I've been trying to get my empeg installed in my new Dodge Charger for the last two weeks or so. The first shop I went to said there was no way to make use of the factory amplifier, so they'd have to bypass it and add an amp instead. Sensing they might be trying to make an extra buck, I took it to another shop, who said they'd be able to interface with the factory amp. It turns out they had a wiring harness that fit, but all the wires except for the power were different, and they couldn't find any of them that was a "left" or a "right" input. Apparently they're all some other kind of signal, maybe digital or something.

Anyway, he's got calls in to Visteon (who makes the amp) and some other company that makes the wiring harnesses. However, I don't really have high hopes he'll get anywhere with them, so I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas how I might be able to proceed. Is anyone familiar with what mechanisms the car manufacturers are using to connect factory head units and amplifiers? Has anyone gone through this song and dance before?

My Mini had a totally propritary system so I had to replace the amp, wiring, and speakers.

In the Mini there was some kind of line level output from the head unit going to the amp but the amp itself controlled all the signal processing stuff like bass, treble, and DSP settings.

The wiring was weird also because they had a 3 way speaker setup in the front doors with the crossover built into the amp and the rears were dual voice coil 6X9s.

The Mini setup was branded as Harmon Kardon so i'm sure it is totally different from yours but the result will probably be the same. (rip it all out)

Do they have any climate controls or other extras incorporated into the head unit that would prevent you from being able to remove it ?