Factory Audio Upgrades

Well, this post is going to be a little bit rant, a little bit praise and a little bit info....but maybe necessary to share. I'm going to try not to rewrite 'War and Peace," but I do tend to be a little wordy.

This all started when Mike, (ferraiolo1,) posted about White Audio and Media Services (WAMS,) new product, the "Auto-Sync Multifunction Tool." I had never heard of WAMS, so I went to their website and read thru their company info, and what products they offered for the K2XX trucks. 

Since I upgraded to Android Auto and Apple Car Play when I first bought the truck, I saw they had a mod that offered complete steering wheel button functionality for Android Auto by reprogramming/replacing the instrument cluster. I WANTED IT!

So I emailed WAMS and asked what I needed to do. Since my truck was previously modded for Android Auto and Car Play, there are two ways to accomplish this.....either buy a replacement cluster from them turn-key, ($649,) of find a cluster on my own of the correct part number and send it in for mod. ($199.) 

Either way WAMS needs the information on the Radio Module and the HMI Module to make sure you get the correct cluster. There are a myriad of part numbers, but finally came to find out that only 7 will work for me.

I started the emails on Friday, and finished up yesterday, maybe a total of 20 or 25 emails. Chris even answers after hours. After pulling the components out of the dash and taking photos of the labels, we finally figured out that one of the labels was cut off (deliberately,) (I was unable to post a picture, but the top of the label has been cut off, because there are little plastic tabs in the corners of the component to locate the label, and the top corners of the label are not radiused like the bottom,) so the information was not available, and I couldn't provide all the information necessary to determine what cluster I needed. 

I tried contacting CPS Audio Video, who I purchased the upgrade from originally, but they don't keep records of the individual components. Chris at WAMS then told me that in all likelihood CPS was just a reseller, and they probably got the components from MVI. I contacted MVI, and they denied cutting labels off, and were no help, but Chris at WAMS said they used to do it all the time. So dead end again. 

My hopes of getting the mod done looked bleak. Then I heard from Chris hours later, near the end of the day, and he told me to go out to the truck, hit and hold the "Home," "Power," and "Menu" buttons all at the same time, and see if I get a test menu. Low and behold, I did!!!! Then I selected the "HMI" menu, and it had 4 pages on information, including exactly what WAMS needed to identify the correct cluster.

So, now I'm on my search for a cluster. I'll give it a few weeks, and if I cannot find a takeoff or a used one, I'll probably bite the bullet and order one from WAMS.

After this little learning experience I just want to say that WAMS customer service is equal to, or better than that of Boost Auto Parts. They don't mind questions, even if you think they're stupid, and they'll hang with you until you're happy and your problem is resolved, even after hours.