2000+ w/bose Commonly Asked Audio Questions

[swampthing]

so lately I have been seeing the same questions cropping up again and again about the install of aftermarket players and speakers specifically in BOSE equipped SSEi's this is compiled from my personal experience in installing stuff into my car as well as research done here and on other sites along with a few phone calls to BOSE

first off some audio and electrical terms that will be used in this writeup if you don't know these already you need to before you can properly install electronic equipment into your vehicle

Watts:
This is what the amplifier of any car puts out, simply put the higher the watts the more volume you have. speakers are designed to handle a certain amount of nominal (constant steady power) and peak watts for example a speaker could say it handles 50 watts RMS (a term for nominal) and 150 peak, you want to stay within the speakers range, if the watts are too high for your speaker it could damage or even blow the speaker. however if the watts are too low the sound will be poor.

Impedance and Ohms:
This is very important to get right, impedance is the electrical resistance of the speaker, for car audio purposes it is measured in ohms. every speaker has an ohm rating on it somewhere (usually on the back) that is a number followed by a symbol that looks like an upside down horseshoe. most car speakers are 4-ohm however as will be discussed later the BOSE speakers are 2-ohm this is important since if you replace a 2-ohm speaker with a 4-ohm you will be cutting your volume in half.


now before we get into the BOSE specific section some general info about installing into the 2000+ dash. Grandprix104 did a fantastic writeup on his NON-BOSE install here viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7319
I will leave most of the physical install out of this since he did such a good writeup already. However I will address the most commonly asked question about it.

Why Does My Aftermarket Radio Stick Out?

All aftermarket cd players are longer then the stock bonneville radio, so after install you wind up having it stick out about an inch further, the ONLY solution to this is to use a dremel or some other rotary tool to remove the plastic from around the wiring harness behind the radio.


BOSE System Information:
again I have compiled everything from my own experiences with the system and actually calling BOSE for the specifications.
The BOSE system is a single 5 channel amplifier located behind the back seat on the drivers side and is accessible from the trunk of the car.

According to BOSE the only information they had about the power output was 35 watts I feel that this is the Nominal (RMS) rating of the amp since most cd players put about 18-20 watts RMS. The front door speakers consist of a 4-ohm 6 1/2 and a 4-ohm tweeter wired in parallel to create a single 2-ohm speaker. the rear doors are a single 2-ohm 5 1/4 with no tweeter. The rear 6x9's act as the systems subwoofer, they only get bass frequencies from the amp and they are two 1-ohm speakers wired in series to make a single 2-ohm subwoofer.

Speaker Recommendations:
As far as I know currently infinity is the only manufacture that does 2 ohm speakers. I have infinity reference series in my front and rear doors and they sound and work great.
Replacing the rear 6x9 speakers is not recommended unless you are going to amp them separately and disconnect the BOSE amp


Adapters:
The factory door chimes work through the stereo, if you don't care about them you can buy a cheap wiring adapter. However if you want the chimes I only know of two adapters for our cars to date and only have personal experience with one. they are the PAC C2r-GM32r and the Metra GMOS-9

I used the pac. overall it did the job however the buzzer used to replace the chimes was loud and annoying and I eventually taped over it anyways.
This brings up another very common problem, You installed the radio but have no sound, this is because the BOSE amp is not getting a turn on signal from the radio you simply have to run a wire from the blue/white wire on the cd player harness to this pink wire on the BOSE amp

and you are done

with the Metra you may not have to do this, perhaps someone with experience could chime in?
Update:
thanks to redzmonte for his personal experience with the Metra Adapter

I clipped 1 wire in the GMOS9 as indicated on the wire and the instructions which was for the 00-01 bose system...The Amp turned on and powered up the speakers perfectly on the 1st try, so no funny amp wiring to the bose amp with the metra harness.

If you want your steering wheel controls to work you will need another adapter, I used the PAC SWI-PS for my pioneer and it worked fine, it allowed you to set which buttons did what function and was fairly easy to install. there are several different adapters for different brands of radio so do your own research to find the correct one.


I know this has been a long read but I feel that we needed somewhere for people to look since the same questions were being asked over and over again. perhaps this could be a sticky?

this is my first detailed writeup of sorts so please any comments, criticism, hate mail, suggestions, or whatever feel free

[xrob]

as you described in your parting ouy thread...this is useful...but did you find out if the amp could be turned up? and will replacing the factory speakers with aftermarkets produce more clarity or bass...or pack a better punch? what company produce 2ohm speakers that are reputable?

