Basically I used the SDD procedure but adapted for pathfinder.
So i’ll type up a small guide since finding any info online on it is like looking for hen’s teeth.
So the base of the procedure is finding the firmware files for the original amplifier that came with the car and the ones on the new amp and tricking pathfinder into programming the new amp with compatible files whilst it’s thinking it still has the original amp and original files.
So here it goes:
Step 1: connect your battery tender/charger and top up the battery to full just in case.
Leave it connected and if you have the possibility switch it to power supply mode.
2. connect your obd interface and start pathfinder.
3. in pathfinder go to the AAM module and make a note/printscreen/photo of the original amp file names
4. turn the car off, make a note/photo of the part code on the new amp and replace it
5. car on, get back to pathfinder, AAM and make a note of the firmware files that are on the new amp, one of them will have the same name as the amp at least the beginning part of it.
6. get the CCF make a backup of it and change:
line 119 – RadioAmp to premium audio
648 – TelematicsSpkrType to premium, If you don’t have telematics line 120 set to small might work
676 – SurroundMode to 2D, don’t bother with 3D, that’s for the 1200w amp
7. upload the CCF to the car and sync it with the JLR servers
8. then in pathfinder go to the IMC module click on ECU functions and do a config update, I can’t remember the exact wording but it’s gonna be along those lines, after restart the meridian/dolby/dts option should show up in the audio settings panel and the sound should come on
9.turn the car off
10. time to edit the files needed: in the pathfinder installation folder under data/diagnosis/flash you will find all the files for all the modules in all the cars supported by pathfinder, the ones we’re interested in have a name containing 14C527 (these are the calibration files) and 14C526 (main firmware) , you can filter the files by typing *14C527 for example.
now if you’re coming from the standard amp the name of the file will be followed by an -A and some other letter/s, -B is for the meridian 380W and -C is for the 825W, so you will first need the 2 files for the original amp of the car and you will need the -C files compatible with your premium amp.
The way of finding out which ones are compatible involves opening the files up with Notepad++ and checking that the files contain AUD4-16-X260 in the case of local config and AUD-16- your manufacturing year_X260_your engine, in my case it was AUD4-16-20MY_X260_I4PMid, diesels will have I4D, the v6 has the engine code if I’m not mistaken, find the one that has the same description as the old amp.
I used files with dates close to the mfg date of the premium amp, so in my case KX63-14C527-CGA and JX63-14C527-CB
– long story short you need to find the same files that you saw in pathfinder under AAM for both amps, you need to have 6 different files in total.
11. now make a backup of those files (original amp files and the new amp files) because we will be replacing them and copy the new amp files (ones ending in -Cx) to a different empty folder.
12. so now we have to change the name of the new files (ones ending with -Cx) to whatever the original files were called, in my case the original files were LX63-14C527-BA so I took JX63-14C527-CB
and changed it’s name to LX63-14C527-BA and then KX63-14C527-CGA (remember the -Cxx at the end) I renamed to LX63-14C527-BCA
13. double check you’ve got the file names correct, you should have 1 file with a name ending in 2 letters and one with 3 letters, you can open them up in Notepad++ and at the top of the filed you should have sw_part_number, if it’s got 2 letters make sure the file has 2 letters, if it’s got 3 make sure you have 3.
14. copy the 2 edited files and overwrite the original ones in the flash folder
15. back to the flash folder and now you will need to find the new amp main firmware, this is the one that should have the same name as the one on the amp and will be listed under Vehicle Manufacturer ECU Software Number , in my case HX73-14C526-CD and then you need to find the main firmware for the old amp, this is going to be in the printscreen of the old amp, the name will be the same as on the part itself, L8D2 in my case.
16. change the name of the new amp firmware file so that it matches the original amp file and overwrite it to the flash folder
17. back to pathfinder, go to AAM and click on replace ECU, this is gonna start the firmware update procedure, after restart the sound should be the right one and the 2D options should change the sound.
18. disconnect everything and enjoy.
19. for the centre channel to work you will need to connect a cable from amp to the telematics module, about 2 meters should be ok, maybe 3 depending on routing.
The pins are 7 (on top row) and 15 (bottom row) on the blue connector of the amp and 3 and 4 on the telematics (tiny square black connector with 1 thin grey and 1 thin black cable going in), 7 is positive and connects to 3, 15 is negative and goes to 4, pin 3 is under the grey cable that is already in, pin 4 is under the black cable.
For non-telematics I think the speaker connects straight to the amp.
Tip: the file with the name ending in 3 letters is responsible for the fake exhaust/engine sound, in theory you could use any of them including the V8 F-type, but I never tried it.
Pathfinder writes the files in steps in a specific order: main firmware, calibration 1 (2 letter termination), calibration 2 (3 letter) if the file you picked is not compatible it will fail at that specific step, do not panic, just try a different file, In notepad++ you can see which blocks are going to be used, compatible files should have the same ones or at least the same number of blocks, worst case you can always just use the original amp files that you backed-up to do a roll back.
In short:
1. get the firmware versions from both amps
2. enable everything needed in CCF
3. replace amp
4. change file names and replace original files
5. write to amp.
As with any guide the responsibility is solely yours.