Basically has anyone else ever had this problem with their OEM Bose headunit? Everything else works (the actual CD player, tape deck and FM/AM radio). I had this problem 3 months ago and used needlenose pliers to get the CD out. Is there anything I can do without replacing the headunit?

Thanks,
Matt

 

First of all, that HU is a Clarion HU. The Bose part is the amplifier, which is not in the HU. They are in the doors mounted on the speakers.

The CD drive on top is plugged into a PCB on the bottom within the HU. You may want to unplug it and plug it back in, then see if it works again.

 

or go to the gas station and blow air in from the tire filler thing. thats what i did to my bose HU and it actually plays cds now perfect. no more error message or jamming

 

I took my headunit apart, nothing too much I could do. Its interesting how everything is connected in there and nothing I could see could fix it. Everything still plays, except the cd player. Ive been in search for a headunit for awhile now.

 

Yeah I am aware that the HU is made by Clairon...oh well. I stuck really skinny/long needle nose pliars into the CD slot this morning and pulled it out (the CD was visible). I put the CD back in, hit eject and it worked fine.

I guess we could say its on its way out? I was basically just wondering if there was anything I could do to repair it, as opposed to buying a new HU. Oh, well...it still plays CD's

 

Other than some compressed air, there isn't a whole lot you can try without disecting the entire HU and check the solder points and maybe lube plastic gears up with a little general purpose oil. Not really worth it. Besides.. CD players are out, MP3 players are in! Spend the time, money and effort you'd put into fixing a POS into a good MP3 player/setup.

 

Like I said in the first post, unplug then replug the CD drive back in may fix it.

These connectors press the two sides together under high pressure to form a fused area called gas tight joint. The exposed area form an oxide layer that is non-conductive over time. As the car vibrates (CD drive too as it plays CD), the fused area breaks and reform fused joints. Eventually the oxide layer covers everywhere on the joint and it stops working.

Removing the connector scratches the oxide layer on contact surface and reform the fused area.

The connectors in the engine area are tested more vigorously that those in the cabin. The HU may be only tested as a unit. Critical connectors such as airbags have gold plating which does not have the oxide problem.

 

I totally agree with that. I removed and sold the CD changer. Now a Monster Cable iCruze ipod interface took its place. But the in dash player is still useful for those occasional use.

The Clarion HU isn't that hard to take apart. The volume **** failed when the car was only a few years old and I had the HU apart several times.

 

i am gonna try blowing air through it...as per arrocha87

 

At least your volume control still works. Mine only turns down when it's cold and only turns up when it's warm, so basically when you first get in and get on the road, try and turn the music up it just turns down, and when you're looking for a parking spot and want to turn the tunes down it blasts.

It wasn't such a big deal when I had the ipod as I'd just use the volume control on that but someone decided that their need for a secondary volume control was greater than mine, so it's no longer with me

 

My CD player's toast too.

It'll take 'em but it won't play 'em and it definately won't give 'em back.

I'll try some of the tricks suggested as well.

I friggin hate it when stuff don't work... even stuff I never use... I just hate it.

 

Yea, this Clarion HU was poorly built and Bose always took the blame for it. It would've been nice if it was a real Bose HU.

 

I will agree that my ipod is better than any CD out there, but the quality of the tape deck lacks as compared to the CD player. Same deal with FM transmitters. One of these days ill get around to hardwiring the ipod with an auxiliary cable.

 

The Monster Cable iCruze plugs into the CD Changer connector on the HU. You organize the songs into 6 folders in the ipod. Each folder is accessed by the CD changer button on the HU as if they are CDs. Works pretty well. We did a 1200 miles trip and a 4GB Nano took care of almost the whole trip.

All the pieces were readily available on ebay last year but they are disappearing. For Max/I30, you need the iCruze box, a Nissan interface box, and optionally a display screen to show song title and artist playing. You can see how it looks in my car.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/I30dasha.jpg

 

Just hardwire an aux connector. That's what I did and not only is it not too difficult (assuming you can solder) but cheap as well.

 

I've been though three bose players. I finally gave up.

 

I have solved my problem by keeping medical forceps in my glovebox and using those to yank out the CD when it gets jammed

Although, ironically, no CD has gotten stuck since I posted this...