Speaker upgrade kit installed on my TA

[1.8t]

^ good suggestion. I will give them a shout to see if they can offer any advice.

[SRT BILL]

Following this with interest, any new info is greatly appreciated.

[Andi]

Believe it or not I was the first one that Viper Exchange had done. call Andy Wheeler at Viper Exchange and he may be able to help you through it or if you are near enough they can do it for you. I may be wrong but I think they said it wasn't as cut and dry as the instructions make it out to be.

paging FLATOUT - can you give us more details on the "right" way to do this?

Thanks,
Andi

[Voice of Reason]

Has anyone other than 1.8t had issues with the upgrade going from 12 to 18 speakers? Myself and many others have had success so while I don't want to diminish his issue and the need for resolution it feels like that's an outlier and for everyone else it's fine. IMO if you have the 12 speaker system today and want better sound the kit is a must.

[ViperSmith]

Has anyone other than 1.8t had issues with the upgrade going from 12 to 18 speakers? Myself and many others have had success so while I don't want to diminish his issue and the need for resolution it feels like that's an outlier and for everyone else it's fine. IMO if you have the 12 speaker system today and want better sound the kit is a must.

When I had the dealer part done, it shut off all the airbags in my car. From what I recall they installed the wrong firmware or something. Regional tech had to flash it.

[FLATOUT]

paging FLATOUT - can you give us more details on the "right" way to do this?

Thanks,
Andi

I'll check with Morgan (our Tech) and get back to you guys.

Andy

[Andi]

I'll check with Morgan (our Tech) and get back to you guys.

Andy

Andy - thanks. Any update?

[Andi]

Hi everybody - I just got the upgrade kit and the buckets. Couple questions for those that have done this upgrade on a TA:

- are we confirmed that all the TA's already have the center dash speaker so we can skip that part?
- is there an "easy" way to pull out the false grill by the door pull to check if there is already as speaker there, and if so, just pop in the new grill? (I recall somebody in this thread said their car already had a speaker in one door.. I'd prefer not to pull the whole door panel off if I don't have to).
- any tips and tricks for removing the door panel to actually install that speaker, without damaging the clips or causing new rattles?
- any other tips or tricks, for installing the back speakers or otherwise?

Thanks!
Cheers,
Andi

[1Koolasp 16ACR]

Hey Andi, I Did My TA And Now My ACR, The Center Dash Speaker Is There, So You Can Skip That Part. Just Follow The Instruction Sheet , And TAKE YOUR TIME !!, I've Done This 4 Times Before , Door Panel Will Require Some Muscle To Pop Off , You Got 2 Bolts First To Remove ,2015's And 16's Have 3 Bolts To Remove,Then Unsnap The Door Panel.The Rears Are Easy ,Pull The Carpeted Panel, And It's Right There To Do. I Hope This Helps.

[Voice of Reason]

1Koolasp - when you did your TA did you purchase speaker cups for the ones behind the seat you installed? Or did everything you need come in the one kit? I ask because I had my dealer install mine and they only used the kit so I'm wondering if the backs of those behind-the-seat speakers are now exposed to the elements in error...

[Andi]

I just bought the kit and can confirm the buckets are not included in it.

[wrh3]

- is there an "easy" way to pull out the false grill by the door pull to check if there is already as speaker there, and if so, just pop in the new grill? (I recall somebody in this thread said their car already had a speaker in one door.. I'd prefer not to pull the whole door panel off if I don't have to).
- any tips and tricks for removing the door panel to actually install that speaker, without damaging the clips or causing new rattles?
- any other tips or tricks, for installing the back speakers or otherwise?

Thanks!
Cheers,
Andi

Andi,

Unfortunately there is not an easy way since the upper speaker grill has tabs holding it to the door panel, the panel has to be removed (I did have the upper speaker installed on one side with the blank in the door panel, probably a fluke at the factory). I just removed the required screws and used a trim removal tool to work my way around the door, no issues breaking clips but there is always that possibility. For the rears I did not have to remove the trim, the carpet can be maneuvered out of the way pretty easily by untucking it and sliding it out of the way. Have a few pics on my website that may help. VERY worthwhile upgrade, maybe the best OE stereo I have had.

[1Koolasp 16ACR]

No Speaker Cups For Me , I Bought A 6x9 Soft Baffle ,And Put Those In As The Buckets , $8 Bux At Amazon, Worked Awesome And ,On The 16's You Get No Buckets , I Popped Out The Stock Rear Speaker ,And There Was No Bucket, Just The Same Type Baffle Material, That"s What They Now Use, Must Be Cheaper For Them To Do So. Also No Buckets With The Kit , There Like $50 Bucks Or So, No Need, 6x9 Soft Baffle , They Are Made By Dynamat, Done !!

[wrh3]

Interesting, I started down this path too and purchased the foam baffles from Amazon but thought I would keep everything OE with the buckets- They are a bit pricey for what they are.

[1Koolasp 16ACR]

Bill ,I Guess I Would Have Also , But Dodge Had A Change In Heart , And Did What I Did LOL!!

