Car Stereos: oem conversion, oem boston, internal amplifier

Question
I am trying to install a cd, stereo oem from a 2008 jeep commander,mopar#05064922ae,in the cabin of my boat.Can I just get the correct wiring plug, hook up a antenna (boat),supply a 12v feed, hook up the speakers &it should work or is there more to it ? Sounds to simple     Dave

Answer
Hi David,

In fact, what you want to do might not be possible.

If you had a stock unit that was a few years older, it would probably be just as simple as you described.  Unfortunately, things have changed quite a bit in the past few years with Chrysler radio systems.

The biggest hurdle is that you can't just apply voltage to turn the unit on any more.  A few years ago, every radio had two power connections--one for constant power, and one for key-switched power--and applying voltage to both connections (along with a ground connection) would turn the unit on.   Your deck doesn't work like that.  It has a constant power connection, but instead of a switched power lead, it's integrated with the vehicle's CAN-bus system.  A data signal tells the radio when to turn on and off, and there's no practical way of re-creating that in your boat.

Furthermore, it's very likely that the head unit doesn't have an internal amplifier capable of driving speakers.  If the Jeep was originally equipped with an OEM Boston Acoustics or Infinity audio system, then the head unit will just have fixed-volume, low-level outputs.  The volume, fader, and balance control is all done by the factory amplifier, using data commands.

Unfortunately, I don't see any way of making the head unit work on your boat without bringing the rest of the vehicle's electronics and computer system along with it.

Hope this helps!

Brian