Car Stereos: 2001 Monte Carlo stereo amp, stereo amp, wire colors

Question
I'm going to be replacing my stereo amp in my 2001 Monte Carlo sometime soon. I'm pretty sure it's in the trunk. Could you walk me through how to do this or should I take it somewhere to have it done for me?

Answer
Hi Travis,

Are you replacing the amplifier with another OEM factory amp, or installing an after-market amplifier?

Not every Monte Carlo was equipped with the factory amp.  If you have one, it should be mounted under the rear deck, right in the middle between the two rear speakers.  It's easily accessible, and if you're replacing it with an identical amplifier, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes; just unplug and dismount the old amp, and mount and plug in the new one.  

Installing an after-market amp in place of the stock one would be more difficult; you'd need to know the wire colors for the inputs coming from the stock head unit, and the outputs going to the various speakers.  You'd probably want to pick an amplifier with a high-level input feature, and plan on running new power and ground wiring.

Hope this helps!

Brian