As I resigned to the fact that my amp1 was indeed the culprit of my audio problems (very loud beeping noise that makes it impossible to listen to any music), I decided that I rather do without some bass from the door speakers than limiting my audio enjoyment to 10 minutes per drive. (After 10 minutes, the beeping would start.)
As replacement amp1's are hard to find in New Zealand, and very expensive when you do find one, I decided to bypass the Amp1 myself.
I didn't think of this myself, I found this video online which was very helpful: http://youtu.be/yQ2Yf3K-vuQ
All you need to bypass your broken amp is a piece of vacuum tubing. In the video, the guy is using a 1/8" tube. As I couldn't get hold of that exact size, other than using a fuel line, I went for a slightly smaller size. But as long as the tubing is flexible, there is some wiggle room here anyway.
Here's a pic of the vacuum tubing I used:
![Image]()
I am not a car guy, I absolutely have 2 left hands when it comes to this and I've never been as hands-on with any of my cars as I've been with my Saab 93 but it's a matter of money, I simply can't afford to run to a garage or Saab specialist and shell out $85+/hour for every little thing. Moral of the story is, I may not get all the jargon right in terms of tools etc but if I can do it - anyone can!
Tools required to perform this operation:
1 x T50 (in my case a 3/8" ratchet with extension bar and a 3/8" T50 bit)
1 x T25 (in my case I used this with my 1/4" screwdriver with a T25 bit)
1 x Phillips screwdriver
1 x piece of vacuum tubing of about an inch length
1 x small sized long-nosed pliers
Note: The amp1 is fitted under the LEFT seat of the car, regardless if you have a left or right hand drive car. In my case (RHD), it is the passenger seat. If you're not in the UK, NZ, Australia - you will find the amp under the driver seat.
Removing the amp1 from the car (reinstalling is simply the reverse order):
1. slide seat forward as far possible.
2. tilt seat forward as far as possible.
3. use the T50 to unscrew the 2 screws holding down the seat sliding rails to the floor.
4. now lift seat and rails up and forward to gain access to the am1p.
(use a second pair of hands or your shoulder to keep seat forward or wedge a solid object underneath the lifted rails.)
5. use T25 bit to unscrew single screw on the right side of the amp.
6. disconnect the cable plug from the amp by pushing a little plastic flap on top of the connector and push the connector to the left at the same time.
Now you should have an amp1 in your hands! Remove the top cover by unscrewing the 3 screws that hold it in place. All 3 screws are located on the rear side of the amp - two are on either side of the heat sink and the last screw is on top of the cable plug.
After removing the cover, you should be seeing this:
![Image]()
The optic cables (input and output, to make a closed loop) are the 2 most left cables in the plug. See the 2 cables on the left side of the amp and going into that shiny plated vertical PCB? Those are your two optic fiber cables that we must "bridge" to bypass the Amp1 and create a closed loop circuit to enable all the other audio bits to function.
Now use your long nosed pliers to remove the 2 cables from their connectors underneath that shiny plated PCB. You can remove them by twisting them and they should pop-out. If you're an idiot like myself, you get frustrated and simply yank them out of their connectors with sheer force. I do not recommend you follow my bad example!
Now cut a piece of tubing, about an inch long or perhaps even smaller and gently fit both fiber optic connectors into each end of the tube. They do not need to be touching each other but they will need to be very close so that the laser beam can go from connector into the other.
You should end up with something like this:
![Image]()
or:
![Image]()
Refit and secure the cover, place amp1 back where you found it, connect the cable plug and turn on your car. If the bypass is working correctly, and the laser beam can pass from one connector to the other, you should have radio and you should also hear all the chimes and indicator sounds.
If your radio refuses to turn on, the loop isn't closed. You may need to cut a smaller piece of tubing and/or wiggle the fiber optic connectors closer together.
It took me 2 attempts to get this working - my initial piece of tubing was probably too long, creating too much of a gap between the two fiber optic connectors. Cutting a piece from the tubing and wiggling both connectors closer together did the trick.
