did not due this with the amp installed. Either that or my amp was cutting the bass so much I didn't notice. Any thoughts?

sim3 · July 2001

Well, after miserable experiences with one dealer, I finally tried another one and it really paid off - I was in and out within 20 minutes, the new amp is on order and should arrive early next week. They were fairly baffled why the first dealer wouldn't do what they thought was a "really straightforward thing", me having done the research for them.

Needless to say I'm quite happy for this and can't wait for the new amp to arrive :-) Still can't believe the other dealer would lose a customer over something this trivial.

wipson · July 2001

The exact same thing happened to me after I had the 103 amp installed. I'm glad you mentioned it, I thought it was only me, and it was driving me crazy. But, you're in luck. I figured out how to solve it. Just tune to the station using the pre-set and adjust the bass (I also noticed that if you turn the treble up or down one notch it goes away too) and the auto-tone to your liking, then press the pre-set button for a few seconds until it beeps, and it will sound great every time you tune in that station. Don't even ask me how long it took me to stumble across that. Good luck, and let me know if it works for you as well.

Sim3, I'm very happy for you. I just could not believe that so many of us are doing the exact same thing and getting vastly different results.

spider717 · July 2001

My dealer said they can't find any info, memos or anything about this problem. I know they wanna help, they are asking for all the info I have. I was wondering what all I should send them, and where I can get it?

sim3 · July 2001

2k_impala_ls recently posted a link to his page he made on the amp replacement with some info; here it is again. I took the "How to get your amp replaced"-page and some posts from the radio forum to a dealer and that did the trick.

I'm thinking your dealer should at least be able to call GM techs and verify the amp information and part numbers, even if he for some reason doesn't have them on his system. There isn't, AFAIK, a TSB of the amp problem so no use going through those.

teo · July 2001

Suggestion:: Make a good printout of the posts found in this topic and show them to your service manager.

jeffreyw1 · July 2001

I talked with the service manager at the dealership I bought my car from and he said that the 103 amplifier would not connect to the wire harness like the 104 did. Is this correct? He seemed to act very helpful and was willing to exchange the bad amplifier. I just don't want him
to think that a new 104 amp would solve my problem. I told him about the poor sound quality and the lack bass adjustment. Any suggestions?

Does anyone who had their amp replaced can verify that the 103 amp will connect to the Impala's wiring harness just as the 104 amp did? Please answer. I do not want to be stuck with this 104 amp. Thanks!

Teo, do you know which posts in particular that I need to print out to justify replacing the 104 amp?

sim3 · July 2001

I'm still waiting for my new amp to arrive, but I've got confirmation from several sources (dealer, GM, Delco) that the 103 should pop right in place of the 104. Look back a few posts - a few people have installed it themselves, saying it's very easy to replace and perfectly compatible, so I wouldn't expect any wiring problems.

2k_impala_ls · July 2001

I had my new amp installed at the dealer about 2 hours ago and it is an exact replacement, I took a peek when I got home and the only visable difference is the new part # sticker on the amp.

I felt like I was driving a different car on the way home. I went from zero bass to now at 1/2 bass is almost too much. On my receipt it said something in reference to "amp replaced as per service bulletin" but it gave no #. They fixed it in 10 minutes and are mailing me the final copy. If the SB # is on that one, I will post it. Good luck. Go get yours fixed!!!!

For more info visit my website for a printable page.

http://www.luckyjdr.homestead.com/impala.html

hunter39 · July 2001

Your service manager has no idea what he is talking about if he says it will not work. If he needs any convincing have him go and pull the 103 amp from a 2k1 on the lot and match them up. He will see that it will work, not adjustments need to be made and it clips right into place. I did it myself when the new part came in at the dealer, I layed down in the trunk while the service manager was coming in from the backseat and we just pushed it in place, no muss no fuss!

