need bose help...
 

I'm planning on getting a new head unit soon and I would appreciate some help. Where can I get the wiring harness that will support the bose system too? I think I heard that Crutchfield is where I should get it, but I'm not sure. Secondly, is the factory crap tough to remove? Do I need to take apart any parts of the dash in order to get it all out? Is there a mounting kit I can get somewhere as well?

Thanks for any help my peeps! :1party:

The harness from crutchfield will help. Although I just had a head unit installed, and the people doing it used to left over harnesses they had lying around to interace with the head unit harness (it took them about 5 minutes to connect everything together).

The factory unit is easy to get out, just pop out the plastic tabs on the sides and pull the unit out with two coat hangers (bent in the shape of a U) to pull it out. The hardest part is getting the connectors disconnected. You DO NOT need to take any of the dash apart.

Mike

What about a mounting kit though? I'm gonna have a big hole in the bottom with the new unit installed.

Blitz makes a Din panel that will fit under the aftermarket single din stereo. It holds a turbo timer or boost controller and one gauge. If you want a more stock appearance get a new or used R1 Din. The R1 model came with a single Din stereo and a pocket with a fold down cover. The Blitz Din apanel is 28 bucks. Also a side note. I did the Scosche adapter from Critchfield myself and it was easy as pie. Also you will need a double male antenna that they sell for about 5 bucks. Its a 2 or 3 foot piece you will need because the Bose factory head unit is hard wired and you wont be able to use that section of antenna from the back of the stock head unit. The adapter is easy to install and half of it plugs right into the stock wiring harness and into the head unit. Just a few wires need to be hard wired and those are all color coded to the adpater wires except one. The "amp on" wire on the stock harness is lime green and thats the wire you need to match to the adapter Amp on wire thats labeled as such. If you need help I have done the install and it works great!

Thanks for that information! It would've sucked for me to run into some problems that would delay the install and I would have to live without music for a while. I did all of the stuff for my talon I used to have myself (head unit/amp/sub) and I didn't have to worry about any special adapters for that install.

Here is another little known option for hooking up the factory Bose system.

Requires use of:

4.5V+ line out headunit with Subwoofer Output.
(Kenwood Excelon Z828 MP3 is what I used.)
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...13Z828&o=M&a=0

PIE (Precision Interface Electronics) PDC-LOC4 Differential Converter http://www.pie.net/sec12sb4.htm

OEM wiring harness adapter (avail from Pep Boys etc)

Antenna adapter (avail from radio shack)

Hook up is as ZoomZoom mentioned except you use the line outs of your new head unit instead of the powered speaker outputs.

Front Line Outs connect to PDC-LOC4 Front Line In

Subwoofer Line Outs connect to PDC-LOC4 Rear Line In

PDC-LOC4 Front Outs connect to OEM wiring harness adapter Front Speakers

PDC-LOC4 Rear Outs connect to OEM wiring harness adapter Rear Speakers (actually the Bose Sub).

The advantagge of this method is that you get full control of subwoofer gain and low pass crossover frequency. It really helps to get the most out of the stock Bose system.

Since the Bose speakers have amps built in it seems preferable to drive them with a clean signal from your line outs as opposed to an amplified signal from the powered speaker outs.

Just keep in mind that this only works well with High Volt Line Output stereos 4.5V+. If the voltage is lower your max volume levels may not be loud enough.

The MP3 feature is really cool too if you don't want to put a CD changer in your car. I'm able to put 7-11 albums at on a single CD (at 192-128 kbps). The sound quality of the Z828 is excelent, so it's a good choice even if you have more extreme upgrade plans for your audio system in the future. If you shop around you should be able to find a Z828 for just under 5 bills.

Well, I ordered the Blitz DIN panel yesterday and now I'm trying to get a hold of this Sparky guy @ Crutchfield for the harness/double male antenna. He's not too easy to get on the line though. Must be out to lunch right now..... :yum:

Does anyone know the partnumber for this item?

lunar7, does the center channel speaker work?

Thanks for the info