Yesterday I was cruising down the interstate and thought it a nice day to roll down the windows. With the extra wind, I cranked up the stereo to 40 and played some drum and bass. I usually play it around 30ish.

Suddenly the stereo crackled and popped and then no audio.

I figured it was a auto cut off safety feature and waiting until I reached my destination, power off the car completely, then turned the key again and viola, my audio was back, reinforcing my thought that I was experiencing a safety feature.

Today, after work, I hopped in the car and turned the key and rather than hearing the usual "Doomdum" greeting the car does when you turn it on, I heard the crackle and pop and then had no audio again. This time, however, it is no coming back when I power off and on the car.

All the lights work on the stereo unit and the car runs fine.

I Googled a bit, and it seems everyone and their mother has problems with the Bose amplifier. I am not very handy, so I don't know where to start.

Is there anything I can do before I spend money on the problem?
Are there any videos on how to get to the amplifier?
If I replace the amplifier, are there special considerations I need to take into account for ohms, number of channels, etc.? Electronics is not my forte.

Thanks!