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Sedans Chevrolet Impala Chevrolet Impala Audio
1549 messages, Last post on Oct 16, 2009 at 7:01 PM
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I own both a 2000 LS and a 2001 standard sedan and both have the top line radio with both CD & Cassett. I bought the LS for my son used after really enjoying the Wife's '01 bought new. Both sound systems were very good until I decided to fix the boy up for Christmas and get a stronger amp and better speakers. Knowing less than nothing about these super sound systems in cars I relied on a couple of my employees who were always installing systems in their, and their friends cars. (Bad move) They told me what to look for in equipment and off I went to the stores. I got speakers and a good amp and some supplies on their list and they were all fired up. A week or so later they still had the car torn apart and nothing was working at all. They had burned up the first amp and I got another on warranty. I realized that they had no clue how to deal with the stock system which I insisted on retaining since the thing programs the whole car! I finally made them put the thing together so I could take it to a professional shop and it cost me a ton to get it straightened out (suposedly) and it did work pretty well for about two days then one speaker after another quit. I'll not bore you with more details but I decided to try to get it back to the stock system with just some improved speakers (as the originals were destroyed by now) and it was restored by removing the output units needed to bypass the original amp. It worked for a few days then one side of the original amp fried. I called the local Chev store parts and found it cost nearly 400 bucks to replace the stock amp. NO WAY! So, you guys in Chevyland that know all the good stuff, where should I go from here other than to my nearest Ford dealer? I have checked around for a used amp and had no luck locally. I am soon going to get the car back from my son (and his wife now) and get them into a nice minivan for the new grand daughter. I recently dumped a load into the engine and accessories so I will probably hang onto it because it is such a nice ride for me. I do need sound, if for nothing more than to listen to Rush Linbhaugh on AM. I'll be listening to your suggestions.
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Replying to: kgblack (Dec 04, 2007 10:50 pm) This particular radio can drive 4 Ohm speakers directly since it has internal amplifier. Besides, the original cheapo amplifier is a lousy one so you will not miss it anyway. At the location of the original amplifier, you basically bypass the amp by connecting its inputs (from radio) to its output (to speakers) Four pairs of speaker outputs from radio : 1. Left Front +, Left Front - : to Left Front speaker 2. Right Front +, Right Front -: to Right Front speaker 3. Left Rear +, - 4. Right Rear +, - Each of these wires (on radio side) are has DC voltage on them. They are normally set at 6-7V (1/2 BATTERY voltage). If you have Voltmeter, you should be able to double check. To check if radio internal amplifier is OK: Since I do not know the physical connection at the external amp, my info is generic only.Amplifier box typically has inputs from radio and output (to speakers) located in the same connector. So you need to go to Chevy dealership to ask for help (electrical pin-out). This is available in their Electrical diagram Here are basic steps 1. Turn radio on 2. Find the Left Front + and Left Front - pins (from radio). 3. Connecting each pin with each pin of speaker (known good one). If you hear sound , that radio speaker driver is OK. 4.Repeat Step 2-3 again for the remaining driver pairs The above steps are to confirm that your radio internal amplifier is not dead yet. After that, just connect these pairs to the corresponding vehicle speakers directly. Again the connections to the vehicle speakers are at the connector. If you suspect original speakers are bad, disconnect them, then try one at the time. Note that two terminals of each speaker must not short together. If that happens for long, the radio amplifier drivers will be damaged. Bad blown speakers could have their terminal shorted (causing radio amplifier to shut down or burn up) or open (no sound) So basically, you need to get the electrical pin-out of the external amplifier's connector(s) for this experiment. Some people in this forum may be able to help. If not, stop by a Chevy dealer and ask them. From there, you could do your own experiment and save you $400 Another way: stop by a junk yard and they may sell you an used one for a lot less. Make sure they can let you return if it is not working. Good luck jt |
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Replying to: kgblack (Dec 04, 2007 10:50 pm) One bright side to your story, though. You DON'T have to listen to Rush in the interim.  Sorry...couldn't resist!
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I read through some of the messages in the Impala Radio thread and am experiencing the same letdowns everyone else is. I decided, after owning my 2004 Impala, for the past three years, to finally upgrade to a touch screen. I heard through a customer in my store that the chevys have something called an information module/system that hooks into the factory radio. it basically controls the on-board monitor system/light in your dash about your oil/tire pressure/etc. after the guy installed the new system and amplifier, all of my speakers in the car died. the customer, who had been through a similiar issue with his malibu, told me i have to find an aftermarket information module so i can access my car's electronic functions. has anyone gone through this? and if so, did you you have to buy the aftermarket module, how much and from where? any information would be greatly appreciated. thank you |
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| I am having problems with my 2004 impala ss i put an aftermarket cd player in and it worked for a couple months then it started to pop out at high volumes then it just completly went out and then i put my stock radio back in and it still didnt work . Then a few weeks later i shut my door hard and it poped back in and worked for a while and then only worked low it started to sound like all the speakers were blown then i lower it and it works again . I moved a couple wires and it worked perfect for a coupoe days now it makes a wooping noise and i lower it all the way it stops then i turn it up with no bass and it works almost all the way up then woops again. Does anybody know wtf is going on please help me im a music freak with no music. and i dont want to replace the stock amp and thats the answer i keep getting from everyone. | |
Hey...I can barely hear any sound from the speaker on the driver side of my 01 impala.....I can only hear a faint sound when I have my ear up to it and its set to the highest volume.....I know its not the actual speaker since i had two different ones installed and they both worked fine....I can hear the sound from all the other speakers just fine.....Everything in the car is still factory......I've heard it could be faulty wiring or the amp going bad.....Has anyone else had this problem or know how to fix it without my having to spend a whole lot of money?.....I need help please!!
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Replying to: 01_1mpala (Feb 19, 2008 6:46 pm) But it could also be the shorting of the two speaker wires somewhere between the Audio Amplifier and the speaker in question. When the speaker wires are shorted, you, for sure, lose that channel. But in some case, you would lose all 4 channels. You can check the shorting of the speaker wires/ Amp outputs by probing the speaker connectors (after removing the speaker from the connector) using an Ohm meter. Another possibility is the broken speaker wire(s) or connection problem. Checking for broken wire is harder since you have to probe at both ends (speaker end and the Audio Amplifier end). But indirectly, you could check the DC voltage at each wire (again with the speaker taken out). At each wire, you should measure something around 6V - 8V (depending on the battery voltage. This is normally 1/2 BATTERY voltage). Broken wire has no voltage at all or some voltage out of range (13V if it is shorted to BATTERY). Sometime it could be the radio itself is at fault (connection problem at radio side, blown one audio driver inside the radio) jt |
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I was wondering if there was a way that I could get the song title and artist to scroll across my screen when the XM radio is on. As of right now when I press the information (i) button on the top left I can choose to show only one of them. I don't know if I imagined it but I thought they did scroll when I first got the car (before I started experimenting with the buttons).
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