[02ssei]

i've been considering just tapping into this pink wire to run the remote turn on for an aftermarket amp. that way i can keep the factory amp and not have to run an extra wire from the h/u.

the issue that was brought up to me was that a guy i know said he did this similar thing with his camaro. he said it eventually fried his factory amp. i don't see how this is possible since the two amps should not back feed into the wire. thus, not cause any problems. i've done quiet a stereo system installs. never kept the factory amp though. so, basically this is new direction for me.

[swampthing]

Xrob the infinity speakers will add clarity but not bass I will update the original post with speaker recommendations as well.

[swampthing]

Updated the original post with speaker recommendations.

Also xrob I have not tested those knobs yet, after what bugsi said in that thread I am not sure if there's much of a point

[xrob]

so you ran infintity reference series for your front and rear doors? but left your 6x9 and tweeters factory and you did see improved clarity with your aftermarket unit? i want the best sound possible while staying with the factory bose amp until i blow it. Whats the best infinity speakers in the series?

Also why didn't you touch the 6x9's

[swampthing]

No, I disconnected the front tweeters to keep the impedance correct, and yes the factory EQ is terrible, I would suspect almost any aftermarket radio would be an improvement. I replaced my rear 6x9s with infinity kappas and ran a seperate amp to them. As is stated in the first post you can't replace the 6x9s and run them off the factory amp, it will cut their volume in half

[gweg_b]

Very good info!! Wish I had known some of it before I did mine. . . oh well, live and learn.

Anyway, I actually did install Infinity Kappa 6x9's (as I said, didn't know that would affect anything, thought both the rears were 2 ohm, not 1), and although I have lost some volume in the back, my bass levels did increase, and sound much better than the factory speakers. Of course, I'm still running the factory head unit. And yes, the 6x9's are 2-way, but my excuse is the tweeters are there for 'future' use. In the front, I'm still running the factory tweeters, because the tweeters that came with the 6 1/2 component system were way too big, and I didn't feel like fabricating new panels (don't even know if I could do it anyway).

Well, something I'm wondering about for down the road, is if I replace the factory head unit with an aftermarket, could I bypass the Bose amp (and let the aftermarket HU power the speakers), or replace the Bose with an aftermarket amp? Or would it just be better to leave it alone?

I could do some reading here later today, but was wondering if you had any first hand knowledge with any of those setups.

[swampthing]

Anything is doable with enough effort. Personally I would either keep the bose amp or replace it with an amp or amps that could run all the speakers. Its not really worth bypassing it just for the headunit to run them.

If I mess with mine anymore I will probably get either a nice five channel or a four channel and a seperate sub amp and run RCA's and skip the bose amp completely. But I like the way it sounds pretty good now and I will probably get my sub amp and be done with it for now

[gweg_b]

Yeah, I was thinking a four channel amp could work for me (already have the Infinity Basslink, so I don't need an amp for that). I'm kind of the same at the moment, I actually like the way my system sounds now (even with the factory head unit), and as I get older, I don't have the ambition to do a lot of heavy stuff to the sound system anymore that I used to have, especially when I did the Buick.

Heck, I may never even add an aftermarket HU - will just depend on money and my time, but as I've said, your information has been helpful so far. Thanks!!

[LAIDBACKLUKE]

I am running a pair of Infinity Reference 6x9s in the rear deck, I get the signal from the origional wiring, running it into a line level RCA adapter and seperate amp, I get a terrible buzz out of them even when the system is turned off... also Is there any of the speakers that actually recieve all frequencies from the HU? instead of just low end frequencies from the rear deck? Thanks.

[swampthing]

The fronts are the only ones that are full range

[LAIDBACKLUKE]

Thanks alot.

[loudog1972]

On the Bose amp, so far I know the pink is the control on off what are the other wires ? I am installing a sub amp and need to figure out where to connect to
Thanks In advance

[swampthing]

Borrowed from another post

[loudog1972]

Thanks this is awesome

[swampthing]

copied and rotated the wire colors to make them easier to read, any other questions feel free to ask and I will try to find the information

[SAMzGXP]

According to BOSE the only information they had about the power output was 35 watts I feel that this is the Nominal (RMS) rating of the amp since most cd players put about 18-20 watts RMS. The front door speakers consist of a 4-ohm 6 1/2 and a 4-ohm tweeter wired in parallel to create a single 2-ohm speaker. the rear doors are a single 2-ohm 5 1/4 with no tweeter. The rear 6x9's act as the systems subwoofer, they only get bass frequencies from the amp and they are two 1-ohm speakers wired in series to make a single 2-ohm subwoofer.

