It appears that the factory deck has pre-outs, do I need to simply cut some RCAs off on one end and wire them to those "pre-amp" connections? Crutchfield sells a converter that they include for install if you purchase a deck, but I couldn't find a picture of it anywhere. Not sure if this will work, but I believe that's what I will need to do. Since I already own a decent deck, all I need to purchase are the wiring harness adapter, the antenna adapter, and the dash kit. I haven't been able to find any local stereo shops with the adapter for the factory amp in stock.

I was told by Best buy that they hook it up via the speaker leads and add a capacitor in line, that didn't sound right to me. Car Toys simply said they would "integrate" it for $160...

One other question, Is there a remote turn on for the amp at the deck, or will I need to run a wire from the deck to the amp?

If anyone has a picture of what the factory amp adapter looks like, please post it, or a link.

Thanks in advance from an Audi noob.

 

i just got a head unit put in my car yesterday the factory wiring harness has outputs built into the harness they arent on the radio. if ur gonna put an aftermarket headunit make sure it has atleast 2 sets of outputs if ur gonna put aftermarket subs in it needs to have 3.i dunno if that answeres ur question that u had or not but that was my experince with it i dont have ne pictures thats wat the guy at the audiio place i go to told me

 

all you need to do is cut some rca's and connect them to the wires going to the amp. on my bose head unit, these wires were located on the small yellow plug. there should be 6 wires on the plug: 4 small wires on the corners, a thicker white wire and a small brown wire in the middle. the 4 four wires in the corners need to be connected to the rca's (not sure which are the fronts and rears, but i could check if you would like me to). the brown wire is the common ground for the rca's. connect the ground from all the rca's to this wire. the thick white wire is the remote turn on for the factory bose amp you were searching for.

i hope this helps and sorry if its a little confusing.

 

I did hook up my deck today, and as I thought I just used the factory pre-out connections. And while it does work, it certainly isn't right...

I do get pretty good sound, but I'm not sure of why I now have an alternator whine. In addition to that, there is fairly loud pop when the car is turned on or off.

I hooked it up by snipping the end off of some RCA's and then wiring the loose end to the factory harness yellow plug as described by itsbigj05 abovee. I double checked my grounds because that is usually what causes this in an aftermarket stereo set up. The RCA leads are maybe a foot long and could be shortened. My other idea is I used t-taps on the factory wiring harness at the yellow plug since I couldn't locate it's mate in order to create a plug n play. The t-taps seem to be making a good connection, but I may just end up snipping off the yellow plug and soldering the RCA's for a morepositive connection. I was also thinking that maybe the RCA's need to be shielded to reduce noise?

Any one out there have any ideas or words of wisdom?

 

does anyone know if/how to connect a subwoofer and an amp to the factory non-bose stereo. is there any way. i was able to hook up the a box n amp in my 00 A6 2.7T with the bose system but i gave that car to my wiffey... now i want a system in my A4 1.8T but no bose system

 

Alternator whine fixed!!

Well after removing the deck and pulling the crimp connectors off, I soldered all the connections and installed some inline ground loop isolators. This completely fixed all the noise that I had. The stereo sounds great now, and once I have the coin, I can add a sub to the trunk for that little bit of thump that I am missing.

I did end up using the rca's cut and wired in to the factory harness for anyone else that has been thinking about installing an aftermarket deck. It CAN be done, and sound good. So don't let those stereo shops tell you have to replace everything.

 

Fwiw, I have an 01 TT which came with the Bose concert cassette player head unit. Obviously not a very attractive nor functional piece. From what I understand however, my car has three separate amplifiers. One for the factory woofer, one for the front speakers and one for the rear. In some cases I've seen on other forums, using the RCA method can create an issue where the rear speakers don't put out as much sound as the fronts. I purchased a plug n play adapter from enfig audio, as well as their trim block kit, and installed a Kenwood 3.5tft media receiver. The sound is even and adjustable, but I'm also running into the alternator noise issue now. Ground loop isolators you say?