So I was driving along and the radio just goes silent with a tiny "zzzip" sound..the HU still plays the cd, and radio, i just have no sound of anykind coming out of the speakers..anyone deal with this before?

 

hmm...Welcome To My Nissan...

 

did you figure out what was causing the issue?

 

Check fuses. There also could be a loose wire.

 

the HU always go bad (especially on 1995) I rebuilt mine, new resistors and such but id bet anything its the HU, the newer maxima Bose HU's are a bit better, but iv hurd u get better sound with some aftermarket ones, id get a newer one of ebay and just try it (all plug and play!)

 

EDIT: It's possible that your problem is not the HU at all, but a wiring or other connection issue to the speakers. What I wrote only holds if it is just your HU causing the problem... Wish I could help more. Good luck.

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Yep, I'm amazed that your Bose Head unit lasted this long. Mine died about 3 years ago while I was stuck in traffic for 2 hours on the George Washington Bridge going into NYC. No music or radio and stuck in traffic - that was truly miserable.

On the plus side, you can get a new headunit that plays MP3 cds for about $100 - $140.

You will also need a converter unit for the BOSE b/c the speaker system runs at a much lower impedance than normal speakers (because they have the amps built into each speaker). Without the converter, you will blow out your eardrums or the speakers - whichever comes first. Another $40-60 for the converter.

Plus an antenna wiring harness ($10) and a 'storage box' to fill in the extra space if you get a normal size HU ($8). It's nice to be able to store a few CDs in the new space.

I think I spent $180 total for the new HU, converter, antenna wiring harness, 'storage box', plus free installation. Looking back, I'm so happy the headunit blew because I've been loving the MP3 capability of the new one for the past years. 8-10 hrs of music on a CD is awesome for the long car trips I regularly take.


THEORETICAL DOWNSIDE: The circuitry of the original Bose HU is supposedly "custom tuned" to the interior dimensions of our vehicle for the most refined sound. Darned if I can hear the difference between the old and the new though! Probably marketing BS, but some people swear that aftermarket head units don't sound as good. I think MP3 capability is worth the trade-off.

This has been discussed many times in the past - but that's the general gist of it. If you like your Bose speakers, replacing the HU is the cheapest way to get music back in your car. If you don't like the speakers, hey, it's an excuse to upgrade the entire system to something with more beat...