Bose Speaker Amps/radio face

[Hib Halverson]

This might be helpful to you guys working on the Bose systems...two articles on the Zip Products tech. web site.

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/late...dern-receiver/

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/late...er-assemblies/

[LancePearson]

Hib,
Thanks. I found another set of instructions on the speaker amps and did that first. Went perfectly and worked well. I had hoped to replace the radio face since the radio was working perfectly without removing the radio head. I ended up unscrewing the radio head fasteners and could pull it back some but not enough to get my hand behind it to unclip the connections from the back of the radio head. It's back in place poorly at the moment with the fuse out and the radio disabled, trim back on.

I will have to remove the trim again. Should be much easier this time since I won't have any wasted motion. The radio head has to come out so I can work on getting the many little but long head pins into their female floating connectors. I may have to disassemble a side of the unit to get access as they are not fixed in place so when you push against them the male pins do not go in. They do not appear to be tagged with long enough wires to hook them up outside the head to the face assembly then move the head assembly back into the front of the case to snap in either so it must be from the side or opening the case in some way. Can't get serious about that with the head in the car. At worst I can send it to be done by Dr. Don if I can get it out. I got two pairs of forcepts out and am resting up as this old geezer pulled a muscle in my rib cage in the process. Bollocks again. This weekend or next week will tackle it again. I absolutely don't want to go through replacing the bose with adapter harnesses and all the rest per zip as the stereo when working is more than adequate for my needs. I hate working inside dash boards as everything is tight and cramped and my hands are big. I wear a size 13 ring for example. I also don't trust installers having read some horror stories but I may have to go that way if I can't figure out how to get it out.

I swear, if I get the radio head out I might consider adding a splice of 5" of wire in and solder it to every single one of the leads on the radio head side to it's connectors so I can get my hand in there effectively to connect, disconnect which is what should be done to begin with.

Otherwise, I'll have to hire either Sleepy, Doc or Gumpy to do the work. Should have left the scratched up face in apparently.

Still mightily frustrated.

[secondchance]

Originally Posted by mike100

I found some compatible 1998 Nissan/Infinity Maxima/J30 Bose amps for $7 ea in the junkyard. Additionally, I have successfully repaired a pair of the original amps by swapping capacitors from used amps I acquired. The newer Nissan ones were much easier to deal with and are still running 2 years later.

I kept the front /rear part numbers sorted out since the Nissan applications have very similar sized speakers front to rear.

How can you tell which is for the front vs. rear?
Front/rear speaker sizes in Nissan/Infiniti corresponds to smalll up front and larger in the rear like our Zs?

[LancePearson]

I found a used, fully functional, in good shape bose readio head for my 91 z just like I have on ebay and hopefully will get that. The photos show enough of the back wiring harness that I now wonder if there isn't enough wiring length to the connecters wire to free up movement but it's tucked up behind a clip on the back of the head case and I can just reach over the top, free them then pull the radio to me enough to then reach behind it and unclip the connections and pull the radio head. Right now I'm just letting it all sit in place with trim on until I acquire a replacement and fuse out and will then go in and then replace.

I fear I've screwed the one I have up but with another which I'm happy enough with I can then open the radio head of hte one I may have messed up with the new "face" and the pin issue later and see if I can get the pins in when it's on a table and I can open the metal case enough to affix them solidly first.

At least one solution is emerging. I managed to pull a muscle in my rib cage messing around with it yesterday so will have to let it sit a while anyway.

Sheesh, Bollocks, but maybe a path forward is emerging.

[secondchance]

Lance,

Would you mind taking a pic and posting when you take the face plate off of the head unit?
I have a headunit out of my 94 (black face plate) and would like to replace one burnt out bulb on the left side of the display. Would be easier if I nknew what I was getting into.
Also, if you can wait 'till our next WAZOO event at Mt. Vernon I'll be happy to replace the head unit (done that a few times in the last 21 years) and perhaps reassemble your old unit w/ a new face plate.

