Audio upgrade 1SS Non Bose
 

I wanted to use my 5 channel Kenwood Excelon amp to power the fronts and the rears plus add a sub. From what I understand about the system, the My Link unit sends a digital signal to the factory amp and the factory amp converts the signal to analog and to the speakers. This means you have to keep the factory amp. I purchased an AudioControl LC7i Line Converter. The LC7i Takes the signals from the speakers and converts them to usable RCA connections. Here's my install:

First thanks to users Darth Martel and Chris227 who provided these diagrams of the wires. I hope they don't mind me reposting them. Darth Martel's thread really helped me.
http://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=452618

http://i.imgur.com/kzHlXvm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QsPjyQa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NMAS4N1.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/WefB6Oq.jpg

I cut the following wires. The ends coming from the harness will go to the LC7i and the other ends will go to the Kenwood amp and power the speakers. If you look at the diagram of the harness you can see how they numbered the pins.
I used the front speakers to connect to "Main Input" on the LC7i
Pin 5 BU Left Front+
Pin 6 YE Right Front+
Pin 13 BN/BU Left Front-
Pin 14 YE/BK Right Front-

I used the rear speakers to connect to Channel 2 on the LC7i
Pin 7 GN Left REAR+
Pin 8 WH Right Rear+
Pin 15 GN/BK Left Rear-
Pin 16 BU/BK Right Rear-
http://i.imgur.com/h4LiN5g.jpg

Next I connected all the speaker wires from the harness to the LC7i, 3 sets of RCAs and the remote turn on wire to the remote out terminal. The LC7i automatically turns on when it gets a signal from the Main Input. The Remote Out wire will turn on the Kenwood. It was a tight fit but I was able to use the round screw on bolts that hold down the styrofoam part to also hold the LC7i in place.
http://i.imgur.com/U2NwOPa.jpg

Next I ran the power and ground wire. I also powered the LC7i by connecting it to the battery.
http://i.imgur.com/urrimVS.jpg

Then I connected the other end of the speaker wires (the ones I cut) to the after market amp. These are going to the speakers. Connected the RCA's, Power and ground and the remote turn on wire to the Kenwood. Put the trunk back together.
http://i.imgur.com/qQS6t8G.jpg

Overall I am very impressed how much it is improved. The factory speakers are really brought to life and the JL Audio 10W6 sounds great.

Looks sweet man, I was thinking of doing an upgrade to the audio system too.

Thanks!

hey do you know what cord must be unplugged to prevent the exhaust note from playing? Im to paranoid to just go unplug cords and then supply power thing to guess.

It's the black plug to the left of the green one.
http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps6v74ksuk.jpg

awesome I'm going to unplug it now! THANKS

I want to add an amp and subwoofer to my Bose system. I want to keep everything in tact and the only thing I'm unsure about is the initial wires. Was thinking about using the stock amp to power the subwoofer but figured maybe I should just buy an aftermarket amp. Going backwards: wire to subwoofer speakers from amp, ground and add power wire to battery, wire from LOC to amp, but then this first step is where I'm lost. I've found information regarding everything else some of which you shared not he forums, but I don't know how to get the wires from the stock subwoofer properly hooked up. Do I cut the two subwoofer wires and then splice the split wire onto a third wire that will be going into my LOC or do I just put the wire running to the LOC and the wire from the car together and don't worry about plugging the harness back in? This part just doesn't make sense to me. This is my first time adding my own audio system to a car. Was going to wait for custom subs and harnesses to come out which are in the making, but I'm getting impatient and wouldn't mind learning how to do it on my own and could actually take everything with me to another car one day (another Camaro) and not have to worry about waiting and ordering custom made harnesses etc. Thanks! You've actually gotten the most in depth as opposed to others how you wired, but still unsure about this one part. Thought about doing all the speakers as well, but not sure how to rip them out and get the new ones in yet and then hook it all up.

I'm glad my efforts helped. That's the whole point. I may go the same route as you and get a line converter and amp for my speakers. Thanks for writing this up and letting us know that it does help the factory speakers. Community helping the community is what it's all about. :)

Thanks! I was able to get everything tuned and calibrated. It sounds almost as good as my 2011 did. I had the same amp and sub in that one but I had added JL Audio C2 Components for front and 6x9's for the back. Used The sub thump harness. I will probably change out the speakers on the new setup in the near future.

If you just want to add a sub I would get this:
http://www.audiocontrol.com/car-audi...-upgrade/lc2i/
Then just cut the speaker wires that power the factory sub woofer and send the ends coming from Bose amp to the LOC. Then run an RCA cable from the LOC to the after market amp. Ditch the the factory sub woofer. I haven't researched the Bose system much to me I think this would work.

Great work OP! Looks like 1SS and 2SS amp upgrades are about the same. I like DIY, but I will probably mess it up. I will wait for a harness.

I do like subs too, but the added weight and reduction of trunk room is important to me now with my Camaro as my only car.

Thanks! Honestly, I'm not sure a simple harness Like *** Thump had in the 5th gen can be be made. This system sends a digital signal to the factory amp. Possibly the only way to upgrade is with a LOC from the speaker wires.

Yea, things seem to be stalled out on that end so far. And no response to my emails. The factory 2SS system sounds okay but I know it could be better.

Upgrading a 1SS system and a 2SS system are NOT the same. Different wires on different connectors need to be tapped into. If anybody is going to attempt to upgrade their setup themselves, please make sure to find the correct guide for your specific system in the forums.

I met with Steve at Sub of Thump today to test out the 1SS nonBose harness he's designed. Everything worked fine. He's been having issues with a supplier for the harness but, he's got a new one lined up and will hopefully have them ready to sell within a month. It's also taken him some extra time to get a prototype harness built because the wiring information had been hard to find and he's got a 2SS so, he didn't have a 1SS nonBose in front of him to do research or testing on. He and I have been trying to meet up for a few weeks now but, schedules didn't permit it until now. Keep in mind that Sub of Thump is a small business and Steve has orders to fill and not just do research and development on harnesses specific to our Camaros. When you're a one man army, these things just take time. Cut the man some slack. He's not ignoring the wants and needs of our community. He's working on it.