2001-2002 Millenia Bose Head Unit Swap
05-18-08, 07:28 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
2001-2002 Millenia Bose Head Unit Swap
This is basically a build on the great write-up by quicksilver_rx7 and other posts. https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ght=miata+bose. I could not have done this without that post and help from a few other members. . .so I thought I would share a step-by-step for anyone else who wants this great looking, great sounding setup! Let me apologize right up front for some of the out-of-focus pictures, but I think you can figure out everything in spite of that. Use any information found here at your own risk!
PARTS:
Head Unit – Many will work from the Millenia, 626, and Miata families, although it must be a Bose Unit. There are differences however. The Millenia units don’t have a clock, the 626 and Miata do; the Millenia units may come with a 6 CD changer, I have not seen a 626 with clock and 6 CD changer but I won’t say it doesn’t exist; I have seen a Miata with clock and 6 CD changer, but I think it had a silver face; some have the second (diversity) antenna slot and others don’t (mine does have that but did not hook it up as I could not find an antenna lead to fit and it works fine with just the primary antenna); different units come with different colored lights – mostly green or amber (this is easy to change and we’ll cover it later); anyway, you get the idea. I used the Millenia model 6 CD changer with the number 1164 on the front – got it on ebay for $40.00 (works perfectly -- I almost feel guilty).
Wiring harness – Two sets of MAO2B connectors (you need two sets because you need to cannibalize pins from one set to have enough leads on the remaining set). These plugs plug into your stock wiring/plugs in the car.
Wiring harness – One MA03RB. This will plug into the new head unit. You may need to add some wires, but I’ll cover that in a minute.
Antenna Connector – One 24 inch male to male antenna connector (I have an extra still in package if interested)
Radio/Head Unit Removal tool: Two sets (4 pieces) standard Ford “U-shaped” head-unit removal tools. You can use a makeshift tool, but why, they are cheap and work better than any makeshift tools I have tried. You need two sets at the same time while installing the new head unit, only one set to get the old (original) units out.
Lamp covers, 0.12” diameter -- There are 10 lights in my unit. I changed from blue/green to amber/orange. Member snkydvl had extras and graciously sent them to me, I still have 10 extra amber/orange covers. These may also be obtained at parts-express.com (thanks snkydvl for this info)
Two End-Trim Pieces for Head Unit – My purchase did not come with these trim pieces. Part numbers are TC86-66-BC4 (right side) and TC87-66-BC4 (left side). These are available from Ray Crowe for $5.86 each.
Grand Total for all parts including shipping and everything was approximately $125.00.
IMPORTANT: Your Bose speakers and individual speaker amplifiers must be in good condition. Over the years I have had all of my amps rebuilt and they are in excellent condition. There are several posts on here about how to do this yourself or where to have it done so I won’t cover this here.
HOW TO:
Remove the plastic end clips on your stock radio/tape and cd units and use the removal/installation tool you purchased to remove the units. It can be a pain (particularly if they have never been out before), but be patient and I guaranty they will eventually come out! Unplug everything and you should be left with two radio plugs/leads and one ground plug/lead in the car.
The double din space (the big hole in your dash) you are left with has a plastic separator in the middle. Cut the separator out so the sides are clean from top to bottom.
Build the wiring harness – For a Millenia or 626 head unit where you want to be able to control output to the rear bass speakers via the fade control (I did this and the control it gives you is sort of cool actually), use the Millenia wiring diagram. For Miata head unit or if you don’t want to be able to use the fade control, use the wiring diagram in the link above. This is where you will have to cannibalize a few wires from the extra plugs you bought. Also, the MA03RB plug that I bought did not have enough wires on it (the real little ones). I simply used some thin gauge wire that I had on hand, stripped it back, crammed it in the little hole with some super glue, and voila, worked perfectly. When finished (as pictured) on one end you will have two plugs that plug into your stock wiring harness as well as a flat male connector that plugs into your stock ground wire, and the other end will plug into your new head unit! For a clean and functional application, I soldered each wire, then used heat shrink (remember to put the heat shrink on the wire before you solder it <grin>), and then wrapped the wires in electrical tape.
Preparing the head unit – This procedure changes the color of the back/night lights, it does not change the electronic display color. As you can see, my display is sort of a whitish-gray color with black letters and I think it looks fine. I don’t know how to change the display color electronics. Refer to pictures—first remove the tape player trapezoid shaped piece (it pulls straight out, you can help get it started using a tongue depressor shaped object through the side slot. . .just go slow and be gentle. Next remove the top piece that goes over the CD slot, it just pops off. Finally, pull the entire face unit off of the head unit and remove the two round *****. Turn the unit over and remove the 9 little screws that hold the plastic face plate on the rest of the unit. Now the l0 lamp covers are clearly visible and you just take off the old ones and put on the new. In the picture (blurry) you can see I’ve replaced half of the “blue” covers with “orange” ones at the point I took the picture. The orange ones were the correct diameter, but a little too long so I just cut a little off with scissors. Reassembly is just the opposite (be sure to line up all the plugs properly before pressing it back together). I had never taken one of these apart before and the entire procedure took about 20 minutes!