00impala · July 2001

I am still waiting for my 103 Amp, they ordered it Friday a week ago, For some resason they told me that they would notify me that the part was in the dealership Parts Dept via "Mail"? Why don't they just call? I am calling them first thing Thursday morning. I have the ByPass haphazzardly hanging there and I can hear some fuzz, I cannot wait to throw those wires in the Trash once my 103 is in place. Don

impalanator · July 2001

Hey Wipson, thanks for the info. I guess I wasn't thinking on the right track or I'd have remembered this. When you select a station and a autotone setting whether it be manual or something else when you preset the station it records all those settings. I don't normally use the autotone settings as they weren't worth squat with the old amp. But I must have with these two stations. So when I hit one of them they came up with autotone for rock (I guess) which was way to much bass without the amp. I reprogrammed and everything is OK now. Hopefully my new amp will be in Thursday.

Thanks for the reminder and have a happy and safe Independence Day to All. (I think I'll go rent "The Patriot" again for the holiday....)

2k_impala_ls · July 2001

I have pictures of the new amp on the site now.

http://www.luckyjdr.homestead.com/impala.html

jeffreyw1 · July 2001

Have you received that final copy of the service receipt of the replacement of your amp? I would like to get a copy of it today if it is at all possible. Thanks! I am glad to hear that your system now sounds better. I hope I will be able to have my amp replaced.

jeffreyw1 · July 2001

The service manager at the dealership where I bought my car says that my 104 amp has to be
replaced with one of the 104 amps that still remain in stock at two plants that still have inventory. He says one plant has 98 of the 104 amps and the other one has just over 100 of these amps. He entered the old part number amp (104) and it still shows the results I listed in the sentence above. He said that he would have to get the district representative to approve changing the 104 amp with a 103 amp because he stated that if they sent back a good part that GM would put them on probation. He did say that if the 103 amp ever supersedes the 104 amp that he would replace my amp at that time. Just thought you all would like to hear what I went through. There were no new Impalas on the sales lot to compare the sound quality to between my old 104 amp and the new 103 amp.

wwnf · July 2001

2 weeks ago I made an appointment with the Service manager at Delaney Chevrolet/Honda/Buck in Indiana PA, today I just got back from that 2 hour meeting and didn't get one word from the service manager. I kept asking to speak to him because I made an appointment with him but his front men said that he has the same power as them, none. They are replacing my wheel caps but they called in on the amp and took 2 hours to tell me that all the connections are good and they can't do anything. I'll be calling everyone I can get hold of to really complain about his. I waited 2 weeks to talk to the service manager and he wouldn't even come out of his office. The nice guy at the front desk told me that I'd have to go beyond them to get it fixed. He said that if he had the power to do it, it would of been done. I mentioned all part numbers, all reported problems, like the head unit heating up, popping sounds, fading in and out but all their service call would do is check the connections. It seems the only way to get this fixed is to strap a stick of TNT to the amp and light it. I even asked about exchanging the "perfectly o." amp for the good 103 amp and they said it's possible but they don't have the power to do that. They have the power to take my $24,000 but don't have any for me to ever come back.

I'm going to do what the manual says to do next, call the 800 number. I have a dozen things to complain about now.

Remember, Delaney Chevrolet in Indiana PA has very poor service.

It took me almost 2 years to get %75 of my car fixed. I still have scrappy rotors. I'll be replacing them myself if they don't.

Thanks for listening

wwnf

sim3 · July 2001

It looks like you've had some similar experiences that I did. If you want, e-mail me (check the profile) and I'll tell you what I got when complaining to "upper levels"..

My advice: change dealers and make sure the Delaney guys know that they just lost you as a customer

teo · July 2001

Your dealer simply sucks! Why do you keep banging your head against the same brick wall???

Go to a different dealer! Clearly those clowns do not value/care about your repeat business.

wyoimp · July 2001

I got this URL earlier from this site:

http://www.chevrolet.com/gmnav/contact_us/index.htm

I told Chevy how much I liked my LS, asked about them making an SS model, and oh by the way the roof strips don't fit right. Next thing I know I get a quick e-mail response with name, number, and FILE Number to get the strips fixed. Floored my local dealership, and they fixed the strips. The right one will be replaced again because it got dinged in shipping. Chevy has called repeatedly, checking progress, making appointments and giving me a free oil change certificate. In other words; Chevy cares and can get your local dealer off their FAT [non-permissible content removed].