Adapters: The factory door chimes work through the stereo, if you don't care about them you can buy a cheap wiring adapter. However if you want the chimes I only know of two adapters for our cars to date and only have personal experience with one. they are the PAC C2r-GM32r and the Metra GMOS-9

with the Metra you may not have to do this, perhaps someone with experience could chime in?
this is my first detailed writeup of sorts so please any comments, criticism, hate mail, suggestions, or whatever feel free

First of all let me start with thanking you for all the great information you posted.
I own a 2005 Bonneville GXP with Monsoon. I know its not 100% the same as the Bose system, but they definitely do have a lot in common.
Reading many threads online and looking at my own GXP. The rear deck 6x9s were noted with 2 ohm IIRC not 1ohm. I'm away on holidays right now, I'm gonna remove all my speakers and replace them when i get back. Pictures of the speakers will be taken and posted. Not sure how true this is, but i heard/read that the rear deck and front speakers are 2 ohm, front tweeters and rear door speakers are 4 ohm. Again, noting physically checked as of now.

I bought both PAC and Metra harnesses, and let me tell you, its a sin to even compare the two. Metra works same as stock when it comes to chimes, OnStar & built in GM Phone. Also keep in mind that the chimes are also adjustable.

This brings up another very common problem, You installed the radio but have no sound, this is because the BOSE amp is not getting a turn on signal from the radio you simply have to run a wire from the blue/white wire on the cd player harness to this pink wire on the BOSE amp

Now i thought this was a very common problem with Monsoon only, guess you learn something new everyday.
Took me a long time to get my system up and going in my GXP, i hate taking shortcuts, i hate using bandages. I like doing things once and doing it right.

Long story short, i bought both PAC and Metra harnesses and both didnt work with my GXP. After searching and doing some tests myself, i noticed one common mistake with both Metra and PAC. The Doc-n-Loc harness is wired incorrectly when it comes to the amp remote turn-on wire. PAC & Metra connect pins A3, A6 and B3 together.
This is a picture of my harness while the install, wiring is the same on the PAC & Metra. You can see that all three wires are connected together. At first i thought this would work with Bose, thinking that Metra & PAC made a mistake thinking that Bose and Monsoon are the same.



Thanks to Darcy i have the following information.

Okay, here’s the information on the radio Doc-N-Loc connector (w/ RPO UZ8 – Monsoon). This should apply from 2002-05.

A1 – PPL – Class 2 Serial Data (Primary)
A2 – PPL – Class 2 Serial Data (Primary)
A3 – PNK – 14V Reference
A4 – RED – FM Composite Signal
A5 – Not Used
A6 – PNK – Radio On Signal
A7 – LT BLU/BLK – Cellular Telephone Voice Low Reference
A8 – DK BLU – Cellular Telephone Voice Signal
A9 – BLK/WHT – Audio Common
A10 – BRN/WHT – Left Audio Signal (+), S-Band Receiver and/or CDX
A11 – DK GRN/WHT – Right Audio Signal (+), S-Band Receiver and/or CDX
A12 – BRN/WHT – LR Low Level Audio Signal (+)
A13 – BRN – LR Low Level Audio Signal (-)
A14 – LT GRN – RF Low Level Audio Signal (-)
A15 – LT GRN/BLK – RF Low Level Audio Signal (+)
A16 – BLK/WHT – Ground
B1 – ORN – Battery Positive Voltage (Live at all times)
B2 – ORN – Battery Positive Voltage (Live at all times)
B3 – WHT – Antenna Enable Signal
B4 – YEL – Backlight Lamps Control
B5 – BLK – Ground
B6 – PPL – Amplifier Present Signal
B7 – Not Used
B8 – Not Used
B9 – Not Used
B10 – Not Used
B11 – Bare – Ground (Audio Drain Wire)
B12 – TAN – LF Low Level Audio Signal (+)
B13 – DK GRN – LF Low Level Audio Signal (-)
B14 – BLK – RR Low Level Audio Signal (-)
B15 – DK BLU – RR Low Level Audio Signal (+)
B16 – BLK/WHT – Ground