Preparing the car—This is the biggest PITA of the whole project. Be sure you disconnect the wires attached to the rear metal bar that holds the head unit so you don’t cut them. Make a thin cardboard template of the lower half of the back of the new unit. Use the rubber centering plug as a place to put a hole in your cardboard. Mark on your template where the large (main) plug is and where the antenna plugs in. Cut out where the plug goes and where the antenna goes. You now have a template with 3 holes in it, one where the centering device goes, one for the main plug and one for the antenna. Place the template in the car against the rear metal brace (lining up the centering hole) and mark where the main plug goes and where the antenna goes. You will need to cut out these areas so the head unit (with its wiring) will fit in the car! I used a dremel with one of those drill bit looking cutting units. It zipped right through the metal brace in no time. This is not exacting, so be sure to cut a little too much as opposed to too little (DON’T CUT ANY WIRES)!
Plug everything in and test it before you make your final installation. This is where the first really big smile comes to your face. This unit sounds soo much better than the original and better than many expensive setups I have seen. I had never “felt” the bass in my chest in this car before. No problem with this setup!
Now for the fun part, squushing (new word) it all in. Try to run the wires where they won't get bunched up behind the unit or interfere with its installation. You were so happy that the wires were long enough to test everything before reinstalling, now you’re wondering where to put all those wires so the darn unit will go back in there! Put all the removal tools on the unit to hold the side clips back as you push, wiggle, push, curse, struggle, wiggle, push, etc. it into place. Use patience, it will go in eventually! Don't remove the installation tools (U shaped tools) unitl you are satisfied that the unit is in properly!) Once in, put the new plastic end clips on the unit and voila, it looks like the car came with this unit in it!
I’ve probably forgotten something, but I hope this is helpful. In the end, it’s not the hardest of jobs, and the result is really amazing!
--Jeff
PARTS:
Head Unit – Many will work from the Millenia, 626, and Miata families, although it must be a Bose Unit. There are differences however. The Millenia units don’t have a clock, the 626 and Miata do; the Millenia units may come with a 6 CD changer, I have not seen a 626 with clock and 6 CD changer but I won’t say it doesn’t exist; I have seen a Miata with clock and 6 CD changer, but I think it had a silver face; some have the second (diversity) antenna slot and others don’t (mine does have that but did not hook it up as I could not find an antenna lead to fit and it works fine with just the primary antenna); different units come with different colored lights – mostly green or amber (this is easy to change and we’ll cover it later); anyway, you get the idea. I used the Millenia model 6 CD changer with the number 1164 on the front – got it on ebay for $40.00 (works perfectly -- I almost feel guilty).
Wiring harness – Two sets of MAO2B connectors (you need two sets because you need to cannibalize pins from one set to have enough leads on the remaining set). These plugs plug into your stock wiring/plugs in the car.
Wiring harness – One MA03RB. This will plug into the new head unit. You may need to add some wires, but I’ll cover that in a minute.
Antenna Connector – One 24 inch male to male antenna connector (I have an extra still in package if interested)
Radio/Head Unit Removal tool: Two sets (4 pieces) standard Ford “U-shaped” head-unit removal tools. You can use a makeshift tool, but why, they are cheap and work better than any makeshift tools I have tried. You need two sets at the same time while installing the new head unit, only one set to get the old (original) units out.
Lamp covers, 0.12” diameter -- There are 10 lights in my unit. I changed from blue/green to amber/orange. Member snkydvl had extras and graciously sent them to me, I still have 10 extra amber/orange covers. These may also be obtained at parts-express.com (thanks snkydvl for this info)
Two End-Trim Pieces for Head Unit – My purchase did not come with these trim pieces. Part numbers are TC86-66-BC4 (right side) and TC87-66-BC4 (left side). These are available from Ray Crowe for $5.86 each.
Grand Total for all parts including shipping and everything was approximately $125.00.
IMPORTANT: Your Bose speakers and individual speaker amplifiers must be in good condition. Over the years I have had all of my amps rebuilt and they are in excellent condition. There are several posts on here about how to do this yourself or where to have it done so I won’t cover this here.
HOW TO:
Remove the plastic end clips on your stock radio/tape and cd units and use the removal/installation tool you purchased to remove the units. It can be a pain (particularly if they have never been out before), but be patient and I guaranty they will eventually come out! Unplug everything and you should be left with two radio plugs/leads and one ground plug/lead in the car.
The double din space (the big hole in your dash) you are left with has a plastic separator in the middle. Cut the separator out so the sides are clean from top to bottom.
Build the wiring harness – For a Millenia or 626 head unit where you want to be able to control output to the rear bass speakers via the fade control (I did this and the control it gives you is sort of cool actually), use the Millenia wiring diagram. For Miata head unit or if you don’t want to be able to use the fade control, use the wiring diagram in the link above. This is where you will have to cannibalize a few wires from the extra plugs you bought. Also, the MA03RB plug that I bought did not have enough wires on it (the real little ones). I simply used some thin gauge wire that I had on hand, stripped it back, crammed it in the little hole with some super glue, and voila, worked perfectly. When finished (as pictured) on one end you will have two plugs that plug into your stock wiring harness as well as a flat male connector that plugs into your stock ground wire, and the other end will plug into your new head unit! For a clean and functional application, I soldered each wire, then used heat shrink (remember to put the heat shrink on the wire before you solder it <grin>), and then wrapped the wires in electrical tape.
