And the shortest installment of my stereo how to with pics threads. LOL.

Step 1. Remove the passengers floor mat and peel back the carpet. Start at the very top and pull straight back. Its quite easy to do.

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Step 2. Remove the big styrofoam cover, it just pulls right out. Then remove the 3 plastic nuts that holds the metal bracket in place. These are 10mm and located one in the top center and one in each bottom corner.

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Step 3. With the mounting plate unbolted just tilt it back towards you, away from the firewall and let it rest on the carpet pad. There is plenty of slack on all the wiring. The big silver box on the your right hand side is the amplifier. There are 2 plugs on the back/bottom side of the amp with locking clips facing the floor. These plugs are very tight, the 12 pin plug is the on the right contains the signal input from the stereo and the ground wires for the amp. The 18 pin plug on your left side of the amp contains the speaker level output, 12 volt battery supply, a VSS wire and a convertable top status if its a roadster to improve the sound with the top down.

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Notice: The passenger seat occupant airbag module and other wiring located in this area. It is important to be aware of these modules and wires.

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Here is a diagram

RadioAmp.jpg

 

Cool thanks....I was out thursday looking at the amp. Do you know of any amps that could mount in same location and use wiring harness? I would like to install a bigger one like 400 watts to push the subs a little more. i did the bass blocker mod....it helped a little.

 

could you let me know the purpose of the yarn packed around the cable going into the channel below the amp? What is the materal?
Thanks
Vern

 

Check out the new alpine stackable amps, they are tiny for the power they put out. I am not sure if they are small enough to fit in there, but maybe with some help.....

Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

Kind of pricey, but excellent amps.

 

Rather than use zip ties the factory just wraps the cords like that before snapping them into place to keep a birds nest from happening thats all.

 

thanks Kenyonmjrs. I have a mechanic that tells me that is a mouse nest and has maybe chewed cables to avoid warrenty repair. would you describe for me the yarn so I can refute his obseration. My son has a STR-6 and he says his has the same yarn poked into the channel, probably for sound absorbsion.
Vern

 

im not exactly sure what it is made of. i think i mite be able to find out i got a few friends that work at DuPont in their labs maybe they should be able to tell me what it is if you need to know.

 

Thanks, please do not go to any trouble. I just need to verify that in your opinion the material is balled up yarn such as sweaters are made of and not chewed up matting as the mechanic infers. Actually he is wrong on another account as he says the wires goiing to the fuel tank pressure gage that is in question goes thru the channel where the yarn is packed around. Those wires actually loop around and go up insice the console.
Thanks
Vern

 

Oh, please. We used that stuff way back in 1979 when I worked in a factory that made car wiring harnesses. It isn't just used in the XF. Your mechanic sounds like a know-it-all, more than a mechanic.

 

Hi I pulled my amplifier forward and noticed some oil at the bottom of the metal mounting plate which may have always been there. I don't believe amplifiers have anything to do with oil. I cleaned it from the wire harness Ext.and hopefully that will be the end of it. There is what appears to be an open vent tube into this area and assumed it was probably to add air for cooling. Any thoughts are appreciated . Thanks

 

The oil wicks up a wire from the oil level sensor which is on the passenger side of the upper sump.
It does not get better so you have to get the leak fixed.

 

There is also a good chance that oil on the amplifier plate is coming from the transmission.
When the O rings give up on the transmission wiring connector, trans fluid wicks up the harness to the TCU.

 

Hi George, I was thinking that as well. Didn't know about oil making its way up there as well, something new every day!


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Thanks for the help. Does anyone know how to access to these connections before I start looking for them. Thanks

 

This is helpful since I am thinking my amp got fried from water damage. May I assume Flea Bay is my best bet for replacement?

 

Dave and George - after ten years with these cars, this is news to me as well.

 

I used the pre outs on my new head and rewired the OEM amp and I now get left/right and front/back control of the speakers. I did it because I could as I am pretty deaf so it is pretty much wasted on me, the rear speakers can feel like a punch in the kidneys, but they would not last long at that setting I am sure.
It was awkward to do cutting and splicing wires under the dash at my age but it would be much easier when replacing an amp. Selecting the wires to cut was a pain at first as the colour of the wires and the colour on the wiring diagram could not be taken as gospel, no mistakes though.

 

found a amp for 100 bucks and it will be here this week! now if i can get the damn cig lighter to work I am ready to roll!

 

Did you check the fuse?The lighter and glove box light are on the same fuse and the ignition has to be on for either to work. You can access the back of the lighter by removing the console kick panel in the passenger foot well, a bit tight to access but you should be able to feel if the connector is disconnected

 

Good info, Glove box light is now working and the last thing I need is to fix the cig lighter simply for the power source. I may even install the dual USB I saw someone did but I still need to know what is gong on with the lighter. Are they known to go bad? Maybe it is unpluged, i will check. I also read there is a light for the ashtray but I dont see it either.

I also have code B48 passenger seat occupant airbag mat and I see it is located by the amp, could it be that it was damaged by the water also? If so, what is the fix? Code mentioned there was a bad connection is why i ask.