When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
i have an 03 max, i got it in august. the bose sub hasnt worked ever since i had the car. i did a visual inspection of the sub and connections to the amp, and everything looks okay. the 4 door speakers and 2 tweeters work great, just the sub doesnt work. i really want to get the bose sound in my car, any ideas or suggestions? and you said you have subs for sale, is that the stock bose? if so, how much?
There is a relay built into the circuit board of the speaker that causes the sub to work sometimes and not sometimes. Somewhere in this forum there are a lot of comments and pictures about this. The relay is identified to a part number which I'm again looking for. I believe its a cheap fix. I think this relay turns the sub amp on and off.
Paper trick for the relay on the sub amp circuit board works!
Hey folks! I was on the infinitihelp forum looking at solutions regarding this same issue for I30/I35s and eventually wound up here. This thread was EXTREMELY helpful in solving my issue with the Bose sub cutting out in my infiniti. I did do the paper trick as suggested below and it's worked great since. Granted, it's only been a week, but all seems to be good now.
If for any reason this ends up being a temporary solution, thanks to all who listed info on where and how to get the new relays.
Much appreciated!
Originally Posted by levellkinchen
This is what i did. I took a piece of paper folded it several times and wrapped it in electrical tape. Placed it on top of this 'GREY' box. Closed the silver metal box. and Whola!!!!!! IT DOESN'T CUT OUT ANYMORE. it cost me about .03 cents.
Before you laugh try it. VELKIN '01 I30
The paper trick will probably "wear out" after some unknown amount of time. In your case, the relay itself is good, it is the solder connections that have failed. Resoldering should keep you going for another 10+ years.
For the DIY'ers that are competent in soldering, but maybe not as competent in parts searching, I found this relay at Fry's, Philmore relay #86-112. It's just a simple SPDT relay, and there are cheaper options elsewhere. However, shipping always being a factor of total price, this was the cheapest venue I found for ordering alone (~$3.50 + $2 s/h). Working great for me. Uses the larger footprint holes on the board, but does not interfere with the outer shield.
Dumb question, but what does that little box do exactly?
Is it an amp? Can't I just go buy a cheap amp at the swap meet and replace it?
It amps up the lower freq. and powers the base speaker. I know you can find replacement amps for home theater base boosters, but for this 12v system in a car, I don't know without spending time to ck it out.
I am going to try the .03 fix, and if that doesnt work, I will do this. This is brilliantly simple.
Also, I am CONVINCED that biren had a source for those relays for less than a buck, and was selling them for $15, kept making new accounts to come on this thread and say how great they were.
I dont know how long the site keeps track of MACs and IP's, but if all of those can be linked to the same MAC (provided this fellow is not too smart), then he needs a ban. I just read through 5 pages of this thread and at least a page of it was either his or his troll accounts spam.
.... Pretty much ... damn scammers do anything... love the forum ... gotta few things to try now to fix my POS Bose system! !!
Ok not sure if anyone is checking this thread anymore but will say I did the " wedge " technique..... and bass NEVER sounded as good as it does now !
Didn't have money to get it looked at much less get a new system..... So tried this cuz I don't have the resources for soldering.... If or when it goes out I'll update! Very informative! I will be checking out more topics in this forum next couple of days!
Ok not sure if anyone is checking this thread anymore but will say I did the " wedge " technique..... and bass NEVER sounded as good as it does now !
Didn't have money to get it looked at much less get a new system..... So tried this cuz I don't have the resources for soldering.... If or when it goes out I'll update! Very informative! I will be checking out more topics in this forum next couple of days!
For what it's worth I tried the folded up electrical tape trick but it didn't work for me at all. As DennisMik mentions above, if the relay is bad no amount of folded up anything will fix the problem. I didn't bother replacing the relay since I added an Alpine 10" sub in the trunk but I will definitely replace it if/when I get rid of the car.
Just made an account to say that I was having the intermittent Sub-outage on my '03 Max, and I was all ready to do the solder fix when I read about the electrical tape / paper method. Saved myself some trouble and gave that a shot and it works wonderfully! Fixed it right up. Bass is bumping again. But I just did this, so I'm not too sure about longevity. I'm sure soldering would be the more permanent fix, but I'm more of a "there, I fixed it" kind of guy. Thanks to all for the step-by-step guides + pictures!
FYI, I did the paper trick and it worked for a month, max. I ended up just replacing the relay and I hadn't even thought about it until now but it's been working since then (a year or two later.) It was only $14. Would recommend just ordering the part from digikey and soldering a new one in.
If you guys can list the part number of that big cap. on the bottom right
and the transistor on the bottom right that would be really helpful.
Mine didn't come with those or a relay mount at all. sub has never worked since day 1.
