Finally had a day to myself to install my Pioneer AVH-P3300BT into my newly bought 2003 Pontiac Vibe GT with the moons & tunes package. The factory moons & tunes package comes with a 200W integrated amplifier, and the deck I'm putting in is also rated at 50W X 4, totalling 200W. So if I leave the integrated amplifier in, I will be amplifying the 200W from my Pioneer with a 200W integrated amplifier, and I thought to myself: 200W + 200W=400W to the speakers, am I gonna run into problems? Now I've talked to a few people (I work in the car industry so I do have connections with mechanics and auto electricians) and have gotten mixed answers. Some people say it should be ok, while other people say I'll get white noises. I've had my fair share of installing sound systems in cars but have only dealt with integrated amplifier once, and that was a long time ago installing a deck into a Ford Taurus. I can tell you that it was certainly NOT a pleasant experience, I had to re-wire every single speaker wire directly from the head unit. Now this is NOT a tutorial by any means. I am just sharing my experience with all the fellow Vibe owners so if someone should ever run into the same dilemma as I was facing, this would offer an alternative solution. So let's get started.
First I should say that this is picture heavy and since I can only post 3 pictures at a time (to my understanding), there will be a lot of sections, and remember to click on the picture to see full picture.
1. Disconnect the negetive battery terminal!!! Locating the factory amplifier. This is the easy part, it's underneath the passenger front seat. Remove the 2 front bolts that holds the seat down and then put the seat all the way to forward position to reveal the 2 rear bolts at the back that are covered by the plastic trims. Once all the bolts are removed, disconnect 2 electrical connectors under the seat and unclip the clip from the seat frame. You will be left with this:
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Now remove the integrated amplifier by removing the 2 bolts towards the front and 1 towards the rear, and you'll be able to detach the integrated amplifier from the car.
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