PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Good morning to all Bonnie people;

I have a few questions on audio problems.
1.) Recently the audio on my Bonnie stopped working while driving down the highway. The weird part about this is, I did not hit any bumps nor did it get jarred. The radio/cd player appears like it still works, just no sound. I have replaced the amp, the radio worked for a brief moment then quit again. The question is, do you think this is the issue or is it something else? Has anyone else expierenced this problem with there Bonnie?

2.) I have talked to an audio store about an aftermarket unit, and they tell me that if I replace with an aftermarket radio that I will also need to replace the speakers as well. Something about ohms or wattage not matching. Is this a bunch of hogwash?

3.) Latest but not least. If I do replace the factory HU, will the factory amp need to be there and hooked up?

Seems like the older cars were much easier to work on.

Mike

Well, what kind of car is this and what sound system?

Need that info first.

Number 2 sounds like hogwash to a degree.

Why not do a bit of troubleshooting first? If you swapped the amp and it worked for a moment and stopped, maybe it's entering a protection mode. Test your speakers and speaker wires for a short circuit.

It isn't always true that you have to get new speakers if you get an aftermarket car stereo, but aftermarket speakers are often of much higher quality than OEM, and impedance differences can make a big difference, so it's not always hogwash, but sometimes you can use OEM speakers with an aftermarket radio just fine, so sometimes it is absolutely hogwash too.

The auto in question is an 02 Bonneville SLE, and the sound system is factory equipped and not a bose unit. Here is the real kicker. I picked up my car the other night after having front struts installed, turned the key on and the radio worked for about 30 seconds then decided not to work. This car currently does not have an amp in it. Is this possible for audio to come out of the speakers without an amp installed?
I am completely lost as to what to do know.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

ok so no bose system no amplifier and still no sound? them telling to replace the speakers cause of ohms not matching from factory to aftermarket is hogwash. many people go to best buy or a specialty car audio shop and put an aftermarket deck on to factory speakers. now as to why your stereo might be giving you issues is that maybe a short in wiring as stated above. but my experience with these issue while working for circuit city usually revolved around a bad speaker tripping the stereo. now before you run and get speakers let me explain my previous statement. most aftermarket decks will eliminate playback (sound to speakers) when it notices a blown speaker. as to a factory GM stereo having this feature i am not sure. so start simple and cheap check the connection between the stereo and the harness this a ribbon wire on the 00+ bonnes and it can be a seating problem there. second trace all the wires to the speakers and make sure they are not smashed, bare, frayed, etc. while tracing the wires to the speakers check the resistance on the speakers factory speakers are 4 ohms so if they are within .5 ohms you should be fine. if all of the stuff above passes then your issue may lie within the factory deck which there is really nothing you can do besides replace it with another factory deck or an aftermarket deck.

hopefully you can get it checked out and back up and running. check out what i mentioned and get back to us.

Hello all,

I just want to thank you for replying. I have to say that I am truly not a mechanic but would have to ask if anyone knows where the radio amp is located in an 02 Bonneville SLE and what it might look like. I have searched inside the trunk area, even behind the plastic part behind the rear seat. The local dealership parts guy didnt know where it was located at either.

If someone knows and could shoot a photo of it and send it to me I would greatly appreciate it.

Mike

DarkGrayBonnie wrote:Hello all,

I just want to thank you for replying. I have to say that I am truly not a mechanic but would have to ask if anyone knows where the radio amp is located in an 02 Bonneville SLE and what it might look like. I have searched inside the trunk area, even behind the plastic part behind the rear seat. The local dealership parts guy didnt know where it was located at either.

If someone knows and could shoot a photo of it and send it to me I would greatly appreciate it.

Mike

if your car doesnt have monsoon or bose sound system then i dont think you have an exernal amp..
someone correct me if im wrong please..

Thanks for all your input, I appreciate it.

SAMzGXP wrote:

DarkGrayBonnie wrote:Hello all,

I just want to thank you for replying. I have to say that I am truly not a mechanic but would have to ask if anyone knows where the radio amp is located in an 02 Bonneville SLE and what it might look like. I have searched inside the trunk area, even behind the plastic part behind the rear seat. The local dealership parts guy didnt know where it was located at either.

If someone knows and could shoot a photo of it and send it to me I would greatly appreciate it.

Mike

if your car doesnt have monsoon or bose sound system then i dont think you have an exernal amp..
someone correct me if im wrong please..

Yeah it should just run off of deck power, I wonder if they meant the amplifier in the head unit itself? You don't need aftermarket speakers with an aftermarket deck, preferable, but in no way shape or form do you NEED them. Worse case scenario, the way some of the monsoon stuff is wired you might have to run your own speaker wires to run directly off deck power but thats it. Unless my radio is just voices in my head it seems to be working for me Thats with the concert 3, which is the 9 speaker external amplified and all I did was use a regular wiring kit to connect straight to my harness. The kicker will be if you have (i think you do) the harness that plays the door chimes etc. through the stereo, in which case the install harness is kind of spendy because it has a chimer in it