In stock HU, pin A3 reads 12~14volts, pin A6 reads 0volts (readings were taking at the amp, two pink wires going into the Monsoon Amp)
In PAC & Metra, Pin A3 reads 12~14volts, Pin A6 reads 12~14volts (both read 12-14volts since they are connected together at the harness, again measured at the amp)

Made me wonder why would "A6 – PNK – Radio On Signal" have 12 volts when stereo is on in the aftermarket harness and 0 volts when running stock? so i simply cut the wire going into pin A6 and BOOM! system works without running any wires to the trunk

So at the end of the day, i realized that from stock HU pin A3 is the Amp remote wire.
Pin "A6 – PNK – Radio On Signal", no idea what that is, something tells me it had something to do with OnStar or the built in phone. Makes the amp shut off when signal is received? i dunno

The fronts are the only ones that are full range

Really? i thought the rear doors were also full range? but i could be wrong, thanks for the info though.

Very good info!! Wish I had known some of it before I did mine. . . oh well, live and learn.

Anyway, I actually did install Infinity Kappa 6x9's (as I said, didn't know that would affect anything, thought both the rears were 2 ohm, not 1), and although I have lost some volume in the back, my bass levels did increase, and sound much better than the factory speakers. Of course, I'm still running the factory head unit. And yes, the 6x9's are 2-way, but my excuse is the tweeters are there for 'future' use. In the front, I'm still running the factory tweeters, because the tweeters that came with the 6 1/2 component system were way too big, and I didn't feel like fabricating new panels (don't even know if I could do it anyway).

Well, something I'm wondering about for down the road, is if I replace the factory head unit with an aftermarket, could I bypass the Bose amp (and let the aftermarket HU power the speakers), or replace the Bose with an aftermarket amp? Or would it just be better to leave it alone?

I could do some reading here later today, but was wondering if you had any first hand knowledge with any of those setups.

Yeah, my thoughts too, i thought the rear deck was also 2ohm low only 6x9 speakers.
Let me tell ya, if you change the factory HU, its a whole different system, I'm still running stock speakers all over my car with GMOS-09 and JVC KW-NT3, and wow! does it ever sound good. Way different than stock, the cheap ass paper speakers actually sound good, I'm impressed.

No, I disconnected the front tweeters to keep the impedance correct, and yes the factory EQ is terrible, I would suspect almost any aftermarket radio would be an improvement. I replaced my rear 6x9s with infinity kappas and ran a seperate amp to them. As is stated in the first post you can't replace the 6x9s and run them off the factory amp, it will cut their volume in half

If the stock speakers are noted with 2ohm, and if you replace them with Infiniti 2ohm speakers, why would it cut the sound level in half? As stated about I'm gonna tear my car apart soon and i would like to do it once, and do it right.

[swampthing]

Sam, the info I posted regarding the impedances and filters on the amp are for the bose only.I am pretty sure the monsoon system is completely different as far as the speakers go. In the bose the fronts are unfiltered, the rear doors are high pass filtered, and the rear 6x9s are low pass filtered like subs. The monsoon may be completely different I have no way of knowing.


Since you have the system and have messed with it a good bit maybe you can provide all of its specifications and info and I will edit the original post and compile all the information so that it is easy to find

[tyler.avis]

If the stock speakers are noted with 2ohm, and if you replace them with Infiniti 2ohm speakers, why would it cut the sound level in half? As stated about I'm gonna tear my car apart soon and i would like to do it once, and do it right.

If you replaced the rear 6x9's with a 2ohm speaker you would NOT see a decrease in sound output, replacing a 2ohm speaker with a 2ohm speaker wouldn't hurt the quality at all, but it should be noted that because the rear 6x9's only receive the low bass frequencies, they are just as likely to blow as the factory speakers, which is why when people start to begin changing up their audio systems in Bonnevilles, touching the 6x9s is usually the last thing to do (unless you add a sub and amp, then its usually the first). In the case that you do end up wanting to run sound to those new 6x9's what is very nice and unique is to power them with sound only from mids and highs by adding another amp, and splicing into the wires that go to a mid/full range speaker in the car with a line output converter, and then running that to the new amp.

all the details for that can be found here: http://www.gmforum.com/showthread.php?t=285684

and a printable sheet for all the wires that are audio related can be found here: http://crutchfield.custhelp.com/app/ans ... %20monsoon