Hey everyone! I was wondering, do you all happen to know how dealerships will react if you show up with an amp and sub installed in your car? Do you think they'll honor the 36K mile warranty? Also, for those of you who already have a system installed, have you all ever had a problem with the sound system interfering with the car?

Sorry for all the questions, but I’m seriously thinking of rebuilding my sound system!

Thanks

 

Hey,

The only way the warranty will be voided, and they can just void is electrical if something happens, is if the amp blows up and takes out the whole electrical system before a fuse snaps. Then the dealership has to prove the amp actually took the system out or the alternator or battery did it instead.

If you are concerned about the amp or something of that sort you should be sticking a re-setable breaker between the battery (if this is an after market setup) and the amp. If you upgraded the big three (alternator to battery, battery to body ground and engine to body ground) then stick another breaker between the alternator and battery, might want to stick a beefier battery under the hood as well to properly send new wiring to the amp, again if this is aftermarket.

Make sure your breaker is as much as the charging system in your case, 120a if I remember right...or if you are going to add more later, might be smart to stick a fuse block in there after the breaker too. Check out Stinger-aamp or KnuKonceptz..I wired my mazda with knukonceptz wirings and phoenix gold breakers..no issues in 4 years.

Map out what you need first on paper...think smart.

enjoy

 

I agree with nearly everything digi0123 said. I would only note that adding a fuse to the amps power connection immediately after the battery should not be considered an option, but rather a necessity. Large power draws, especially over a long period of time, can heat wires (especially undersized ones) to the point of glowing. Please, for the sake of your car and your safety, insert a fuse of the proper power rating within 18 inches of the battery.

 

Did I mention to get the stock battery out of there and something beefier in there and then add larger gauge wiring for the big three upgrade...I know I mentioned the last...but get that stock battery out of there...if you are going to add stuff to your system....make sure it can handle it...oh I could go on for days....i'm going back to finding toys for the car not yet ordered.

 

In a previous post, the OP stated that his dealer wouldn't fix a dashboard light because he had replaced the amp in his HiFi system with a better one. The HiFi amp is on the bus and it's absence from that bus prevented the software update process from completing. In a later reply, another poster was told by the dealer in his area that it shouldn't present a problem. Just in case, I would be sure to keep the old amp if it's a HiFi system you're upgrading.

For what its worth.

poyzin

 

So the AMP has another chip in it controlling something else in the car? Is there a resitor in there somewhere? I would have started asking a bunch of questions at this point. It's so hard to get people to understand THEY need to be in control of their car. I'll try searching for that post, but it sound like a crappy dealership or a crappy installer didn't see something or test the leads maybe?

 

My (limited) understanding is that the software update process EXPECTS to see the amp on the fiber bus and if it doesn't, it chokes. The amp is probably never destined to be updated, it just is required to be on the bus.

poyzin

 

sounds like my mazda and it's alternator....has a resistor between the alternator and the battery...car won't start without the stock wiring...

well now...next hopefully others will see this post and chime in if they have replaced their amp and seen issues or we need to figure out what type of resistor or whatever we need between the ECU and the new amp to settle the setup to allow flashing in case of problem.

I plan to play with this car as well since the boot begs for an amp in that storage tray, I might just have to add leads and bypass the old amp leaving it on the bus for this purpose....lame.