Bose Speaker Amps/radio face - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

LancePearson · 02-21-2013

The punchlist on my new to me 91 included replacing the rf amp on the rf speaker and replacing the scratched radio face on the Bose Gold radio which has good sound but the rf had a repeating sound which Dr. Don correctly said was a failed amp. His comment was that the components used by Bose included resistors, etc from Malayasia that were doped incorrectly and with the heat and time acid leached out and made them fail. His are doped correctly with lifetime warranty. The parts came early this week and I put the new rf amp in by removing the sill which includes the cover, removing the speaker assembly, unhooking the wires and then indoors removing the back plate and extracting and unhooking the amp that had failed. I had no trouble removing all this and re installing and it works perfectly now. I'll put the new radio face on this weekend when I pull the center console trim to check shift boots and do some minor sound proofing as well though it looks simple enough to do.

Here are some photos of the Bose Gold 1991 cassette/cd am/fm radio and the amp with the rf metal shielding off. On the back side opposite the rf shielding you can see the resistor or whatever it is which failed as the dark spot in the center which has liquid, presumably that acid, around it.

rf speaker in place in 91 vette.jpg

speaker back with amp access.jpg

failed part in the middle of the amp acid based failure.jpg

amp for bose speaker pretty good.jpg

bose amp close up before replacing it.jpg

Schrade · 02-21-2013

Got a pic of the Head Unit's face pulled there Mr. P?

I found an easier way to wire in a switchable AUX input to the Delco BG, rather than pulling the Data Control Module (instead of FM modulation interrupt).

Only question is if the 3.5mm plug will mount INTO the Head Unit faceplate, or get routed back in the console...

Starman · 02-21-2013

The problem with the capacitors is universal to our amps, all will fail in time regardless of use. I bought all the components to rebuild the amps myself for about $30 and then chickened out and sent them to Bose.

Bose refurbishes the speakers/amps for a pretty reasonable price. I did all four about 4-5 years ago. You send them the entire speaker/amp module and they remanufacture it and send it back with a lifetime warranty. Cost was $75 per at the time. Stereo sounds great now, clean with good power.

I did install a Pioneer DVD head unit and the adapter harness - this is not something for the faint of heart, but the end result was great and I now have bluetooth to the phone & iPod compatibility.

LancePearson · 02-21-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schrade

Got a pic of the Head Unit's face pulled there Mr. P?

I found an easier way to wire in a switchable AUX input to the Delco BG, rather than pulling the Data Control Module (instead of FM modulation interrupt).

Only question is if the 3.5mm plug will mount INTO the Head Unit faceplate, or get routed back in the console...

I haven't pulled the radio head yet. I need to pull the center tunnel and shift tunnel and console trim first to check shift boots, add some sound proofing then change the radio face place so have not done that yet. I'll unplug the battery this weekend and start removing the trims to reveal and do the three things since they all share the same need.

From what I've seen of the back of the radio head there are a couple of wiring harness connections behind the head which might be able to be tapped for such a thing. Presumably power in then outputs to the CDM below the glove box and to speakers from that. I haven't looked at the wiring diagrams at all. If you can tap in for a 1/8" plug seems like you could mount it in the trim piece below the radio itself as wire length wouldn't matter a whole lot there.

In my case I don't think I have to pull the radio head at all just to put a new face on it as without the trim it's all exposed.

How do you do what you said with the added aux? I'll add a photo of someone elses radio back if that will help.

Lance

Z51JEFF · 02-21-2013

Did he mention have the CDM box gone through?I had mine done when I did the speakers,not an easy job to deal with.

Schrade · 02-21-2013

You need a SWITCHABLE 3.5mm jack ($5), and 2-3 feet of wire.

The way the mod works that I saw posted (page bookmarked with snappics on another computer), is : (and I can't take credit; it's web-blogged (or Stickied) somewhere)

the optical disk / CD Player has a dedicated logic board IN THE HEAD UNIT, which connects by an internal harness to the main logic board, ALSO IN THE HEAD UNIT.

this internal harness carries L and R signals, a common, and a few others, one of which is a POWER interrupt, so that when you plug in a CD, it auto-plays.

The mod is thus:

cut the L and R signal wires on the internal harness. Splice onto the FROM CD PCB (printed circuit board) side L and R signal wires, and on the other end, ONTO the 3.5mm INPUT terminals.

