I just purchased a 2008 KK. Love it so far. I am getting ready to upgrade the head unit to an Apline I already own from my old ZJ. I spoke with the guy at Crutchfield to see what I needed. He sent me the following link:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-i9wT7gWE1j ... 5&emType=3

My question is this: my build sheet doesn't say I have a factory amp. The $100 wiring harness he says I should buy allows me to reuse my factory amp. Is this the correct harness? Or am I paying for something I don't need? Thanks for your help!

That link doesn't bring anything up all you need is the harness that plugs into your existing jeep harness you can get them at autozone. If you are unsure about the amp give jeep your vin and they can tell you if your came equipped with one


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My build sheet mentions nothing about an amp. For stereo it mentions Uconnect 130 AM/FM/CD/MP3. It then mentions 4 speakers. Plus I can't find where an amp would be anyway.

Idk if it is anything like the KJ system but our factory amps are on the back side of your front door speakers. I would pull one and see you can't miss it if it is anything like the KJ models.

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I cannot immediately locate a 2008 KK FSM although I can find a parts manual so I'll speculate a but based on the 05 and 06 KJ. In those model years for Jeep and a variety of other DCJ vehicles you had a base speaker system with 4 in door speakers, no amp, and I'm not sure if they did or did not have tweeters in the corners of the dash or a "premium" Infinity sound system with 4 in door speakers, a combined amp/crossover bolted to each of the front speakers, and tweeters (hence the cross over) in the corners of the dash. I can tell you from experience adding a aftermarket radio to an 05 KJ with the premium system that if you don't hook up the amp wire (in the wiring harness Crutchfield supplies with a radio purchase) then you don't get any sound.

The 08 parts fiche shows an amp in the radio section that appears to be separate from the speakers although I cannot immediately tell where it's physically located. I suspect given the mention of 4 speakers you have the base system with no amp but would recommend checking with the parts manager, not service folks, at the local Jeep dealer based on your VIN to be sure.

That said I'm a bit surprised at the price Crutchfield quoted for the harness which seems rather high. In my experience current after market radios come with a plug in the back and a bunch of loose wires to which you attach a new set of wires that go to a plug that mates with the OEM radio plug (essentially a jumper rig). If your Alpine is not too old that should be all you need and can probably be obtained from a local car stereo place at a better price one would hope.

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Thanks Papaindigo. That's what I thought. It's a sport edition with not a lot of upgrades (no cruise control, even) so I am suspecting no amp. Can't see where it might be. And it appears the only thing different from their harness and a $15 harness is the fact I would need to jump into an auxiliary power wire on a cheap cable. I can do that and save $85.