Preparing the head unit – This procedure changes the color of the back/night lights, it does not change the electronic display color. As you can see, my display is sort of a whitish-gray color with black letters and I think it looks fine. I don’t know how to change the display color electronics. Refer to pictures—first remove the tape player trapezoid shaped piece (it pulls straight out, you can help get it started using a tongue depressor shaped object through the side slot. . .just go slow and be gentle. Next remove the top piece that goes over the CD slot, it just pops off. Finally, pull the entire face unit off of the head unit and remove the two round *****. Turn the unit over and remove the 9 little screws that hold the plastic face plate on the rest of the unit. Now the l0 lamp covers are clearly visible and you just take off the old ones and put on the new. In the picture (blurry) you can see I’ve replaced half of the “blue” covers with “orange” ones at the point I took the picture. The orange ones were the correct diameter, but a little too long so I just cut a little off with scissors. Reassembly is just the opposite (be sure to line up all the plugs properly before pressing it back together). I had never taken one of these apart before and the entire procedure took about 20 minutes!
Preparing the car—This is the biggest PITA of the whole project. Be sure you disconnect the wires attached to the rear metal bar that holds the head unit so you don’t cut them. Make a thin cardboard template of the lower half of the back of the new unit. Use the rubber centering plug as a place to put a hole in your cardboard. Mark on your template where the large (main) plug is and where the antenna plugs in. Cut out where the plug goes and where the antenna goes. You now have a template with 3 holes in it, one where the centering device goes, one for the main plug and one for the antenna. Place the template in the car against the rear metal brace (lining up the centering hole) and mark where the main plug goes and where the antenna goes. You will need to cut out these areas so the head unit (with its wiring) will fit in the car! I used a dremel with one of those drill bit looking cutting units. It zipped right through the metal brace in no time. This is not exacting, so be sure to cut a little too much as opposed to too little (DON’T CUT ANY WIRES)!
Plug everything in and test it before you make your final installation. This is where the first really big smile comes to your face. This unit sounds soo much better than the original and better than many expensive setups I have seen. I had never “felt” the bass in my chest in this car before. No problem with this setup!
Now for the fun part, squushing (new word) it all in. Try to run the wires where they won't get bunched up behind the unit or interfere with its installation. You were so happy that the wires were long enough to test everything before reinstalling, now you’re wondering where to put all those wires so the darn unit will go back in there! Put all the removal tools on the unit to hold the side clips back as you push, wiggle, push, curse, struggle, wiggle, push, etc. it into place. Use patience, it will go in eventually! Don't remove the installation tools (U shaped tools) unitl you are satisfied that the unit is in properly!) Once in, put the new plastic end clips on the unit and voila, it looks like the car came with this unit in it!
I’ve probably forgotten something, but I hope this is helpful. In the end, it’s not the hardest of jobs, and the result is really amazing!
--Jeff
05-19-08, 09:50 PM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
I don't know too much about MP3 players. This unit has a cassette player as well as the 6 CD changer. I know you can buy a device from Wal*Mart for under $10 that plugs into the cassette player and allows you to plug your MP3 player into it. Not sure if that is what you had in mind. I've also seen some of the Mazda units with a little female plug where my cassette player is. That may be for MP3 but not sure?
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05-25-08, 08:12 PM
#11
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if you want to play MP3's you can just do this mod to this headunit.....
http://www.sylfex.com/products/AuxMod/
http://www.sylfex.com/products/AuxMod/
05-26-08, 09:11 PM
#12
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Question for Audio Guru's
Will the Millenia/Bose unit work in a 89 Mazda RX 7 Convertible? I would like to put a Bose system in my Vert. I also would like to retain the speakers in the head rest. Anyone know the spec's on the Bose system? If this factory system is not doable, please recommend a Mazda Factory system (Miata, Mazda 3,5,6, RX 8, Or Tribute that could possible work. With a convertible, I plan to keep it looking stock... while using Boston 4 or maybe 5.25 components. 6.5 Boston components in the doors, while retaining the headrest speakers. I really do not want to hack the dash... I will get the Factory Pioneer AE CD or Cassette fixed and replace the factory speakers. Any suggestions or pictures of Convertible audio systems will be appreciated.
Chuck
89 PPG Metallic Blue(Not Factory) RX 7 Vert
Few Pix below
Chuck
89 PPG Metallic Blue(Not Factory) RX 7 Vert
Few Pix below
05-26-08, 10:33 PM
#13
Senior Member
Thread Starter
The Bose unit will only replace a factory Bose unit because of the separately amplified speakers, etc. For non-Bose, there are units that look identical to the Bose but were for non-Bose factory systems. If your car has the double DIN opening, you should be able to find something to work that will look good and be an upgrade.
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