Route 2 more leads from the 3.5mm OUTPUT, BACK to the L and R mainboard INPUTS, where you cut.

Put in a CD, and it plays as normal, THROUGH the 3.5mm plug.

BUT, plug a 3.5 jack iPod into the socket, and the L and R signal circuit FROM the CD is interrupted by the switch (switch activates by the plug), and the iPod - or x device, gets carried to the mainboard.

Where to mount the 3.5mm socket???

This is why I asked if you had a snappic of the BACK of the HEAD UNIT faceplate. If it has IT'S OWN logic board behind the faceplate, and many do, then you cannot drill and mount the 3.5mm socket in the face of the HEAD UNIT. It DOESN'T need THAT much space tho'.

Otherwise, the socket would probably get routed to the center console somewhere.

Only 'problem' is, is that a CD must be playing, in order for the MAINBOARD to look for a signal from the CD INPUT harness. BUT, the CD won't be heard, with the signal interrupted at the socket.

(the CD PCB-to-mainboard harness must also include a SWITCH, activated by CD insertion, jumpable, so that a CD DOESN'T necessarily have to be inserted. That part isn't solved yet)

Will try to get this phot-doc'ed soon here...

LancePearson · 02-21-2013

That's a little too complex for me at the moment. I took the trim off today and found the radio face. It was not as simple as I thought and I SCREWED IT UP ROYALLY. I did finally pull the radio back out a bit and free the face, remove the face then take it to the kitchen table and unscrewed the electronics on the back, carefully moved the buttons side by side, one by one in parallel, put the plastic spacer parts and light distribution parts on the new face then went back to the car to put that face on the radio head box. On the left there are two connectors with the tiny many pin female parts. They are not fixed but float and I could not figure out how to put the face with it's male pins on so that the pins would go into the floating female parts. I finally put duct tape in the opening to hold the floating housings in place and carefully put the pins in to the best of my knowledge and closed it up. However, it was not quite as secure as the one I took out which worked perfectly but was scratched. I can not reach in behind the radio even when the screws holding it in are out to unclip the connectors so I could try and do this in the kitchen as my hands are too big. I just ended up putting it back in and putting the attachment screws back in which was tricky to begin with expecting it would not work. when all trim was back on and the battery hooked back up again it did exactly that, played on one radio station and when I touched another button it did some erratic functions and the lights did not come on in the display at all so I seriously doubt I have the connectors connected, possibly have some bent as well which can be straightened. Right now I'm just sort of frustrated.

Right now I'm after dinner going to go pull the radio fuse, think about it for a few days and if I think I can, maybe try and get the radio out and send it to Dr. Don to redo the thing and then hire someone with small hands when it comes back to put it back in. There are times when being 6'4" with size fifteen shoes, big hands and height is not exactly a happy thing.

Right now you are reading the ravings of a frustrated, failed guy who cannot do this though the speaker amp was a cinch. Putting the electrics on the new face once I got it out I thought was as well but getting those pins in? It was impossible for me and for all I know I've now maybe screwed it up beyond saving. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it right now

time to let it sit, think about the experience as I don't want to go back and remove all the trim after four hours of messing with it right now. Would not be patient enough.

To be polite: Bollocks!

dan1495 · 02-21-2013

Lance,
Sorry to hear it did not go well. Your idea of taking a break and thinking about for a few days makes sense to me. Usually when I do that I will suddenly have an "aha" moment and everything becomes clear. I suspect that someone here will come up with a solution. I have not had the pleasure of tackling this job myself. Hang in there.

Schrade · 02-21-2013

Just got back from the 'Shack...

$2.49, and a pro sound installer would probably take $275 to install it in the Head Unit (or console).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schrade

You need a SWITCHABLE 3.5mm jack ($5), and 2-3 feet of wire.

The way the mod works that I saw posted (page bookmarked with snappics on another computer), is : (and I can't take credit; it's web-blogged (or Stickied) somewhere)

the optical disk / CD Player has a dedicated logic board IN THE HEAD UNIT, which connects by an internal harness to the main logic board, ALSO IN THE HEAD UNIT.

this internal harness carries L and R signals, a common, and a few others, one of which is a POWER interrupt, so that when you plug in a CD, it auto-plays.

The mod is thus:

cut the L and R signal wires on the internal harness. Splice onto the FROM CD PCB (printed circuit board) side L and R signal wires, and on the other end, ONTO the 3.5mm INPUT terminals.

