> Could/should I check the pre-amp board?

The board sits at the rear of the player - it has a connector that couples up with the docking connector, and a ribbon lead which taps off some signals from elsewhere on the main board. It should be obvious if it is properly seated or not, and if the connections are satisfactory.

> PS1: Should there be any output on the car-output pins of the docking
> connectors when empeg is in 'home' mode?

Yes. You can check the car outputs whilst connected to AC power - refer to Tony's post for the URL of the docking connector pin-out.

Rob