Matt Posted April 3, 2005 Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 Mikes subject on stereos the other night has me wondering again about something I ran into a wile back. When I first got my Seville I wanted to remove the Boes ( I know the Boes is good ) and put in my Kenwood with remote CD changer. The Tek guys at Crutchfield told me I cant do it. WHY ? The guy told me to just get the CD part of the Boes fixed. He said there are no wireing harnesses available and the electronics for the stereo and speakers will not work with anything else.. So what is the deal here? I would really like to use my neet Kenwood... So somebody please teach me. Thanks. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Of course you can put a Kenwood (or any other brand) stereo system in your Bose-equipped Cadillac. The problem your tech is referring to is the fact that the Bose audio system is laid out differently from other systems. The Bose system consists of a head unit mounted in the dash, a remote receiver mounted in the right rear fender next to the antenna, and the speakers each of which contains a built-in amplifier. For this reason, you have to change everything or nothing. If you try to change just one component the rest of the system won't match it and the whole thing won't work. As for the "wiring harness" arguement, any car stereo technician worth his salt should be able to cut and splice the wiring to hook up your Kenwood and compatible speakers to give you a Kenwood system that works properly. Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decosse Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 ... For this reason, you have to change everything or nothing. If you try to change just one component the rest of the system won't match it and the whole thing won't work.... Not true! It's really quite simple to integrate an after-market head unit & still retain the OEM BOSE Speaker/amp assemblies - all you have to do is make an adapter harness to use the pre-amp output RCA's from the new Head to the wiring that goes to the speaker assemblies. This WILL work perfectly. Have used this method on Acura NSX which has very similar BOSE set-up, as does the Nissan 300ZXTT - I happen to currently own all three of these vehicles which were all BOSE OEM systems originally - only the Caddy remains intact as it was delivered. The BOSE amps in the Caddy, the NSX and the ZXTT are very similar with only very minor differences so what works for one wil work equally for all three. I have personally created a harness to integrate an after-market head unit to the BOSE amps in an NSX so can verify it is not only possible but successful - also please note that there is no line converter required despite what some other sources might claim. I have also done the reverse, to wire up an OEM head to after-market amp & speakers to replace the BOSE amp/speaker assemblies. Bottom line is that the OEM Heads & the After-market heads both have pre-amp level outputs - after-market amps & the BOSE speaker/amps also both require pre-amp level outputs so are readily interchangable - the only "trick" is in creating the harness. Lastly, I will comment however that the Bose amps are a POS - it's a wonder they are still working and will ultimately fail. (That is why numerous NSX's & ZX's & corvette's especially have them replaced). It is possible to have them repaired however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_M Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Hey, can you swap out the BOSE 6X9's with something else. I heard they might work with a 2 ohm speaker connected because of the low impedence. I cant afford a system yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decosse Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 I believe they are 1 ohm - I will almost guarantee the speaker itself is not bad, it would be the amp. you can get these rebuilt for ~ $90ea http://www.carstereohelp.com/cadillac.htm Follow the links on that site - lots of tips including how to remove your Head or speaker assembly. If you really want to swap them for after-market, then you can use 4 ohm speakers of whatever flavour you desire by adding an external amp that you could install in the trunk. Just need to splice up an RCA to the feed to each Bose amp input & feed that into your new amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_M Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Dam, I asked these dudes on the Cadillac Forums about that and they say its the voice coil gone bad. I heard one other person say what you said. I just saw some of those amps for sale on EBAY! Damit. Oh well. I'll just have to keep searchin for a temp soloution. Hey, any way to repair the amps ourselfs. LOL!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Here is a schematic, if you send me a PM with an email address I will send you a full size copy. The capacitors on the amp board swell up from the heat and age and leak, I believe if you replace the caps, the amp may function again. I had 10 capacitors swell and leak on an ABIT motherboard, replaced them and it worked for another 2 years.... Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Ok guys. Again and as always wonderfull information. Im going to print this topic out and save it in my Seville folder. After my new engine is in and all has settled down i will get on this next project. Good sounds ( CD Player ) is all my car is missing. The FM stations around here stink.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie Hank Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 As for the "wiring harness" arguement, any car stereo technician worth his salt should be able to cut and splice the wiring to hook up your Kenwood and compatible speakers to give you a Kenwood system that works properly. You forget he was speaking to a Crutchfield "Tekky", who strictly sell Plug-N-Play type harnesses. A custom made harness nets Crutchfield $nada$, whereas a whole new system nets them $$$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie Hank Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Lastly, I will comment however that the Bose amps are a POS - it's a wonder they are still working and will ultimately fail. (That is why numerous NSX's & ZX's & corvette's especially have them replaced). It is possible to have them repaired however. Anyone in the business of repairing OEM systems, know they are a high failure rate. Thats why there are so many aftermarket repair houses for early '90s Jaguar temperature control modules, because they were known to fail with a replacment cost $ 600, parts only. A rebuilt went for $ 300, and probably cost about $ 50 to replace board components. Bottom line, if your amp is "blown" or decides to "blow", you are probably better off with an aftermarket unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 all you have to do is make an adapter harness to use the pre-amp output RCA's from the new Head to the wiring that goes to the speaker assemblies. I didn't know that - - - NOW I know everything! (hee hee) Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decosse Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread....ght=bose+repair Check out this thread on NSXPrime - the NSX members are pretty up on what needs to be doen & many have doen it themselves (including me) Again the Caddy amps are very similar. Many tips & mebdded links in this thread - cheack them all out for more details - what parts, where to get them & even an NSXPrime member who does this as a small hobby/business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 It was said " I have to change all or nothing" but those speakers with the built in amps sound nice. Is there any more detail on the speakers. What is the impedence on them and how powerfull are the built in amps?? Is there any way to use the speakers?.What about the front speakers, can the stock front speakers be used? Again is the impedence the same as back, I guess they would be.. Worse comes to worse if i could get a nice face plate that would hold my Kenwood head in the dash nice, then the rest is just putting in the wireing and new speakers in the back and front.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decosse Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Note that link from carstereohelp in my post above - they also repair the heads if you are interested in going that route. The Bose speakers won't work with after-market amps & vice versa. If the amps are repaired with high quality components there is no reason they shouldn't last another 10 years or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 I have been eyeing this place for some of my audio problems, Mike http://www.installer.com/cars/cadillac.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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