Route 2 more leads from the 3.5mm OUTPUT, BACK to the L and R mainboard INPUTS, where you cut.

Put in a CD, and it plays as normal, THROUGH the 3.5mm plug.

BUT, plug a 3.5 jack iPod into the socket, and the L and R signal circuit FROM the CD is interrupted by the switch (switch activates by the plug), and the iPod - or x device, gets carried to the mainboard.

Where to mount the 3.5mm socket???

This is why I asked if you had a snappic of the BACK of the HEAD UNIT faceplate. If it has IT'S OWN logic board behind the faceplate, and many do, then you cannot drill and mount the 3.5mm socket in the face of the HEAD UNIT. It DOESN'T need THAT much space tho'.

Otherwise, the socket would probably get routed to the center console somewhere.

Only 'problem' is, is that a CD must be playing, in order for the MAINBOARD to look for a signal from the CD INPUT harness. BUT, the CD won't be heard, with the signal interrupted at the socket.

(the CD PCB-to-mainboard harness must also include a SWITCH, activated by CD insertion, jumpable, so that a CD DOESN'T necessarily have to be inserted. That part isn't solved yet)

Will try to get this phot-doc'ed soon here...

mike100 · 02-21-2013

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.

02-21-2013	#1
LancePearson Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Chester, Virginia Posts: 457	Bose Speaker Amps/radio face The punchlist on my new to me 91 included replacing the rf amp on the rf speaker and replacing the scratched radio face on the Bose Gold radio which has good sound but the rf had a repeating sound which Dr. Don correctly said was a failed amp. His comment was that the components used by Bose included resistors, etc from Malayasia that were doped incorrectly and with the heat and time acid leached out and made them fail. His are doped correctly with lifetime warranty. The parts came early this week and I put the new rf amp in by removing the sill which includes the cover, removing the speaker assembly, unhooking the wires and then indoors removing the back plate and extracting and unhooking the amp that had failed. I had no trouble removing all this and re installing and it works perfectly now. I'll put the new radio face on this weekend when I pull the center console trim to check shift boots and do some minor sound proofing as well though it looks simple enough to do. Here are some photos of the Bose Gold 1991 cassette/cd am/fm radio and the amp with the rf metal shielding off. On the back side opposite the rf shielding you can see the resistor or whatever it is which failed as the dark spot in the center which has liquid, presumably that acid, around it. rf speaker in place in 91 vette.jpg speaker back with amp access.jpg failed part in the middle of the amp acid based failure.jpg amp for bose speaker pretty good.jpg bose amp close up before replacing it.jpg __________________ Lance Pearson Chester, Virginia [COLOR=red][I]'76 L48 four speed[/I][/COLOR] [COLOR=red][I]'91 ZR-1 #00682[/I][/COLOR] Net Registry #1461

02-21-2013	#2
Schrade Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: NC Posts: 1,786	Re: Bose Speaker Amps/radio face Got a pic of the Head Unit's face pulled there Mr. P? I found an easier way to wire in a switchable AUX input to the Delco BG, rather than pulling the Data Control Module (instead of FM modulation interrupt). Only question is if the 3.5mm plug will mount INTO the Head Unit faceplate, or get routed back in the console... __________________ I'm getting my snappics / threads removed blindly as fast as I can, to get in compliance with copyright / license TOS on the boards here (lots of FSM pages and other copyright / license violations on my part; sorry guys). And thanks to all the guys who didn't whine when I posted those FSM copyrighted / licensed stuff in my threads... ( :thumbsup: [b]and to think I complied with a mod's request to delete a pic of him in a Challenge Car in NCM Museum, so he wouldn't get in hot water)[/b] Thanks to several guys here for sending parts FREE; BearlyFlying, WeGone, Geezer, GoldCylon, and more there, TonyD, mike100, fletchusmc... 1990 #2794; 4L60e Stage V by RPM Transmission, TCI Dedicated TCM, OBX Stainless, Power Effects 3" [IMG]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GHpfzty7DVU/UQn-0Ru2xAI/AAAAAAAAA14/08mz1p4QLD4/s445/Screenshot-5.png[/IMG]

02-21-2013	#3
Starman Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Speedway, IN Posts: 128	Re: Bose Speaker Amps/radio face The problem with the capacitors is universal to our amps, all will fail in time regardless of use. I bought all the components to rebuild the amps myself for about $30 and then chickened out and sent them to Bose. Bose refurbishes the speakers/amps for a pretty reasonable price. I did all four about 4-5 years ago. You send them the entire speaker/amp module and they remanufacture it and send it back with a lifetime warranty. Cost was $75 per at the time. Stereo sounds great now, clean with good power. I did install a Pioneer DVD head unit and the adapter harness - this is not something for the faint of heart, but the end result was great and I now have bluetooth to the phone & iPod compatibility.

