[driedger]

Hello everyone..

First post, just bought an 04 Impala SS this past Friday, and am ready to start learning about these cars. Been a member of the Fiero community for several years, now looking to move on over to the Impala family!

The SS I just bought had an aftermarket head unit installed, and the dealership I bought it from pulled the deck to try and troubleshoot why the battery was draining. They said it was not wired up correctly. I received the car with no radio at all, and am now looking to install a new head unit in it.

I understand there is a specific interface harness thats required to install an aftermarket radio, and am trying to figure out which one I need. I have onstar, but have no plans of ever using it. Aside from that, how can I tell if I have the premium sound system, or more importantly, if there is a stock amplifier installed?

I love this car, but I'm only going to be able to stand driving in silence for so long!

Mark

 

[Natedogg713]

good question is there a stock amp? i have a 2000 and theres some silver box wired up (that i refuse to touch) in my trunk. looks well wired and all.

 

[Lingenfelter]

The silver box mounted in the trunk between your rear deck speakers is the factory amp. It's 200 watts, I think.

As far as head units go, I don't have a lot of information about that... sorry I can't be more help. However, I would assume the SS came stock with the upgraded stereo (240 watt Monsoon system, I think). You could find out by checking the build sheet on the bottom of your trunklid, or maybe the sticker in your driver door jamb. I don't know what the RPO/Build code for upgraded stereo system is, though.

The silver box with a black plastic cover mounted on the rear of the driverside wheel well is the OnStar (if you car was ever equipped with it).

 

[driedger]

Thanks for the reply. I had a quick look tonight, and I can see where the location of this amp should be, but it is a vacant hole. I do have the OnStar box on the driver side wheel well, however there are 2 wiring harnesses there which have been disconnected.

Again, I do not plan to use the OnStar, so that is not too much of an issue for me. Looks like I can get the more affordable harness without OnStar and the amp.

I took a picture of all my Build Codes located on the sticker in the trunk. Does anyone know where to find a list stating what the codes map out to on the options list?

Mark

 

[Lingenfelter]

I've actually pulled the onstar unit from my trunk and put the harness behind the trunk carpeting.

As far as RPO codes, I turned the whole house upside down trying to find the dealer (sales) brochure for my car, and I can't find the damned thing anywhere. I don't know of anywhere online that has it listed.

 

[Lingenfelter]

Best I can find is this:
http://cadillacfaq.com/rpo/index.php

 

[driedger]

Thanks for the help, Lingenfelter...
I have everything sorted out, and my new head unit installed. Because I bypassed the OnStar, and did not appear to have the factory amp, I was able to use a much cheaper interface module.
The ones I was initially looking at were the GMOS-01 or GMOS-04 from Metra, which were quite expensive. I think the cheapest I found was ~$110 CAD. The one I ended up using was actually found at Walmart of all places, and retailed for $39.99, made my Scosche. It does not send the warning chimes through the audio system, but instead has an onboard chime, but works the same. Sends the appropriate codes back to the ecm to indicate a healthy system, and wired up very easily. It even provided an accessory power coming out of the interface so you do not need to run directly back to the fuse block.
I was even pleasantly surprised to find that the Impala dash came apart quite easy, and the install did not take long at all. I still wired up some RCAs and a remote turn on lead while the dash was apart, in case I get ambitious still this winter and decide to add a little thump in the trunk. God knows I have the space for it, so much more than my Fiero's ever did!

 

[Lingenfelter]

No problem. Glad the install worked out well for you.

Be careful if you plan to install subs in your trunk... if you have added, or plan to add, the rear strut tower bar, you'll find that the clearance is very low for most boxes for 10-12" subs. The sub box for my 10's is about 1/2" too tall to slide under the STB.

 

[dgreen]

I have an 04 impala and im instaling a custom sub box, i need to remove the stock amp (the silver panasonic box inbetween the rear speakers) and i need to know if i can just unplug the harnesses from it and remove it? i have all the speakers changed and on a new amp, the head unit is changed and was installed by a profesional with the module and all, if i just unplug the stock amp will everything still work fine?