[Carat4878]

Not sure where to post this but need HELP!

Picked up brand new 23 convertible from dealership on 8/10/23 that I ordered in April 2023. Car has the Bose system but wanted a little more bass. Took car to professional audio dealer/installer on 8/12/23 and had a Memphis Audio Single 8” sub with built in 300 Watt amp installed (I’ve used these people for past vehicles). Picked car up, drove home, almost home and CEL comes. RPMs wouldn’t go below 4000. Had car towed to dealership on 8/14/23 and was told the sub wasn’t installed properly and dealership disconnected it. Brought car back to audio place, they were confused since they install in Camaros all the time, but did a few tweaks and reconnected the sub. I’ve been driving for 6 months and haven’t had a problem until I noticed the sub was randomly going off and on. Brought car back to audio place, was told it played for 30 minutes in the car with no problem then it went out. They couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t working so they replaced the sub with a new one. They did not change wires or anything. Simply unplugged the old sub and plugged in the new one. Drove the car for 2 days no problem. CEL comes on Monday morning and does the same thing with the RPMs. Called dealership, car is towed and I’m told again it was the speaker. Service ticket says “unit has code P2535 stored for IGN circuit. Found aftermarket amp causing unwanted voltage on electrical buss. Disconnected amp and cleared code and retested. Fine at this time.” I have gone round and round with the service advisor telling him I’m not the only Camaro owner to install an aftermarket sub and there is something else causing this. The audio place even called the service advisor and he said “these cars are finicky and don’t like aftermarket products.” So now I’m riding around with a disconnected sub….

If something like this has been discussed before, please provide the link and I’ll be more than happy to read about it.

I’m at a loss on what to do and the service advisors are grumpy and don’t want to deal with or have time for a middle aged female wanting to bump to a little bass with the top down

[scott_0]

how did the audio shop get their signal and power for the subwoofer?

[DamonZ28]

I'd be interested in seeing how they connected to the battery, which gauge wiring they used, how they tapped into existing wiring, and where they grounded it. I'd suggest posting pics of all of that. I'm no expert, but installed my own system, and perhaps someone else here could spot what's wrong too. I added an aftermarket sub & amp and haven't really had any issues. Had a minor issue with the sub cutting out, which was due to a poor ground. I posted pics here and more than one person suggested sanding around the ground area for a better connection, and it's been working fine for a year now. See my "Journal" thread linked in my signature for pics on my setup.

[Carat4878]

Originally Posted by scott_0

how did the audio shop get their signal and power for the subwoofer?

I'm not sure but I've contacted someone and waiting to hear back from them.

[Carat4878]

Originally Posted by DamonZ28

I'd be interested in seeing how they connected to the battery, which gauge wiring they used, how they tapped into existing wiring, and where they grounded it. I'd suggest posting pics of all of that. I'm no expert, but installed my own system, and perhaps someone else here could spot what's wrong too. I added an aftermarket sub & amp and haven't really had any issues. Had a minor issue with the sub cutting out, which was due to a poor ground. I posted pics here and more than one person suggested sanding around the ground area for a better connection, and it's been working fine for a year now. See my "Journal" thread linked in my signature for pics on my setup.

Thank you for the link! I've sent it to the audio people and just waiting to hear back from them.

[SomeGeoffGuy]

Go pop your trunk and trace all the wires back from the sub. Take a picture of every place a wire is connected and post it on here. Not sure how else anyone can help.

I am also nervous - I am about to start on the stereo on my 23 and would like to see what they did! I am concerned that it may just be how the car is reacting to the additional load, but would need to see where it was hooked up to know for sure.

-Geoff

[rcoe]

I would think the wires going to the battery would not be a problem.

Check the ground, bad ground wire could cause issues.

I would really look into where they are getting the turn-on feed for the amp or the signal feed. One of these might be back feeding into the cabus system.

[SomeGeoffGuy]

Originally Posted by rcoe

I would think the wires going to the battery would not be a problem.

Check the ground, bad ground wire could cause issues.

I would really look into where they are getting the turn-on feed for the amp or the signal feed. One of these might be back feeding into the cabus system.

I was thinking they might have used one of those wire clamp thingies that you just snap in place to get the signal. They are notoriously unreliable.

-Geoff

[Plasar]

Carat:

* I can imagine this is frustrating - let’s see if we can help you get it resolved.
* I have a 1,400 watt stereo installed professionally for 5 years now and zero CELs or power related issues.
* I doubt Camaros are any more or less finicky than any other car.
* I would not argue with the dealer - you brought them a broken car twice and they told you what they think the root cause is. If you want a second opinion, go to another dealer or independent shop.
* I am suspecting the stereo was not installed properly. Please provide us pics of the wiring. Simply remove the carpeting in the trunk and take some pics. You want to concentrate on the left of the truck where the Bose amp is located on the floor and the battery to the right side of the trunk.
* See the video of a REAL professional Five Star Audio install in a Camaro for some background pics of what it looks like.

https://youtu.be/9gRYbndccHc?si=N-je...lSQl/&t=14m47s


FYI, a sample post with pics from this forum:

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=570080

[Plasar]

“RPMs wouldn’t go below 4000.”

I think you meant “above”… I really, really, really hope so!

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Plasar

“RPMs wouldn’t go below 4000.”

I think you meant “above”… I really, really, really hope so!

Well, some might say >4000 rpm is how the car was intended to be driven

[ctrlz]

This sounds like a botched audio install.
It's the old experience vs. specific knowledge. Just because you have done something many times does not mean you have EVER DONE IT CORRECTLY!

I suspect they either drew power from somewhere that was not a reasonable source and/or hooked up the amp in such a way it backfed to the car's data bus. The dealer certainly seems to be confirming the latter.

Also, I agree with Plasar. This dealer is being very patient with your problem. If you come back to them with a fried BCM they may say it's on you, and you will be out $2000.


Read a bit about P2535. This code is set when voltage higher than 6V is detected on the ignition start circuit (which I suspect should never exceed 5 V). I think the installers may have used the ignition start signal for amp turn on, and somehow higher voltage is being fed back on the turn-on wire (my guess would be 12V). This could be something the amp does internally, since many cars would not mind 12V on an ignition on lead. All guesses.