Dead Bose stereo

You can check for broken wires if you can get the unit out. But unless you have the right test Equip. thats about as far as you can get. there could be a crack in some surface mounted items on board or the Amp. is dead. You just need some place that can really find the problem. ronm

You know what they say..the only good Bose is a dead Bose. But seriously, you'll probably need to drop it off at a place that specializes in such a thing.

Have you checked the fuses for the Bose amps?

Paul Vina

I have a working Bose from my 97 that I pulled at 80k. If you think yours is really dead, you can have it for very cheap. Or if you'd like to go non-Bose aftermarket, you can have an extra DIN panel available if you buy a normal DIN headunit with a Scosche adapter.

Dave

Thanks for the advice, and I will check the fuses, but before I take or ship the head unit somewhere, is there any way I can distinguish between a problem internal to the headunit, or an external problem with the fuses, relays, amps or speaker?

seth

I'm not an electrical expert, but if the fuses and relays look good I would try taking the headunit out of the dash but leaving the wiring connected. (Carefully) then turn on the ignition and stereo to see if there is power to the outputs using a multimeter. I'll bet someone with more stereo experience knows a simpler way. If you haven't taken the dash out before, you definitely want to find the directions first. It's not hard if you know what to expect.

I believe there are two amplifiers for the Bose speakers: one for the front speakers somewhere and one for the rear, mounted in the rear deck. These amps sometimes go bad, but since they're separate I would expect that they wouldn't fail at the same time (no sound at all)

Dave

Had mine do the same thing. Turned out to de a defective signal being sent from the head unit to the relay that operates the amps.

Check to see if you hear a click when you turn > Thanks for the advice, and I will check the fuses, but before I take

Sounds to me like your Bose system turn on relay may be faulty or the trigger for it from the headunit went south.

The relay turns on multiple amplifiers for your system.

Stephen Narayan | IASCA Pro Street 1-600 | IASCA Certified Judge 2003 Audio Perfection | snipped-for-privacy@sympatico.ca No System.....yup that's right. Why not check out my car audio museum :)

My 1993 GXE Bose unit did the same thing. Local shop cold sodered the thing for $75.00. Worked great, sold the car.

-jjj

They didn't cold solder anything. Cold solder joints are by definition defective.

My 93 Maxima Bose radio went dead about 5 years ago. It is a common problem with this radio. Some componets in the power supply is the weakness. I sent it to a repairer in NY and fixed it for about $50. I will try to find the address for you.

I found the address. It is about 5 years old. I hope they are still in business.

In House Service Co.

12 Technology Drive, Suite 13 Setauket, NY 11733-4084 Tel:631-751-1803

Cost me $68 five years ago

Seth, I had a '97 that did exactly the same thing. Power would come on, antenna would raise and the LED would come on but no sound. I checked all fuses and even checked the relay under the driver kick panel but eventually sent it to carstereohelp

There was adefective board of some sort that was replaced for a little under $100.Once I got it back it was good as new. Much cheaper than buying a used oneoff eBay and definately a lot cheaper than replacing with a non-oem headunit and having to re-wire and re-speaker the whole car. Good luck.

There are several companies who make replacement boards for defunct ones for a Bose system. Any dealer who carries AAMP accessories can probably get one. Any aftermarket four ohm (not Bose) set of components would smoke the Bose system. The best way to fix a deaBose system is to remove it and throw it away. ACD head unit fed into a four channel amp feeding four coaxial four ohm speakers will sound better and last much longer.

The low-impedance Bose speakers might smoke an aftermarket amp. Four-ohm aftermarket speakers are unlikely to deliver full power or proper frequency reponse with the Bose amp, but how exactly would they "smoke" it? Bose amps can easily drive 4-ohm speakers.