If Bose made that printed circuit board without those parts, I don't think putting them on is a good idea. You might be creating parallel circuits that could cause a short.
I would suggest getting the printed circuit board from a junkyard car instead.
Since you bumped this if you have a 2000 with the missing components like mine.
They are on the harness before the speaker.
I just soldered the board and BAM got alittle bass back.
Thank you DjCalvin! Performed the soldering to the grey relay per your instruction and it worked like a dream! I thought the relay was blown for sure but micro cracks in solder seem to be the cause of most electronics malfunctions these days. Sucks to be a newb here :/ but I'm super glad the veterans here are so knowledgeable. Thanks again guys. Baaaaasssssss!
Thanks so much for this information! Really helped me out in a pinch! Been having this cut out for the last few years, and finally just completely died. Didn't bother with the paper trick since I read all the posts that it was temporary at best. Re-soldering with a new (better) relay did the trick! At least it worked for my initial tests. If I have problems with it again, I will reply to this thread, but no news is good news at this point.
Sure, it was a bit of work to replace, but gave me an excuse to learn how to solder and buy a set! Plus I enjoy the satisfaction of having fixed something myself, and not just sending an otherwise perfectly good sub into the trash heap. It was a little tricky for my first time (the relay had to be pried off from the top after removing all the soldering from the 5 relay pins), but after that it was all pretty straight-forward.
You just have to have the right tools, the right material, and the right mindset, and I find you can do a lot in life!
If you guys can list the part number of that big cap. on the bottom right
and the transistor on the bottom right that would be really helpful.
Mine didn't come with those or a relay mount at all. sub has never worked since day 1.
On the 2000 those parts are in the plastic wrapped piece in the harness outside the main box. Cut that open and there's a small board in there with the relay. I just fixed the wifes 00 by shorting the two contacts as shown here in post #3.https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...-once-all.html
Only I left the relay in place and did it from the back of the board. It works perfectly now. I may replace the relay some time.
I tried soldering the contacts but it didn't help.
On the 2000 those parts are in the plastic wrapped piece in the harness outside the main box. Cut that open and there's a small board in there with the relay. I just fixed the wifes 00 by shorting the two contacts as shown here in post #3.https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...-once-all.html
Only I left the relay in place and did it from the back of the board. It works perfectly now. I may replace the relay some time.
I tried soldering the contacts but it didn't help.
so basically you figured out the bypass trick on the 2002 and 2003 just as others have done on the 2000 and 2001?
The thread I linked already shows how to do it in an 02-03 car. That thread explains the weakness of the cheap relay Bose used.
I just took that info and applied it to the 00 car where the relay is in a different location. The only fixes in this thread for the 00 were to resolder the connections or bypass the entire small circuit board.
This is the fix that I opted for. Put it in yesterday, now I have a unit that works good. Fry's had the right relay, bigger and better than the crap that was in there, and now the bass keeps on thumping. Good, solid advice, glad I followed it.
Followed advice of Suzie(v)Q and got the Philmore relay from Fry's. Unsoldered the old (crappy) one and soldered in the new one. Best move I made so far, great, continuous bass sound.
New to this actually just signed up to post here.
I just spent the last hour carefully reading everyone's post about the sub cutout issues and how to fix. Djcalvin you did a great job with your right up. But I'll be damned if I didn't stick a piece of cardboard wrapped in electrical tape on top of the gray box and I'm thumpin again. Absolutely unreal. Thank you everyone that contributed to this post.
On the 2000 those parts are in the plastic wrapped piece in the harness outside the main box. Cut that open and there's a small board in there with the relay. I just fixed the wifes 00 by shorting the two contacts as shown here in post #3.https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...-once-all.html
Only I left the relay in place and did it from the back of the board. It works perfectly now. I may replace the relay some time.
I tried soldering the contacts but it didn't help.
Has this fix still been working for you? Do you notice a pop on startup and shutdown? If this works I rather do it this way than having to order and replace the relay.
Thanks alot man, im having the same annoying issue! Gonna try to fix it this weekend.
i never truly soldered before but got it done, and i am not sure my self but there is a subtle difference with 5 and 5.5 gen, prolly described in this thread somewhere
The difference is where the relay is located. My 00 has the relay on a small circuit card in the harness going to the sub. My 02 has the relay on the main circuit board under the sub.
I think 01 was the crossover year but It'll be obvious when you pull it apart. If you have a big lump in the harness going to the sub then you have the earlier design. I've posted pics of how to solder a jumper on both years that will fix the problem. I've had zero issues in either car for years now and both of them had completely lost the sub before the fix.
Last edited by Derrick2k2SE; 10-26-2016 at 06:49 PM.
12-03-2012, 06:03 PM