[LancePearson]

Originally Posted by secondchance

Lance,

Would you mind taking a pic and posting when you take the face plate off of the head unit?
I have a headunit out of my 94 (black face plate) and would like to replace one burnt out bulb on the left side of the display. Would be easier if I nknew what I was getting into.
Also, if you can wait 'till our next WAZOO event at Mt. Vernon I'll be happy to replace the head unit (done that a few times in the last 21 years) and perhaps reassemble your old unit w/ a new face plate.

The old unit with the new faceplate incorrectly on it is in the console now but not functioning as I don't have the pins in right. I probably screwed it up so decided to buy a good used bose head for a 91 and hopefully have that coming. When it gets here I'll pull the trim then unscrew the radio screws and reach over and hopefully free enough wire harness to pull the radio forward enough to reach behind and unclip the connectors and pull the unit out. When I do that I'll probably just put the new/used one in and hopefully that will be that but when I have the one I tried to put the face plate on out I'll put it on the table and open it up and photo it then. I think to get those two many little pin connectors which are not mounted but float on you have to remove some of the metal radio head case, attach them to the head then put the case back on and the face on the front of that. However, I won't know until I get it out which will be a couple weeks maybe. It may be salvagable since the pins can be straightened and if I line them up and mate them properly the rest should not be damaged but there are some bulbs under there I noticed and I'm afraid I might have damaged them. Regardless, it does not work from the control face where the buttons are when the pins aren't properly in place because that's how the action gets communicated to the head I believe.

I have seen one note that says I may have to take the hvac control unit just above it out to get access to the connections if they are stuck on the frame....but I don't think they were....will see. New used unit headed my way and should be here by 28th. Will tackle it then.

Thanks for the offer. Let's see how my current plan works and if I get it out I'll open it up and photo it and post it.

Lance

[mike100]

Originally Posted by secondchance

How can you tell which is for the front vs. rear?
Front/rear speaker sizes in Nissan/Infiniti corresponds to smalll up front and larger in the rear like our Zs?

I marked my amps when I pulled them out of the junkyard car. The speaker sizes were small front, large rear very much like the C4 ones. At first I was going to be a stickler and get the exact vette application amps, but after finding two completely equipped Bose Nissans with 8 fully functional amps, I grabbed those to try them out or maybe rob for parts.

Turns out they sounded just fine so I never bothered trying to get the exact Corvette units as the rears are tuned for a larger speaker anyhow. Additionally they are late 90's so they aren't as old. Not sure if they figured out to use a better capacitor by then or not, but when I found these amps for peanuts, I just grabbed a few extra.

If I were to do it again, I would suggest a solution like the ones shown in Hib's links. As a reward for all my work on amps, my car failed a CDM tuner and already had a malfunctioning CD player...so basically my whole system was junk, but I made the effort to repair it to have the oem look.

[secondchance]

Originally Posted by mike100

I marked my amps when I pulled them out of the junkyard car. The speaker sizes were small front, large rear very much like the C4 ones. At first I was going to be a stickler and get the exact vette application amps, but after finding two completely equipped Bose Nissans with 8 fully functional amps, I grabbed those to try them out or maybe rob for parts.

Turns out they sounded just fine so I never bothered trying to get the exact Corvette units as the rears are tuned for a larger speaker anyhow. Additionally they are late 90's so they aren't as old. Not sure if they figured out to use a better capacitor by then or not, but when I found these amps for peanuts, I just grabbed a few extra.

If I were to do it again, I would suggest a solution like the ones shown in Hib's links. As a reward for all my work on amps, my car failed a CDM tuner and already had a malfunctioning CD player...so basically my whole system was junk, but I made the effort to repair it to have the oem look.

