hlaalu

iTrader: (3)

Here is my story in a nut shell. I brought my car to an audio place to get new speakers put in. I just wanted new speakers, but somehow I got talked into buying an amp as well. Whatever. They rewired the the speakers to the new amp (The car had the monsoon system) and to the stock head unit. They tried talking me into buying a new head unit, I say no thanks (about 50 times), because I like the look of the stock unit. They bring me my car when it got done, and I drove home. I go start the car a few hours later and my new system is not working. The head unit turns on, I can change cd tracks, radio stations, etc.. just no sound. I bring it back and have them look at it. They said its not going to work because my stock head unit does not have enough power or something to run the amp and speakers. WTF. So now he said I can either buy some type of adapter for $150 or a new heard unit. Are these guys legit or do they have no idea whats wrong and are trying to sell me more stuff or what?

My car is a 2000 camaro ss, it has an amp powering 2 10" subs, and another amp powering the speakers.

transambandit

iTrader: (6)

no he is full of it, plenty of people run amps off the stock head unit, there is an adapter you need to connect to the amp, im sure the guys on here know what its called, its pac-something. But i would bitch out the guy and tell him he messed up your system.

VIP1

If the amp has speaker-level inputs, then no adapter is needed. Just connect the outputs of the stock headunit to the speaker-level inputs of the amp. If the amp only has RCA inputs, then you'll need a Line Output Converter (LOC) to convert the headunit's speaker-level outputs to RCA. Its not a perfect solution, but some on here use it without a problem. To my knowledge, its much cheaper than $150.

Also, many on here use aftermarket speakers with the stock monsoon amp. Depending on which speakers you bought, you may not have needed to get an amp.

If the system was working and now its not, then something is wrong with their installation or the parts they installed. The stock headunit is not the problem unless they damaged it.

witHonor

Its a $2 part, $5 if you want gold ends.

Go to partsexpress.com and search for "high to low adapter".

hlaalu

iTrader: (3)

ugh this is a nightmare... if i buy a new headunit how do i know if it will work with my steering wheel controls?

VIP1

If you want to retain the steering wheel controls with an aftermarket headunit, you need an adapter. PAC SWI-X is the universal IR adapter, but PAC also makes manufacturer-specific models as well (ex: PAC SWI-PS works with Pioneer & Sony).

hlaalu

iTrader: (3)

So any head unit will work as long as I get an adapter?

VIP1

Pretty much.

As long as the headunit has IR remote --or-- it has a wired remote input and PAC makes the manufacturer-specific version.

The PAC adapter costs $50-$70 depending on where you buy it.



Why do you want to get an aftermarket headunit instead of getting the stock one to work? It sounds like the shop messed up the install. An aftermarket headunit would be better, but earlier you said that you didn't want to buy one.

transambandit

iTrader: (6)

dont go back and give business to these guys though, it is incredibly easy to install a headunit, do it yourself.

hlaalu

iTrader: (3)

damn. do you guys know what they would have messed up on?

95bat

iTrader: (1)

That is their job to figure out. Take it back to them and do not leave until your car is working or you have your money refunded.

VIP1

I have no clue, but like 95bat said, its their job to find and fix their screwup (or refund your money).

transambandit

iTrader: (6)

i would say they either wired up the headunit to amp wrong or the amp to speakers and the speakers pull in too much power and short out the amp for a short time. Same thing happened when i wired up my amp/sub i had it wired wrong and it would go about 15 minutes then shut off and the amp would be flaming hot. I wired it up right and the thing worked great. Take it to them to get it fixed but do not let them talk you into a new head unit, tell them you know for a fact that our headunit is more than enough to handle an aftermarket amp and there is also the fact that all the headunit does is tell the amp when to turn on, the amp gets its power from the battery, unless they didnt directly wire the amp from the battery, look under your hood and see if there is a thick red wire running from the pos on your battery to the amp, if not then the guy is dicking you around and i would go there, tell them to take their **** out and refund you the money.

fast01z28

iTrader: (6)

where are you in cali and where did you go? theres lots of "dirty" shops around. if they wont fix it for free then you might need to hire someone to fix it, not at their shop. it might end up being an expensive lesson.

if youre in so cal then i can take a look. i can give you basic advise and not charge anything.

ccriderss

simply put, to run an amplifier off of the stock head unit, you need an adaptor unless the amplifier has a built in adapter( you should look on the amp or in the manual for this info), but either way, if you needed an adapter, they should have known in the first place. The sound not working has NOTHING to do with you factory deck "not having enough power." If it worked before and it does not work now, then they messed up and it is legall their responsibility to fix it. YOU DO NOT NEED A NEW HEAD UNIT. They are just trying to seel it to you because they cannot figure out what is wrong, or dont want to. INSTALLING AN APLIFIER TO A STOCK HEAD UNIT IS A FAIRLY SIMPLE JOB. If the shop messed it up, i would make them fix it, and then never give your business to them again... if they cannot figure out how to do this, then they should not be installing stereos to begine with! If it is worth it to get a lawyer, then do so... if not, just try to find a shop that knows what they are doing...
sorry to head about this whole experience... i have been installing high end system for years and i am amazed and some of the **** that comes out of other shops...garbage...

KEE AUDIO

iTrader: (65)

^^^He basically said it all right there!! I have fixed several systems that others have done half *** from "professional" installers. Sorry this happened to you! Might be better off taking it to a reputable shop before they really screw your car up. I'm not saying they aren't responsible but I'd be nervous about them "fixing" the problem.

hlaalu

iTrader: (3)

I'm in orange county, mission viejo area. I brought my car to west coast auto sound.

And like everyone is saying it doesn't make sense it wouldn't work they are just trying to sell me more ****. And I just found out they also F-ed up those little lights on the doors.

hlaalu

iTrader: (3)

Does it make a difference that the monsoon speakers got swaped out for regular speakers?

KEE AUDIO

iTrader: (65)

None. They made you buy an aftermarket amp to power them so the aftermarket speakers would make no difference at all. They should sound better than stock to an extent. Depends on equipment used and of course...how it was installed to determine that though.
They just had no clue what they were doing.
Just out of curiousity did it ever work? You say you drove it home, did you listen to it on the way home and it worked and now it doesn't or it never worked?

KEE AUDIO

iTrader: (65)

Check this out: http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forum...mission-viejo/
Same guy..different post:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forum...sion-viejo-ca/