Good Luck! ;-)

jeffreyw1 · July 2001

Which link at the URL above did you use to send your email to them (customer assistance or product suggestions)? Thanks!

pat · July 2001

Pardon this interruption, but I wanted to give you a heads-up. Sometime within the next couple of days, I will be moving this discussion to our General Sedans folder.

If you are subscribed, you won't see a bit of difference. If you access this topic from the discussion list in the Owner's Club, you won't see any difference.

You will only see a difference if you come to the main Sedans Board discussion list and find it that way. If that's the case, what you will see for about a week is a Read-Only discussion of the same name that provides a link to the discussion's new home on the other board.

As I say, I just wanted to give you some advance warning. Thanks.

Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board

kenbuzz · July 2001

A month or so ago, someone was looking into the Crutchfield CD Changer which was allegedly compatible with both Onstar and the AM/FM/CD/Cass stereo head. Any news?

wyoimp · July 2001

I used Product Suggestions. Mainly because I like the car. The roof strips were an afterthought and I saw some cars on the dealers lot with the same defect. The e-mail response came from the Customer Assistance Center. If you call the toll free number, you may get connected to Buick but, they pass the info to the correct Division / person.

night_owl1 · July 2001

Thanks for the advanced warning. If I may ask, why is this discussion moving?

night_owl1 · July 2001

I was the one looking into the changer, then I dropped the ball.

I'll get back to work on it again.

pat · July 2001

Because it is not a discussion specifically focused on a conversation about a particular model, instead it is focused on an owners type issue that probably (given the updates) is no longer of interest to the folks who may be thinking of purchasing a new Impala. I was asked to move it to the General Sedans board because of that, but that should be fine - as I say, if you are subscribed to it, you will see no difference at all.

And it will remain linked to the Owners Club which is where - I believe - it has the most significance.

I'll probably move it on Sunday.

Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board

2k_impala_ls · July 2001

I got the invoice in the mail and a copy of it is on my site for viewing in the same location of the amp info.

http://www.luckyjdr.homestead.com/impala.html

spider717 · July 2001

I just wanted to thank you for your continuing support with information. Everything you post is forwarded to my dealer, hopefully they will hook me up soon.

Thanks again!!

wwnf · July 2001

I installed JBL gto 630's and JBL gto 930's in my Impala LS tonight. Sounds a lot better than the stock speakers. I still have the 102 amp so I'm running with the bypass. I can only turn my stereo to about 50% or it gets too loud. I don't know much about amps but I think I could better control of my volume with one. I'm getting plenty of bass and it is tight like garypen posted. A more clean sound than stock. I like it.

I wish that I had extra money to get some dynamat and dynaliner to sound proof my car a little bit.

PS. I hate plastic push pins, I know they speed up assembly but they suck trying to take out without breaking,

.

wwnf

00impala · July 2001

Just an update here....I went by the Dealer last Thursday to check on the status of my #103 Booster. The Service Director was out of the Bldng and i was told to go ask the Parts Dept about the Status, My name was not in their Computer and you would have thought I was from Mars considering they had no Idea what I was talking about, I left, no Update there, I was 0ff today so I decided to go by again, I had a 20 minute talk with the Director, Seems something happened in the ordering process of the 103 and it was actually ordered on Thursday (the day 2 1/2 weeks after I thought it was ordered) The parts guys talked to the Director that day and he re-ordered it, While I was in his office a Parts Guy remembered me and popped his head in and said it arrived this morning via UPS, He said "There You Go" I was very happy! We compared the Number on the computer screen on the order form and it was #103 from Lansing Michigan....he had a few commitments for later today so they couldn't put it in today, But it goes over there at 8am Tommorow! Finally!!! I asked about the Cradle issues and the Rotors, On the Cradles he said it is a pronounced POP, and it does it 90% of the time if it is affected, (Mine is not.....Yet?) and the Rotors are considered a wear out item, I geuss if you press a bit further they would act on them, He offered to Turn them, But I will wait and see, since my Wifes '99 Z24 has a Clunk in the front, that seems more important to have fixed, I told him that it has been there 4 times since new, and they have "greased" something on 2 trips, no fix,, replaced the Steering Shaft,(still Clunks) and recently replaced a Motor Mount (still Clunks) he was concerned that 4 times didn't rectify the problem and made me an appt. in his computer for that "Clunk" on Friday! Said it might be the Rack, since they checked the Struts and the Strut Bearing Plates and they are OK, Gotta hand it to this guy! I am going to ask for his Supv's name so I can write him a Positive Comment! Wish me luck, I should be Jammin' tommorow! Don