All in all, it should be really straight forward to do this and you do not need to be without your amp1 for days/weeks while you pay someone $50 bucks to bypass your amp.
As replacement amp1's are hard to find in New Zealand, and very expensive when you do find one, I decided to bypass the Amp1 myself.
I didn't think of this myself, I found this video online which was very helpful: http://youtu.be/yQ2Yf3K-vuQ
All you need to bypass your broken amp is a piece of vacuum tubing. In the video, the guy is using a 1/8" tube. As I couldn't get hold of that exact size, other than using a fuel line, I went for a slightly smaller size. But as long as the tubing is flexible, there is some wiggle room here anyway.
Here's a pic of the vacuum tubing I used:
I am not a car guy, I absolutely have 2 left hands when it comes to this and I've never been as hands-on with any of my cars as I've been with my Saab 93 but it's a matter of money, I simply can't afford to run to a garage or Saab specialist and shell out $85+/hour for every little thing. Moral of the story is, I may not get all the jargon right in terms of tools etc but if I can do it - anyone can!
Tools required to perform this operation:
1 x T50 (in my case a 3/8" ratchet with extension bar and a 3/8" T50 bit)
1 x T25 (in my case I used this with my 1/4" screwdriver with a T25 bit)
1 x Phillips screwdriver
1 x piece of vacuum tubing of about an inch length
1 x small sized long-nosed pliers
Note: The amp1 is fitted under the LEFT seat of the car, regardless if you have a left or right hand drive car. In my case (RHD), it is the passenger seat. If you're not in the UK, NZ, Australia - you will find the amp under the driver seat.
Removing the amp1 from the car (reinstalling is simply the reverse order):
1. slide seat forward as far possible.
2. tilt seat forward as far as possible.
3. use the T50 to unscrew the 2 screws holding down the seat sliding rails to the floor.
4. now lift seat and rails up and forward to gain access to the am1p.
(use a second pair of hands or your shoulder to keep seat forward or wedge a solid object underneath the lifted rails.)
5. use T25 bit to unscrew single screw on the right side of the amp.
6. disconnect the cable plug from the amp by pushing a little plastic flap on top of the connector and push the connector to the left at the same time.
Now you should have an amp1 in your hands! Remove the top cover by unscrewing the 3 screws that hold it in place. All 3 screws are located on the rear side of the amp - two are on either side of the heat sink and the last screw is on top of the cable plug.
After removing the cover, you should be seeing this:
The optic cables (input and output, to make a closed loop) are the 2 most left cables in the plug. See the 2 cables on the left side of the amp and going into that shiny plated vertical PCB? Those are your two optic fiber cables that we must "bridge" to bypass the Amp1 and create a closed loop circuit to enable all the other audio bits to function.
Now use your long nosed pliers to remove the 2 cables from their connectors underneath that shiny plated PCB. You can remove them by twisting them and they should pop-out. If you're an idiot like myself, you get frustrated and simply yank them out of their connectors with sheer force. I do not recommend you follow my bad example!
Now cut a piece of tubing, about an inch long or perhaps even smaller and gently fit both fiber optic connectors into each end of the tube. They do not need to be touching each other but they will need to be very close so that the laser beam can go from connector into the other.
You should end up with something like this:
or:
Refit and secure the cover, place amp1 back where you found it, connect the cable plug and turn on your car. If the bypass is working correctly, and the laser beam can pass from one connector to the other, you should have radio and you should also hear all the chimes and indicator sounds.
If your radio refuses to turn on, the loop isn't closed. You may need to cut a smaller piece of tubing and/or wiggle the fiber optic connectors closer together.
It took me 2 attempts to get this working - my initial piece of tubing was probably too long, creating too much of a gap between the two fiber optic connectors. Cutting a piece from the tubing and wiggling both connectors closer together did the trick.
All in all, it should be really straight forward to do this and you do not need to be without your amp1 for days/weeks while you pay someone $50 bucks to bypass your amp.
