Disclaimer: I am a noob to car audio and the like.

Hello,
I purchased a 2005 Limited Coupe in late December. At the time of purchase I was aware that the sound system in the car didn't work. It had an aftermarket pioneer head unit and the factory amplifier. I knew of a decent car audio place nearby my house and took it there to get it checked out. They took about an hour to look at the car and came to the conclusion that ALL of the speakers were blown, so I had them replace the speakers. To no avail, that didn't work either. (They were also convinced that the car had only 4 speakers in it, the woofers and tweeters. ) They eventually somewhat narrowed it down to my amplifier. They found out that it was blowing a fuse somewhere. However, I am concerned that there is a bigger issue. I have come to notice that my power seats only work part of the time. I can't tell a pattern to when it comes and goes and it seems totally random. That being said, I have a few questions.

1. How can I test if the amp is the actual problem? / Should I purchase a used OEM amp?
2. Can I purchase an aftermarket amp and use the factory wiring for the factory speakers?
3. Did I purchase a dud with the seemingly random use of the power seats?

Also, sorry for the formatting. I am really bad at writing about stuff i'm not really knowledgeable about. Makes my brain scramble around and randomly write what I am thinking. Cheers.

 

I can't be much help with the amp. Is there any water or dampness near it? As far as the seats go you probably need a new seat relay. See post #2 in this link there is pdf. file on how to replace it. https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ermittent.html

 

Check fuses 5 , 8, & 23. 5 & 8 are for radio; #23 is for amp. Fuse box under hood on drivers side.
Power into amp at # 1 & 9 at the amp harness (red and yellow wires), ignition must be on to measure power; should be above 10v.
If you have power going in, check the ground, with the power off resistance should be under 5 ohms at # 11 and 5 (brown wires). If you have power in and a good ground, replace the amp.

The power seats and the amp use the same ground. That is a good clue as to a possible problem. Replacing all speakers was a scam.

See post in this section for more info and wire diagrams: "2006 infinity Radio Amp"

 

How the HELL can someone conclude that ALL speakers are defective?

Unfortunately, that is typical of a "decent" car audio shop. Like Hell I'd take my car to a "car audio shop", and that includes the ***** at Best Buy, etc. This really discourages me, as car audio systems are NOT that complex. I WILL admit that the factory amp is not my preferred layout. My car is an SE, which means it's a base, which means there are no rear speakers or amp.

My answer is to tear the car apart, install my own rear speakers, and install a new amp. My head unit is a JVC I just installed last summer. With everything new, I will have documentation on it all. The interconnections are easy IF you simply start over and replace everything. (The speaker wiring is not all that hard to re-use, so I'm not saying replace all speaking wiring).

You might consider just starting over. If the car is not a daily driver, pull it into the garage and do it all yourself. There is plenty of help available with the friends you have here!

 

If BOTH seats fail at the EXACT SAME TIME, the seat relay under the dash, driver's side, is bad. A skilled technician can resolder the cracked diodes or you can buy a new relay for around $25 and plug it in yourself.

If it is one seat that does it, it can be a bad switch, bad limit sensor, etc. - that gets more complicated. But if BOTH seats fail at the VERY SAME TIME, its the seat relay. Very common.

 

I'm pretty sure I am blowing fuse 23 when I have the amp plugged in. How exactly do I check the ground?

 

I have a used OEM amp that is a pull-out from a car in Florida. It's yours for the UPS charges.

You can take the time to measure resistance in the ground, but a more effective test would be to start the car and measure the voltage to ground at the pins on the amp that Zip mentioned. ANY voltage over maybe 1/2 volt would indicate a bad ground. I'd bet you $20 the ground is fine, that ground anchor point has never been known to be a problem. And if that ground lug was loose, the fuel pump and BCM would be failing and you'd KNOW it.

Water damage to the amp, due to water intrusion caused by a leaf-clogged drain near the windshield, is quite common. But just by yanking the connectors off the amp, you should be able to see the severe corrosion that water causes down there.

Given that you don't know anything more than "it didn't work when I bought the car", it may be the head or the amp. (Obviously anything the "car audio shop" told you is worthless.)

I still suggest you start over. For less than $250 you can buy a nice, new head unit and after market amplifier. It is not hard to access the path from the back of the head to the amplifier area and you can run new wires from head to amp if you want to keep it simple. THEN, using the diagrams Zip mentioned, just cut the connectors off the cables going to the speakers and wire your existing (new) speakers to the amp. I'll bet you will have a better system than factory. In fact, I will guarantee it!

 

Did anyone take you up on your offer for the amp? If not I would def be interested. Please message me if its still available for purchase. Thanks my friend. Thanks for the info you gave as well... Saved me a lot of time.

 

It was given to me by Chuk in Florida - I'd ship it to you for shipping charges.