Amp Error w/Bose Factory Amp

Hey everybody,

So I tried a forum search and most of the results it returned were concerning remote start/alarm topics. Here is my problem...

I have a 2005 Chevy Avalanche with factory Bose audio.  I purchased a Pioneer AVH-x1800s and a PAC RP4-GM11 interface.  I know that the OnStar will not be retained but it was not working anyway.  The issue I have is that after a few seconds to a few minutes, "AMP ERROR" begins to flash on the Pioneer screen.  I did not bypass the factory Bose amp.  Connection details are as follows.

Pioneer Harness Yellow to RP4 Harness Yellow

Pioneer Harness Blue/White to RP4 Harness Blue/White

Pioneer Harness Red to RP4 Harness Red

Pioneer Harness Black to RP4 Harness Black

RP4 Harness Speaker RCAs direct to Pioneer Head Unit.

All other Pioneer and RP4 Harness wires terminated without connection.

One mistake that I know I made was that I did not set the RP4 Head Unit selector dial to "7" prior to reconnecting the battery negative terminal.

My questions are, could this cause the "AMP ERROR" issue? What do I need to do to reset the RP4 interface if this mistake is causing the issue? And does it sound like I have all to proper connection made?

Thank you for any help!

Justin Walters

The amp error message is referring to the internal amplifier of the 1800. The only thing that causes this is a grounded speaker wire or a shorted speaker. You do not have any speakers connected to the deck, Check for uninsulated connections between the deck and the harness. Also Metra had some problems with the harnesses. I do not know if it was the input or output side of the RP4, but inspect the White channel for frayed wires at the module. Check both input and output.

Did you connect any tweeters to the deck?

Thanks for the response... No, I did not add or replace any of the factory speakers.

Also, I remember reading somewhere that the Bose front door speakers in that year Avalanche are related at 1 ohm. Is that correct? Need to know so if I have to pull the door panels to test them.

Bose went away from 1 ohm speakers long before chevy thought about designing the avalanche. It has nothing to do with the speaker impedance. Your radio is connected to the input wires of the bose amplifier. There has to be an uninsulated connection somewhere between the radio and the RP4.

Today on the way to work, the radio worked fine for half of the commute then went back into AMP ERROR. I'll be pulling it out in the morning to check the speaker wiring.

Thanks again for all of the advice.

Justin

Hey Idiot,

Thanks for the help, I snatched the deck out this morning, wrapped every inch of the harness from the deck to the factory plug in two layers of electrical tape. Reconnected the battery, turned it on and it has been playing perfectly for about an hour now!

Thanks again,
Justin