Car Stereos: Chevy Malibu 05, chevy malibu, sony cdx

Question
i have recently took my car to bestbuy to install my stereo from my old car (99 galant, sony cdx-gt520) since i could not figure out how to do it, but now after they installed it i wanted to hook up the subs i have(didnt have them do it would of cost more) and i figured since ive hooked them up before i could do it again now that the radio works, but at first the amp would have power but when turned to CD setting it would shut off, had a friend look at it and we messed with wires on back and seen it was wrong remote wire hooked up so we hooked it to the other blue one, now the amp stays on even on CD settings like it did in galant, however the subs themselves have no sound... the only thing different with this instal is that the powerwire to the stereo is hooked to the wire harness directly and not color matching on the wire converter. i dont know why now though my subs wont work, its all the same except the car, and that wire. but another person i know also has my car (same model, just different stereo)and he has subs also and his work, the only thing i see different from the too cars is the person who hooked his power cord up, hooked it directly to the 10amp fuse that powers the radio( right of where bestbuy hooked mine to the harness) so im wondering if i should do that and it will work? i dont want to really mess with the wires and fuses until i know a answer scared im going to blow a fuse or damage the car messing with the wire harness. any suggestions?

Thanks, Mike

Answer
Hi Mike,

Whether your stereo is getting its power from a harness elsewhere, or if it's directly going into the new wires, it shouldn't affect whether you're getting sound from your subs or not as long as the deck is working.

The power for your amplifier should be a fresh heavy gauge wire running straight from the battery to the amplifiers, and as long as it's turning on, that's not your issue.

If you're not getting sound, look into whether the deck you have has the option of turning off the preouts, and if it does, turn them back on again.  Also check the RCA wires going from your aftermarket deck to the amplifier, and the gain settings on the amplifier itself.

Finally, make sure that the subs are hooked up correctly to the amp because if they're hooked up wrong, or the impedance is off, the amp will shut off its output to protect itself.

Justin