[Andi]

I'll check with Morgan (our Tech) and get back to you guys.

Andy

Andy - can you check with your tech and give us the skinny on the right way to do the update? I ask because I had my local dealer do the update while doing r29 for me yesterday, but it doesn't seem to have worked as the new rear subs aren't firing.

Thanks.
Andi

[Andi]

Andy - can you check with your tech and give us the skinny on the right way to do the update? I ask because I had my local dealer do the update while doing r29 for me yesterday, but it doesn't seem to have worked as the new rear subs aren't firing.

Thanks.
Andi

Never mind - it was a miscommunication inside the dealer. Just dropped by and watched them do the update per the instructions to enable the RCA order code. My rears are firing now.

Sound is significantly better than before the upgrade. Worth every penny of the upgrade $$ IMHO. Be advised your rearview mirrors will vibrate even more now.

Cheers,
Andi

[apeas2]

Never mind - it was a miscommunication inside the dealer. Just dropped by and watched them do the update per the instructions to enable the RCA order code. My rears are firing now.

Sound is significantly better than before the upgrade. Worth every penny of the upgrade $$ IMHO. Be advised your rearview mirrors will vibrate even more now.

Cheers,
Andi

Can you post the instructions so I can pass along to my dealer? 2 of my 4 rear subs not firing after they updated my configuration. Thanks.

[Andi]

Can you post the instructions so I can pass along to my dealer? 2 of my 4 rear subs not firing after they updated my configuration. Thanks.

http://www.moparonlineparts.com/docs/82213535.pdf

Bottom of page 9.

It's a two-step process. First somebody with the right access rights (at my dealer it was the business development manager) has to go into dealerconnect and add sales code RCA as a dealer installed option for your VIN. Then, after they've confirmed the sales code has been added to your vin, the tech can connect to your car and do a "restore vehicle configuration."

Basically what they're doing is doing a flash update of your car. The first step tells Chrysler to create a flash update file for your car that turns on those other previously unused channels on your amplifier (i.e. to get the new subs to fire). So they prepare the new file. Then the tech downloads the new file and flash updates your car.

I actually took the rear bulkhead carpet out after the update, bumped some hip hop, and shined my phone flashlight on each visible woofer to make sure it worked this time before leaving. It's easy to seem them moving with the right music.

Hope this helps.
Andi

[elitex]

^ good suggestion. I will give them a shout to see if they can offer any advice.

I went through the same issue on my 13 SRT. Dealer had to get a tech from SRT involved. From what I remember, they had to reflash the entire car.

[apeas2]

Just left the dealership. They followed both steps and I finally have all 4 subs behind the seats working!

[WillyPrep]

If it bought an ACR but it is coming with 12 speakers, what do I need to go to 18? I wrote viper exchange to see if I could buy something from them, but no response.

[apeas2]

This is all you need. (Part Number 82213535. Simple to install, then head to the dealer to reflash the system. Sounds amazing.

[Andi]

Just to close the loop, here is what you need for the upgrade:

- One speaker upgrade kit 82213535
- [optional] Two buckets for the rear woofers. 2 x 05035339AA. Some folks skipped this and there is talk of SRT no longer using the buckets at all on the 15+'s. Dono. I bought the buckets and installed them under the speakers.

Note that the speaker upgrade kit contains more than you actually need (it has an extra 3rd sub you don't need and an extra center dash speaker that you also don't need because it's already installed in the car (according to people on the forum; I didn't personally check)). *BUT* the speaker upgrade kit is the only way to get the door tweeter grilles unless somebody finds the individual part # (I couldn't).

Here are the official install instructions:
http://www.moparonlineparts.com/docs/82213535.pdf

*** DON'T FORGET TO HAVE YOUR DEALER DO THE FLASH UPDATE TO ADD THE RCA OPTION CODE TO YOUR CAR. IF YOU DON'T, THE AMP WILL NOT START FIRING THE NEW SUBS ***

Also - more good information and illustrations of the install are available at Bill's awesome Viper page:
http://www.billswebspace.com/viper.html

Cheers,
Andi

[lochnessmonster]

Here is a little tid bit of advice for those of you out there using your phone etc. as your source for the tunes. A couple of days ago I was out with my son, and I noticed that my stereo system sounded "tinny". That is, the base response was crap. I have the full "18" speaker system in my GTS, and I distinctly remember it sounding much better before. At first I thought that my sub wasn't functioning correctly. I went into the equalizer settings on the audio page and maxed out the bass to no effect. I moved the fade back and forth from the front to the back with no effect. Well, no surprise here, it was operator error. I discovered that somehow my phone had been set to the "Classic" setting in its equalizer settings. I changed it to "Rock" and holy crap, my system was back baby!!!! So, the moral of the story is, make sure the source device is set up properly before you even start to mess with the equalizer settings in the car. I had to go back and reduce the bass, mid, and treble, because it was totally out of control after I got the phone setting right. I hope this helps