02-21-2013	#5
Z51JEFF Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Fremont,Ca Posts: 3,058	Re: Bose Speaker Amps/radio face Did he mention have the CDM box gone through?I had mine done when I did the speakers,not an easy job to deal with.

02-21-2013	#6
Schrade Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: NC Posts: 1,786	Re: Bose Speaker Amps/radio face You need a SWITCHABLE 3.5mm jack ($5), and 2-3 feet of wire. The way the mod works that I saw posted (page bookmarked with snappics on another computer), is : (and I can't take credit; it's web-blogged (or Stickied) somewhere) the optical disk / CD Player has a dedicated logic board IN THE HEAD UNIT, which connects by an internal harness to the main logic board, ALSO IN THE HEAD UNIT. this internal harness carries L and R signals, a common, and a few others, one of which is a POWER interrupt, so that when you plug in a CD, it auto-plays. The mod is thus: cut the L and R signal wires on the internal harness. Splice onto the FROM CD PCB (printed circuit board) side L and R signal wires, and on the other end, ONTO the 3.5mm INPUT terminals. Route 2 more leads from the 3.5mm OUTPUT, BACK to the L and R mainboard INPUTS, where you cut. Put in a CD, and it plays as normal, THROUGH the 3.5mm plug. BUT, plug a 3.5 jack iPod into the socket, and the L and R signal circuit FROM the CD is interrupted by the switch (switch activates by the plug), and the iPod - or x device, gets carried to the mainboard. Where to mount the 3.5mm socket??? This is why I asked if you had a snappic of the BACK of the HEAD UNIT faceplate. If it has IT'S OWN logic board behind the faceplate, and many do, then you cannot drill and mount the 3.5mm socket in the face of the HEAD UNIT. It DOESN'T need THAT much space tho'. Otherwise, the socket would probably get routed to the center console somewhere. Only 'problem' is, is that a CD must be playing, in order for the MAINBOARD to look for a signal from the CD INPUT harness. BUT, the CD won't be heard, with the signal interrupted at the socket. (the CD PCB-to-mainboard harness must also include a SWITCH, activated by CD insertion, jumpable, so that a CD DOESN'T necessarily have to be inserted. That part isn't solved yet) Will try to get this phot-doc'ed soon here... __________________ I'm getting my snappics / threads removed blindly as fast as I can, to get in compliance with copyright / license TOS on the boards here (lots of FSM pages and other copyright / license violations on my part; sorry guys). And thanks to all the guys who didn't whine when I posted those FSM copyrighted / licensed stuff in my threads... ( :thumbsup: [b]and to think I complied with a mod's request to delete a pic of him in a Challenge Car in NCM Museum, so he wouldn't get in hot water)[/b] Thanks to several guys here for sending parts FREE; BearlyFlying, WeGone, Geezer, GoldCylon, and more there, TonyD, mike100, fletchusmc... 1990 #2794; 4L60e Stage V by RPM Transmission, TCI Dedicated TCM, OBX Stainless, Power Effects 3" [IMG]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GHpfzty7DVU/UQn-0Ru2xAI/AAAAAAAAA14/08mz1p4QLD4/s445/Screenshot-5.png[/IMG] Last edited by Schrade; 02-21-2013 at 03:39 PM.

02-21-2013	#8
dan1495 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Santa Fe, Texas Posts: 18	Re: Bose Speaker Amps/radio face Lance, Sorry to hear it did not go well. Your idea of taking a break and thinking about for a few days makes sense to me. Usually when I do that I will suddenly have an "aha" moment and everything becomes clear. I suspect that someone here will come up with a solution. I have not had the pleasure of tackling this job myself. Hang in there.

02-21-2013	#10
mike100 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: San Marcos CA Posts: 1,802	Re: Bose Speaker Amps/radio face 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.