[Deleted User] · July 2001

Congratulations! I also had an immediate improvement with the GTO's. My Impala came with the 103 amp, so I don't know if it's as dramatic an improvement with only the head unit amplifier output (bypass).
I liked the improvement so much, that I ordered the top of the line JBL Power series speakers, including extra tweeters for the dash, and a new 4 channel amp. The GTO's need to go back in my Civic, anyway.
Another huge improvement I made to the sound system was... a new set of tires! My new Yokohama AVS db's are so quiet, the only noise I hear from outside the car is the wind. Plus, I get the added benefit of Z-rated performance, so no more squealing either.

sim3 · July 2001

Went at the dealer this morning after they told me the new amp is in. Got rid of the 104 and in with the 103 and was on my way within half an hour. Talk about a difference! :-) Now the only problem is that I have to be at work for hours before I can take the Impala for a ride and enjoy the "new" system..

jeffreyw1 · July 2001

The service manager at my dealership called me today with some great news. It turns out after all that I will be able to get my 104 amp replaced with the 103 amp. He told me that the only way I would get my 104 amp replaced with a new 103 was if the district service representative approved it. The service manager said to keep me satisfied that they would replace the 104 amp with the 103 amp. I am glad to know a person who is willing to go out of his way to get a problem solved like the one I had. Thought you all would like to hear about my situation.

teo · July 2001

Congratulations! Persistance pays!

00impala · July 2001

Had it installed this morning, took about a 1/2 hour wait in the Service Dept, they must have used the simple installation method, not the removal of the rear shelf/seat etc as the work order stated, I love it! Now I can appreciate the fidelity of the Stereo, the Front Speakers actually WORK again! I may, and I say I may Upgrade the 6x9's in the back,someday But for now I am pleased! Thanks to all for the info/Tips on this Matter! best of all it was FREE!! Don

hunter39 · July 2001

Not be the one who got this ball rolling, originally but I will take credit for finding a way to get the new amp replaced under warranty, and being the first to try and succeed, I'm very happy for all of you who have hung in there and got what was richly deserved. I still marvel at how good it sounds!

2k_impala_ls · July 2001

in lansing, Mi. They are probally wondering why there is a huge demand for the 103 amp. It is only a matter of time before it is a backordered item. Glad I got mine in.

dengman · July 2001

Took it to the dealer (REEDMAN in Langhorne,PA) and they found a pinched ground wire from the head unit was causing the radio to shut down. My CD Changer installation guy screwed this up during his install, but the dealer was happy to fix under warranty (3yr 30,000mile). So Radio was good, stereo installation guy= defective.

spider717 · July 2001

After about 2 weeks of calling my service dealer and faxing him pages of information(90% of whihc came from this board), my amp is ordered and will be installed next wednesday. Thanks again to everyone!

driveme2drinkn · July 2001

I took my 00-LS in to the Dealer this morning, armed with part numbers and no-charge invoices from this site. The assistant service manager said he would have to call the tech center Monday morning. He said if the 103 amp is deemed an "upgrade" then it would not be covered under warranty. I'll report back the result of our Monday conversation.

hunter39 · July 2001

"upgrade", What a joke... tell him it's customer satisfaction issue and you want it resolved or you'll take your business elsewhere. This issue never ceases to amaze me when it comes to these people. Are customers so easy to win and retain out there that they will risk losing them over this amp? The more stories I hear on here the happier I am that I had a Service Manager that really cared about how happy I was with my purchase, this from a dealer who sold me the car more than a year before! Amazing...