I too found out about Infiniti/Bose amp and purchased a used set last year. Funny how if they are out of a Corvette they ask for $90+/ea. and when out of a Nissan they ask for less then a half of Corvette price.
Back in 84 when Bose first teamed up with Delco, they made a big deal out of how speakers and amps were tuned specifically to work with a particular car interior. I agree their speaker/enclosure was tuned carefully and that's why we can get a decent mid-bass and volume out of 3" speakers up front. As for amps being tuned for a specific car or the location in the car - I am not so sure. I replaced an amp out of a coupe in a convertible and did not make any discernable difference. I won't be suprised if amps used in Infinities are the same ones used in C4s - just my thought.

[LancePearson]

Saturday morning...renewed energy, less frustration.

This morning I tackled it again and with what I learned overnight it turned out to be rather easy to get the radio out. While there with the trim all off I used a magnetic tipped pointer and found all the screws someone else had dropped before me, added some adhesive, urethane, foil coated .080" sound deadening where applicable though there is sound deadening on top of the tunnel below all that. This may just help minimize resonance of the trim from the gear train a little.

Brought the freed radio head unit into the kitchen and worked with good light on it on the table on a towel and removed the outter metal case frame and there were the connectors for me to easily connect up by holding them, oddly enough, with forceps. I did that, checked what I could and assembled the new face and clicked it in place and reattached the case. Radio unit whole with new face. Stuck it in without putting the trim on, connected battery and put the radio fuse back in the fuse box and it works perfectly functionally. However, none of the lights come on so I assume the first attempt must have blown some little fuse and I'll call .dr. Don Monday to ask him. Either way, I have a good one coming and know how to put it in. I just left the trim all off and the radio in place and disconnected the battery until I'm all done as there are some connections to other things currently undone.

If I have to I can certainly use it now like it is but I would prefer the lights as it gives you a cockpit feeling and helps when tuning and showing the clock which is in the radio. Every function from cd to am/fm, volume, base, fade, eject, switch to radio, etc. works and the sound is great. Dr. Don will probably tell me there is a fuse about a quarter inch long in the radio head I've blown and either I can get it from Radio Shack or he will send one. As these cars get older I don't mind having two good head units as nothing lasts forever and they don't make these bose gold for this Vette anymore to the best of my knowledge. I'd like to keep it like it is as the sound is fine for my ears. If I want fine sound I turn it off and run it up to 6500 rpms hitting it a little anyway.

At any rate, relative progress though "I'm not done yet." What I've learned makes it relatively easy to get in and out without removing anything around it but the trim for access then the radio. There was enough wire to pull the radio forward and reach the connections behind which are self explanatory..two sizes, only go in one way. I took some photos including of the face, etc. and will upload them later today and post. A work in progress but there is some progress and I feel much better about it.

Not done yet but moving right along.

[LancePearson]

Here are the photos of the center area of the tunnel and the dash with the radio head out, with some foil faced urethane adhered below in some places to minimize any plastic parts resonance from the sound in the gear box below and on the center trim piece back as well. There is a bit of a well which can be a sound chamber of sorts below the radio when it's in and above the zf tranmission so it has a tendancy to act like a resonator and this .080 material should help minimize that by absorbing sound a touch. Won't hurt anything and is something I could do.

there are photos of the radio without its face, the face back, the edge where the bulbs are, the radio with the new face on minus its metal case and then back just sitting loosely in place in the stack of "Modules" from DIC, HVAC controls, radio below all minus the external trim piece. I did remove the shift trim but just loosened it enough to get the tabs back to free the module trim and remove it. Not complicated once you've done it a couple times. helpful to have magnetic pointer in case you drop a screw btw.

Just page through the photos. I have other photos of the speaker amp I replaced but they are not here. It worked perfectly and this is the new face but I managed to not get the bulbs lit so have one more thing to check..a fuse probably got screwed inside the radio case but will call about that Monday. it plays perfectly and no longer has face scratches.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zr1lp/8...n/photostream/