98Whell6

Hey ya'll, got a quick question about an aftermarket radio install in my 1998 trans am that I'll be doing shortly. I dont know if it'll be the same as my Camaro that I used to have but I hope it ain't lol. My '98 Camaro with an aftermarket head unit, I had to run new wires, the stock OEM wires that were already in place wouldn't give me power or ground. I made sure the that all my wires at the head unit were correctly done and still got nothin. I had to run my own wires from the head unit to each speaker and that was the only way I could get sound out of it. I tries doing a search and it seems like nobodies had this issue before. Also with my trans am it doesnt have rear speakers, it has the hatch speakers and door speakers but no back seat speakers. I've never seen that before. Any thoughts on why? Did it come from the factory like that? Thanks for any help

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

It sounds like some previous owner has butchered your system (in both vehicles). No Trans Am ever came without speakers in the sail panels (next to the rear seat). The base system had only four speakers - doors and sail panels. The Monsoon system, which your car must have had, came with speakers in the doors, sail panels, and hatch area. You can find lots of information in the Monsoon FAQ sticky at the top of this section. You should buy a harness adapter that you wire to the aftermarket head unit so that it will simply plug into the factory wiring without any cutting or splicing. If the original stereo in your previous Camaro had been working when you replaced it then using a harness adapter would have had your aftermarket replacement working without any additional wiring.

Since the sail panel subs are missing in your current car, you will have to do some checking to determine whether the Monsoon amp is still present and functioning. You should also check for butchered wiring. If the system is still mostly intact but is missing the sail panel subs then it must sound like crap (no bass). I can't imagine that anyone would replace the Monsoon components with speakers in the hatch but not in the sail panels so I suspect the sail panel subs were blown and simply removed rather than replaced.

98Whell6

They came with subs? I didn't know that. The trans am doesnt have the amp in the hatch area either. Just a piece of bubble wrap to make up for the empty space. When I first picked the trans am (which is back in the mid fall time) I noticed the radio didnt even turn on. The lights would come on but that's pretty much it. I didn't pay any attention to it cause I plan on changing it out

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Well, GM called them subs. They're only 6.5" so most of us would consider them mid-bass rather than true subs. Still, they did add a lot to the audio system in terms of low end sound.

Do you know if there have been a lot of modifications made to the stereo system wiring? Perhaps the system stopped working and nothing was done to fix it. If that's the case, you could pick up a Monsoon amp fairly cheaply, replace the missing sail panel subs, and install a new aftermarket head unit without having to do a lot of work. But if the wiring was modified to eliminate the original amp and support only door and hatch speakers then you could be in for some extensive repairs.

98Whell6

Too my knowledge no there hasn't been. The car was completely stock when I picked it up expect for an exhaust. I know something weird is goin on cause the driver fender is comes in contact with the door when I open it and the dome light doesn't turn on when you open it and it only does that with the driver door but that's a lil off topic. Do you know of a place where I can pick up the amp and subs?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

The Monsoon amp is available from several vendors on ebay for around $50. Make sure you get a Firebird version because the Camaro one is quite different. They weren't particularly powerful but they seldom failed so used ones are not a bad option.

OEM speakers are long discontinued and you wouldn't want them anyway - they sounded okay when new but were made of cheap materials and would be junk after all these years. Check out Kee Audio for replacement options (Ian is no longer a sponsor so you'll have to Google it).

98Whell6

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

There is no external amp in a non-Monsoon system... the speakers are driven by the head unit directly. But there are also no hatch area speakers in a non-Monsoon system and the hatch trim doesn't even have speaker grilles although it is possible that a previous owner swapped Monsoon trim panels into a non-Monsoon vehicle. But that makes even less sense than replacing the sail panel speakers in the first place. Somebody was a real hack.

Your best bet with a non-Monsoon vehicle is to buy a nice set of 6.5" coaxial speakers, install them in the sail panels and doors, and fix up the wiring. Converting it to Monsoon equipment is an involved process with dubious results. Add an amp for more power and a stealth box sub for more bass if you want better than stock sound.

98Whell6

Yeah sounds like somethin odd is goin on with this setup. I noticed that for the sail panel speaks theres 4 wires. Normally speakers would have 2 wires? Do they make a connector to convert it from 4 to 2?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Four wires for each sail panel speaker is a clear indication of a Monsoon system. Firebird Monsoon systems used dual voice coil (DVC) subs in the sail panels. That means that each speaker had two voice coils and therefore two pairs of wires. Those two pairs were driven off separate channels from the Monsoon amp. The base 4-speaker audio system had standard single voice coil (SVC) speakers in the sail panels which GM called "extended range" but were really just ordinary speakers that had 10-ohm impedance to reduce the power output (so that the front speakers produced most of the sound and the rears were for fill only).

The option codes for Monsoon in Firebird coupes were W54 (cassette) or W55 (CD). The head unit was just a basic Delco radio (same one used in a base system) which did not always have the added Monsoon label on the face.

98Whell6

Oohh okay I gotcha. Well I'm finding amps relatively cheap on Ebay so I minus well pick one up and throw some speakers in it and see if we have life. Thanks for all the help man