impalanator · July 2001

Finally got my amp replaced, but get this, with the amp for the Monte Carlo. Went in to the dealer two weeks ago with the info that 2k_impala_ls had posted. Talked with the service director (see post #703) and he agreed to try something. They'll really get moving when you mention the words "customer service issue". Anyway, they ordered a new amp. Even though I gave them the right part number (10309548) they oredered the 10309547 (monte) part because thats the only one that showed up on their system. I didn't find out about this until I showed up to have it installed. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the two is the mounting bracket. The Monte Carlo amp has a much larger bracket that uses a spring like clip on four corners. So the service manager and myself headed for the tool box and proceed to swap the brackets. On my old unit (102 part #) the bracket is actually attached to the circuit card via two prongs as well as the ends of the case so we had to take the cards out of the case in order to remove the brackets. No big deal, took about 3 minutes, there is only one circuit card. BTW the service manager did offer to just reorder instead of doing this. Installed the new unit in the car and it works beautifully. Upon further investigation later, I believe that the bracket that came on the 547 unit may have worked because the hole under the rear deck is much larger that I originally thought. Someone else may get the opportunity to verify this later.

The final analysis is this: if you can get either the 10309548 (impala) or the 10309547 (monte carlo) amp it can be made to work.

hunter39 · July 2001

The biggest question though is, How does it sound now? I didn't have any doubt it would work (Monte part)because we share alot of the same components with the Monte. The only question would be the brackets and you have proven that it works.

So how do you like it?

impalanator · July 2001

Yes it sounds much better. The fidelity leaves something to be desired for a "premium stereo". Plenty of Bass now but it tends to be a "boomy" bass. It's still a lot better than before though. I think I can live with it now. You really notice a difference when listening to talk/commentary type of programs. Much easier to hear with less volume.

teo · July 2001

To reduce the 'boomy' effect just re-adjust the bass settings. I have found a happy medium with the Bass control set one or 2 notches to the right (+) side from the center (flat) setting. This is enough. Anything above that will just bring on an incredible amount of bass, more than I would like to.

The treble can be adjusted 1 or 2 notches to the left of the Maximum (+) side position.

The sound could be even more crispier but I am very happy otherwise. Coming from a poor sounding 2000 LS with the '104', the sound on my '01 LS with the '103' blows it away by comparison!

For now I am happy with it. Switching to better speakers seems to improve the quality of the system. I'll consider that for the future.

Enjoy!

roderacer · July 2001

Hey all!

Yesterday I purchased some speakers to go into my 01 LS.

Front: 6 1/2" Alpine R Series
Rear: 6x9 Alpine R Series

I'll be getting them along with some Dynamat installed this week, probably.

Talking to the "sound techie", he explained that the bass is so boomy in the Impala because of the OEM speakers. The paper cones produce the heavy booming bass. When the speakers are replaced, you will lose a lot of the bass! The bass will become tighter and less boomy, but also the overall sound will become crisper and clearer - I am all for that!

The speakers are 2 way models. I was willing to shell out the extra $$ on 3 ways but after hearing them against the 2 ways, there is no comparison. All of the 3 way speakers I listened to sounded 'muffled' compared to the Alpine 2 ways. My sales consultant advised that 2 ways will typically out perform 3 ways. The transision from the highs and mids is much smoother in 2 way speakers and it shows...

I hope to tighten the sound a bit with the install of the Dynamat. Never hurts...

I'll report on the progress from time to time, but so far I am happy with the purchase.

What's next?? thinking of tinting her windows...

Thanks!
RR

bh0001 · July 2001

Thanks for the speaker info. I'm still thinking of replacing mine.

Go for the tint. The Impala looks simply amazing tinted.

roderacer · July 2001

I am looking forward to the new speakers, Brad. I posted a while back about a buzzing noise coming from the door panel area. Well, now I am convinced that the LF speaker woofer is blown; so that helped my decision to replace them a bit more.

I want to go with a subtle tint. Not too dark. In IL, we have pretty strict tint laws. I am thinking 35% all the way around, but may even go lighter.

RR

Chevrolet Impala Audio

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