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I'm relatively ignorant of car audio things in general.

But my whole system has recently died and I just got a great job that requires me to commute 9 hrs/week in the car. Commuting in silence really sucks. I'm kinda broke and won't get paid for this gig until it's done at the end of September.
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I have a '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The radio/CD/cassette unit seems to be working, but no sound whatsoever comes out of the speakers.

I've check all the fuses. From what I can tell, the problem is most likely the amplifier.

The amplifier in the car is the factory one: Infinity Gold 56007499.

I've found a couple of these on ebay, but the auctions on those won't close for over a week and the minimum cost will be $50+ with shipping and handling (and much more should the bidding go higher).

There's the next years factory amplifier available right away for much cheaper -- Infinity Gold 56038407.

Can the newer one be substituted for the older one?

I'm looking for the most cost efficient solution, obviously. But I don't know much about rewiring connectors. Were I the people at Jeep/Infinity, I would not have made the two interchangable, but I guess I'm just hoping.

Suggestions?

Would amps be the kind of thing you could even hope to find at a salvage yard?

best bet is probably an aftermarket head unit. you may get lucky and it be the amp but what if its not or what if the one you get is not good? how much are you willing to throw at guesswork?

Good point on the guesswork. As I said, I *think* I can get the exact amp for around $50-60 on ebay, unless the auctions take off in the next week or so. If I can be patient and endure the commute for 4-6 more times (more with shipping time?) then that's probably around what I'd have to pay.

Any idea if you could find an amp like this at a salvage yard? I'vce emailed a couple, but it seems like the kind of thing that would be stripped out right away.

you probably could but keep in mind those cars are extremely exposed to the elements and with most salvage yards its a crapshoot with no guarantee that it works.

And I have no guarantee at this moment that it is in fact the Amp that I need... [I'm sighing with disgust here]

How would one check to see if it is the Amp?

I've talked to a few of the places around town. One does trouble shooting for $45, another will start the work for $40, but won't call you or cap-it below $120. It seems like the sort of thing I should be able to check-out somewhere for free (like a parts store?)

no place is gonna want to do a free check out because they have to pay people to do a check out. i would suggest going with an aftermarket deck and forgetting the whole system because factory sucks.

sinister audio wrote:no place is gonna want to do a free check out because they have to pay people to do a check out. i would suggest going with an aftermarket deck and forgetting the whole system because factory sucks.

I'm sure it does. But for my needs the system in it was already excessive. Would I like a better system? Sure. Do I have anywhere near the money for one? not remotely.

My questions are to try to save money and make my commute at least kind of comfortable. Not get the best system I can. I have to work as cheap as I can with what I've got.

you can bypass the factory amp when you put in an aftermarket deck and thats pretty much what i was suggesting. you can get a reliable deck for 120 or so off ebay that will be a big upgrade from your stock system right now and then you dont have to guess at whats wrong.

cheapest fix is to wait for the replacement amp auction to close and win that.
the new amp uses a different harness, and the PAC OEM1 adapter needed to use an aftermarket amp with the infinity stereo in that jeep is $60+ alone, then you need to buy a new amp with it.

just wait it out and get the factory replacement amp.